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AFI, anti-competition and road races in India – I

The Athletics Federation of India (AFI) is anti-competitive.

The sports ministry of India believes so.

Unable to overturn a ban on its athletes participating in unauthorized road races, the ministry has called upon the Competition Commission of India to squash the draconian move by a body that ironically receives funding from the central government.

No athlete affiliated to the AFI is currently allowed to compete without first obtaining clearance from it.

The decision was ratified in its AGM.

“The house unanimously approved to take action against the state units officials athletes and individuals who en courage the unauthorized marathons and become part of such marathons where AFI permission was not taken and it was made mandatory to seek permission of AFI before organizing any road race marathon on national and international level.”

The sports ministry in its complaint termed the move “anti competitive, not conducive to development of sports at grassroots level and was likely to have an adverse impact on promotion of sports and protection of the interest of sportspersons.”

AFI president Adille J Sumariwalla responded:

“We have a meeting with the ministry every 10 days, but nobody has raised this issue with AFI. If the ministry has any problem with AFI, they should discuss the issue with us.”

He also denied that there were any such restrictions on its athletes.

The ministry also claimed that the AFI was only one among many national sports federations resorting to such unethical practices to retain their hegemony.

The ministry also claimed that it was unable to take any action as the AFI was an autonomous body.

The Tribune, in its editorial titled ‘Let People Run‘ , was critical of the AFI.

It read:

“Greed is the root cause of the ongoing conflict between the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) and the organisers of various road races in the country. The AFI wishes to control all athletic competitions. Laughably, it declares that various marathons — like the Mumbai Marathon or Delhi Half Marathon — are its properties. That’s patently false. They are not the AFI’s properties for they’ve been organised and nurtured by private companies like Airtel, Standard Chartered or TCS. The AFI’s role in these races has been restricted to obtaining royalty and capitation fee — running into lakhs of rupees — from the organisers. These races have become extremely popular, attracting celebrities and a very large number of runners. For instance, last year’s Delhi Half Marathon had over 32,000 entries, and over 15 sponsors/partners. The AFI wants a larger chunk of the pie. It’s about money.

 

It’s not unprecedented for a sports association to desire complete control over a sport in an attempt to completely control the cash inflow. The Indian cricket board (BCCI) did the same when the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) was launched by the Zee group in 2007. The BCCI banned all the cricketers who associated with the ICL, which eventually collapsed. But the players benefited from the emergence of competition — the BCCI made a dramatic increase in the wages for the players at the domestic and international levels. 

 

There’s a marked difference between the BCCI and the AFI. The former is an independent society, which now resembles a corporate entity with money-making as an objective. The AFI, though autonomous, can exist and operate only because it’s supported by public funding. The road races, which attract people toward sport, should have been the AFI’s own initiative in the first place. But now it wants to jump in for money. The AFI can’t stop commoners from running, and it must not be allowed to ban the athletes who compete in the races as well.”

The Mid-Day, in a piece titled ‘Marathons: Who’s running the show?‘, expressed concern for elite athletes.

“What this current imbroglio does, though, is throw athletes into a quandary. It is hugely confusing for state and national athletes. Which event do they participate in? Should they take part in a road race that does not have the AFI blessing? Would they even know which events are ‘authorised’ or ‘unauthorised’? Who would be able to tell them?”

The DNA, in an article by Chander Shekhar Luthra, revealed another aspect behind the AFI’s decision.

“………a senior AFI official said on condition of anonymity that the ‘marathon business has been flourishing in India in last one decade and it needs to be regulated in order to check any malpractices’.

In one such non-recognised marathon event, The winner was not given any. And when this athlete complained to the ministry, AFI was asked to file an explanation. The GBM resolution was passed to curb such unethical practices only,’ said the official on Friday.”

The Competition Commission of India website states:

“Competition is the best means of ensuring that the ‘Common Man’ or ‘Aam Aadmi’ has access to the broadest range of goods and services at the most competitive prices. With increased competition, producers will have maximum incentive to innovate and specialize. This would result in reduced costs and wider choice to consumers. A fair competition in market is essential to achieve this objective. Our goal is to create and sustain fair competition in the economy that will provide a ‘level playing field’ to the producers and make the markets work for the welfare of the consumers.
The Competition Act
The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the philosophy of modern competition laws. The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and M&A), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India.
Competition Commission of India
The objectives of the Act are sought to be achieved through the Competition Commission of India (CCI), which has been established by the Central Government with effect from 14th October 2003. CCI consists of a Chairperson and 6 Members appointed by the Central Government.It is the duty of the Commission to eliminate practices having adverse effect on competition, promote and sustain competition, protect the interests of consumers and ensure freedom of trade in the markets of India.The Commission is also required to give opinion on competition issues on a reference received from a statutory authority established under any law and to undertake competition advocacy, create public awareness and impart training on competition issues.”

This is not the first time an Indian sports body has been in the cross hairs of the regulatory watchdog.

In 2013, the BCCI was slapped with a Rs.52.24 crore fine for blocking players from opting to participate in competitive league such as Subhash Chandra’s Indian Cricket League (ICL).

The complaint filed by Surinder Singh Barmi, a Delhi-based cricket fan, alleged “irregularities in the grant of Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise rights for team ownership, media rights for coverage of the league, and in the award of sponsorship rights and other local contracts related to the Twenty20 league conducted by BCCI.”

The ruling was later set aside by the Competition Appellate Tribunal (Compat).

Compat said:

“The finding recorded by the Commission on the issue of abuse of dominance is legally unsustainable and is liable to be set-aside because the information downloaded from the net and similar other material do not have any evidentiary value and, in any case, the same could not have been relied upon by the Commission without giving an effective opportunity to the appellant (BCCI) to controvert the same.”

 

The CCI  used information from public sites without disclosing to the BCCI their sources to arrive at a ruling thus vitiating the rule “audi alteram partem (let the other side be heard as well).”

To be continued…

Dipika Pallikal triggers a ‘she’ change in National Sports (Satire)

Sarbananda Sonowal, Sports Minister of India, reacted swiftly to squash player Ms. Dipika Pallikal’s comments on sportswomen not receiving equal prize money at the Nationals.

Pallikal said:

“The reason is the same why I haven’t played in the last three years. I feel we deserve equal pay like most of the tournaments which are becoming equal prize money on the PSA professional circuit.

I don’t see why there should be a difference between men and women. I would have loved to play in Kerala and definitely miss playing the Nationals. If women have started getting equal prize money at professional tournaments around the word, why can’t the same happen in India?”

In a circular issued to all the National Sports Federations, the minister said:

“Henceforth, there is to be equal prize money distributed to both men and women players in all national level championships. In fact, there will be no prize money at all for participating in the nationals. This should end the debate about pay parity among the genders.”

While players reacted with shock, awe and disdain in varying proportions, organizers were at a loss as to how to felicitate the winners of these tourneys.

A spokesperson for the Senior National squash championship said:

“We could present ribbons or medals to the victors. Different color ribbons or medals for each place. Other suggestions from our innovators include tees proclaiming, ‘Senior National Squash Championship, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. I was there. Were you?'”

Organizers at other senior championships were quite enthused about the changes after their initial shock.

“This will allow us to provide athletes two-star , if not three-star,  accommodation. No more dingy dormitories or dirty toilets and bathrooms. Every participant will be comfortable with the eating, drinking and living arrangements.”

Some men players were not so pleased.

They said:

“If women and men enjoy equality, then why aren’t men players allowed to wear skirts or skorts (i.e. skirts over shorts). This will allow us to move more freely on court. Why are our movements hampered so?”

A spokesman for a leading sports federation responded:

“The men have a point. Abolition of prize money will free up funds to equip our players better. We will be able to provide them designer clothing much like the Indian cricket team. In fact, we have sent out feelers to leading Scottish clothiers seeking quotes for kilts which are truly a unisex form of attire. We hope to be hearing from them soon.”

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. (Some facts and some “quotes” in this article are fabricated but you knew that already, didn’t you?)

Gopichand versus Gutta: War of words heats up

The war of words between members of Pulella Gopichand’s camp and Jwala Gutta’s supporters intensified.

English: V Diju & Jwala Gutta Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a diatribe defending the former All-England champion, the SAI director-general Injeti Srinivas said:

“We firmly stand by Gopi. His credentials as player, coach and administrator cannot be questioned. His contribution to the game is unparalleled and cannot be nullified by such unjustified outburst by an athlete. Having said that, Jwala’s allegations against him are in bad taste.”

He added:

“These comments are unfair and baseless. In the last TOP committee meeting, it was Gopi who urged the identification committee to bring all deserving doubles pairs in badminton into the scheme, including the duo. Earlier, he was the driving force behind the game getting a specialist foreign coach in doubles. Disappointment is one thing. But criticising an accomplished person such as Gopi openly without ascertaining facts is not fair. There are certain ‘Laxman rekhas’ that she should be aware of.”

Srinivas claimed that there is no ‘conflict-of-interest‘ in Gopichand being the chief national coach and the majority of players selected hailing from his academy in Hyderabad.

He said:

“It is not that the national coach has canvassed for his membership in the TOP committee or his academy to be made a national training centre. We thrust it on him and he has delivered. 
We treat all athletes equally. No discrimination has been made whether it is in international exposure or training. Jwala and Ashwini have performed with complete support from the government.”

What Gopichand has singlehandedly wrought for the game of badminton in India in the past decade almost matches what the Chinese accomplished with their unstinting support and accompanying infrastructure over the last three decades.

While it is true that a doubles specialist coach, Tan Kim Her of Malaysia, has been appointed till the 2020 Olympics, this does not appear to have been communicated to the very players who would benefit from it most.

Speaking at a promotional event in Mumbai on Sunday, Jwala’s partner Ashwini Ponappa said:

“It’s doing the rounds but I know absolutely nothing about the status of the appointment. It would definitely help if we had a separate coach for doubles. But what would also be good is if we have a separate camp for doubles. If you’re good at singles, you don’t need to be forced to play doubles just to make up the numbers.”

“Most juniors end up choosing singles because of the immense support and attention they are promised. You can’t blame them for choosing to do so. Nor can you force them to play doubles. Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy are doing well and it’s good to see that ours isn’t the only doubles pair winning tournaments. I think the reason why other countries are doing well is because they have separate coaches for singles as well as doubles and even mixed doubles. When we talk about us lacking that extra edge when it comes to playing them, I think this is what we’re talking about.”

“For doubles, the top 16 pairs will qualify and we have to be there. Ideally, we want to be in the top 10. The qualifying process started in May and ends exactly a year later. There are quite a few tournaments (coming up), but anything can happen. There’s still a long way to go. Our next goal is to do well at the BWF World Championships in Jakarta in August.”

Umesh Yadav will not slow down despite Dhoni having his way

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is an ass.

An ass who has won Team India two World Cups and a Champions Trophy but an ass nevertheless.

Nothing else can explain why the famed leader of men in colored clothing would castigate his fast bowlers for straying while bowling quick in ODIs.

The wise men of Indian cricket were quick to follow his lead and have relegated Umesh Yadav to the India A squad.

Sir Andy Roberts rushed to Yadav’s defense.

Trust a fast bowler to understand another.

Roberts said:

“Look at Australia, Mitchell Johnson was nowhere in the last five years, but he went back, worked hard, strengthened his body and used his pace. Johnson wasn’t about line and length, he was all about pace and that’s what got Australia back to the forefront. Pace!

Yadav is India’s genuine fast bowler and I don’t like this idea of you telling your fast bowlers you must bowl line and length, you don’t sacrifice pace for length and control, all one needs to do is work hard in the nets to better his control.

Well that’s selectors for you (on Yadav’s demotion)

He (Yadav) has the pace and not too many fast bowlers have pace. You don’t just make fast bowlers. You have to be born with it.”

Yadav, however, has no intention of slowing down.

He said:

“As a genuine fast bowler, the margin of error is very less for us. It’s not easy for a fast bowler to bowl consistently in one area. It’s easier for a medium pacer to maintain line length at 130-135 km/hr. Many times boundaries go because of the pace at which I bowl. At times, I try different things and when that doesn’t work, it costs me a few runs. Everyone is different. I can’t bowl like Mustafizur Rahman and he can’t bowl like me. My release point is different from that of a medium pacer’s, If I change that, I will mess up with my bowling. I am in this team because of my pace. I have taken wickets at the international level with pace.”

On the Bangladesh defeat:

“It’s difficult to pinpoint the exact reason for the defeat. We were playing continuously for the last 8-10 months so may be fatigue was an issue. Obviously we could have done a lot better. Having said that, Bangladesh played some good aggressive cricket. The pressure was definitely on us. They had nothing to lose. Mustafizur bowled well in the first two matches. We had never seen him before – how he uses the slow ball, how he uses those cutters. After the first two matches we got to know about his strengths and played him well in the last match. Unfortunately, the series was over by then.”

On the India A selection:

“Yes, I would have a bit of rest as I am playing continuous cricket for last eight months. However, the selectors feel I need to bowl before the Sri Lanka series. They must have thought something about me and Varun (Aaron). May be they thought we must have match practice before the Sri Lanka series. So I am prepared for that. I will try to utilize this short break to refresh myself and then be ready for the India ‘A’ assignment.”

On India’s World Cup campaign:

“When I started my cricket, I had a dream to be part of a World Cup team. I wasn’t a regular in the team before the West Indies and Sri Lanka series. However, I had that confidence and attitude that I could be part of the team. When I got the chance for West Indies series, I grabbed it with both hands and showed what I can do for the team. Only thing in my mind was to contribute in winning causes. I am glad I did that whenever the captain threw the ball to me.

We were bit tired during the triangular series after the long Test series. So we didn’t perform as well as we would’ve liked. But yes, it gave us a good opportunity to assess ourselves and what we needed to do in the World Cup. For instance, mid-wicket and deep square-legboundaries were quite long in Australia and it wasn’t easy to clear them if you hurry the batsmen and use short deliveries properly. We did exactly that. Before the tournament, nobody expected the Indian bowlers to perform that well but we knew what we were capable of. To bounce out the opposition was brilliant.”

It would have been so much nicer and smarter if MSD would have a chat with his fast bowlers on these lines instead:

“Guys, I know you cannot be accurate always and may go for runs. But what I want from my pacers are wickets and wickets quickly and at crucial junctures. If you can give me the breakthroughs and an average of 2-3 wickets per game, I will be mighty satisfied. After all, bowlers (and catches) win matches.”

That, my friends, is the way to go.

Vijay Mallya ‘un-craps’ Bernie Ecclestone (Humour)

I’m not a Formula One fan. I don’t watch the sport on television. It’s booooring.

I see no point in watching one or two cars lead the rest of the field by a wide margin, where the only exciting part is how long each driver spends at a pit-stop. Pit-stops are a science and an art and the team’s mechanics its heroes. It is a sport where the engines maketh the winner and the only skill  and challenge in the sport is deciding which tires to use in inclement weather.

There is very little overtaking on the track happening and to watch 60-odd laps hoping such an eventuality occurs is an exercise in futility.

Vijay Mallya lit up the Grand Prix-es with his retort to Bernie Ecclestone’s comment that he has a “crappy product to sell“.

English: Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group, India, participates in a panel discussion on tourism at the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit 2008 in New Delhi, 16-18 November 2008. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Uncrap it,” responds the man who left his Kingfisher Airlines employees, creditors and shareholders standing in loads of (you know it, here it comes) excrement.

According to Mallya , the poop has to be sustainable.

He said:

“The most important thing is to ensure the sustainability of all teams in Formula One. If that is addressed, as it should be addressed, even the small independent teams can be competitive. If Williams beats Ferrari, it’s exciting. If Force India can beat Mercedes, that is the cherry on the cake!”

Matthew Carter of Lotus complains that to win at shit you have to spend more money.

His exact words:

“To win or get near the podium is pretty much related to how much money you spend. If the technical rules and regulations can be loosened and allow smaller teams to come up with something that isn’t immediately copied by bigger teams, it goes back to the ethos of Formula One. “

Clare Williams of Williams would like to see more people talk positively about stools.

“I watched F1 years ago and thought ‘these cars are amazing, these drivers are fantastic’. And they still are, and we have to remember that. I would like to see more people talking positively about the sport, it’s about pulling together. We should not forget it is an amazing sport. “

Eddie Jordan of the BBC would like fecal matter to be noisy.

“Noise in F1 is something I grew up with and I miss it. I thought noise was an important part of the show and I will always think that. My bigger concern is the engine rule change, particularly the costs. We have to make more heroes in F1 and make the show more appealing globally.”

Mallya additionally wants more positive coverage for feculence.

“Formula One is perhaps the most exciting sport in the world. If Formula One is made sustainable for all participants I think the negativity will be removed.

If the stability of all participants in Formula One is addressed as a matter of priority we will have more exciting racing and we will get a lot more positive media.”

Well, this certainly isn’t it.

PS: Bernie Ecclestone proof-read this piece. His suggestion: Replace ‘Formula One’ with ‘crap’ everywhere.

Fearless Jwala makes a case for inclusion in TOP scheme

When Jwala Gutta first made her plaints public that she and her partner Ashwini Ponnappa were denied aid under the ‘Target Olympic Podium’ (TOP) scheme of the Union government because they were not under Pulella Gopichand’s tutelage, most probably dismissed it as a case of sour grapes.

Their recent exploits at the US and Canadian Opens have nailed that lie.

A semi-final finish at the US Open was followed by a title win in Canada.

Pictograms of Olympic sports – Badminton. This is unofficial sample picture. Images of official Olympic pictograms for 1948 Summer Olympics and all Summer Olympics since 1964 can be found in corresponding Official Reports. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From a Times of India report:

“A top ministry source told TOI:

‘When we analyzed the performance of Jwala and Ashwini in the recent past, we realised they had not made much impact. They had won medals at the Uber Cup, Commonwealth Games and Asian Championships in 2014 but we were looking for a consistent streak this year,’ the source said.

‘In the last meeting, we put the duo on watch. We decided that if they come up with a creditable performance we will include them in the scheme. After the Canada Open victory, the committee will take a more positive view about Jwala and Ashwini.'”

It seems to be a case of either or both:

• Doubles badminton is not considered important enough to deserve funding.
• Gopichand does not press the cases of players who are not with his academy.

Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, P. Kashyap, K. Srikanth (allotted Rs. 90 lakh each) , Gurusaidutt and H.S. Prannoy (allotted Rs. 60 lakh each) are the shuttlers currently selected under the scheme.

English: jwala (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Gutta said:

“I don’t know what to do really. I hope that they are at least thinking about it (funding) right now. This is what. Being a player, I am supposed to train and practice and only think about my game, what I have to develop and what weaknesses I have to take care of. 

Instead if I have to go to Delhi, spend a day, two or three, go behind them. This is what we should not be doing. We are the best bet in doubles for Olympics and we should be given all the support. At least after the Canadian Open, I hope people and the ministry of sports realise and support us. That’s all we need.

Lot of players are performing, including singles, only because of government funding. If government does not fund, lot of players will be lost. We are really depending on the government. This TOP [Target Olympic Podium] scheme is that extra boost.

Definitely [absence of government support would make it tough for the players to get into doubles]. After Ashwini and me, I don’t see anybody else coming up. You can see it. I stopped playing mixed doubles and there is no result in mixed doubles. I was world number six. People who are talking about me and my performance and questioning my career and my achievements, where is the next mixed doubles pair, please show it to me. I would like to know.”

Controversy has always dogged the glam girl of Indian women’s badminton.

English: Mohammad Azharuddin Sangeeta Bijlani (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From her turbulent personal life whence she married and divorced another shuttler Chetan Anand and had to counter media speculation about an affair with former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, her much publicized  run-ins with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) satraps and her successful overturning of a life-ban for disruptive conduct while representing and leading Delhi Smashers at the Indian Badminton League (IBL), Gutta has always been at the forefront of any criticism of administration in her sport.

The firebrand activist also presents a glamorous front on social media with her Facebook photos drawing thousands if not more likes every time she dons a fresh and  colorful outfit.

Will Gutta have her way?

Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is firmly on her side.

In a missive to the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Rao wrote:

“Jwala Gutta, the badminton player who is currently ranked 13th in the world, has brought laurels to the country on many occasions by winning tournaments at the international level.

She is the first-ever Indian woman to have won a medal at the world championships and the only Indian in the Indian history of Olympics to qualify for two events.”

In another salvo at the BAI post her Canada win, the fiery doubles specialist said:

“I am fearless, both off and and on the court. Then on court, I play. People don’t like to hear what I have to say. I don’t think I need to change anything now. My coach and father (Kranti) never told me to change.

Without any support of coach, shuttles, physio, we have been performing at an international level. On the other hand, the singles players get all the support. They have masseurs, sparring partners, shuttles and don’t spend a single penny when they go out. On the contrary, we have to spend money even for our laundry. I’m not complaining but at the same time they should think about us. Why target only Ashwini and me?

After all I am a human being. Initially I used to get affected but not any more. Badminton has become popular in the country not because of  singles players but also because of doubles performance. We performed at the highest level.

We are very disheartened that we were not in the TOP scheme. It has become a habit. But this is a good way to answer the critics.”

Launching another broadside at Pulella Gopichand—the chief national coach, Jwala said:

“I end up cribbing after each win, ‘cos that’s the only time people are ready to listen and understand what I am saying. Ashwini and I have achieved so much in our career, but have never gotten our due and it is just because of one person – Gopichand. We are World No. 13 now, but instead of supporting us, he is only pulling us down. So, I want to speak now in the hope that this win will get us included in the TOP Scheme.

It seems the whole country is rejoicing over our Canadian Open win except the chief national coach. It is overwhelming that everyone from President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, the Sports Minister’s Office to well-wishers have sent Ashwini (Ponnappa) and me congratulatory messages. But there was just no acknowledgement from Gopichand. it matters to me because he is the top administrator. He should be happy about this win.

The chief national coach is responsible for every single player. Ashwini and I won bronze at the BWF World Championships in 2011, a gold and silver at 2010 and 2014 CWG, both firsts for the country. Yet, we are not included in the TOP Scheme! Why? Just because we are not from Gopi’s academy? Is it fair that Gurusai Datt’s name is in TOP Scheme? (He is ranked No. 43). If the government or Gopi thinks the highest ranked women’s doubles team of India isn’t good enough to take a bet on for Olympics, there is something seriously wrong. I think he should step down.”

Jwala’s partner, Ponappa added:

“The chief national coach should actually be the one who is most proud of this win and be the first to congratulate us. But that’s not the case when it comes to Jwala and me. And that just means there is something wrong. If he was someone who treated all players equally, I think he would be happy that we won gold at the Canadian Open. And if he can’t do that, if he can’t be equal and fair to all players, I totally stand by what Jwala said – Gopichand should step down as the chief national coach.”

Pulella Gopichand responded to Jwala’s allegations thus:

“Okay, let me take this opportunity to say that I would like to congratulate Jwala on her great victory at the Canadian Open. Their event wrapped up on Sunday and they came back on Tuesday night. I sent representatives from the Rangareddy Association, of which I am president, to receive Jwala at the airport. on Wednesday morning, Jwala says she hasn’t received a congratulatory message from me! It’s not like it has been a week already! I am not on Twitter or Facebook, so I can’t post messages online. I was at the President’s dinner on Tuesday. Maybe, I would have messaged her today, but if I do that now, it will look like I did it because she complained!

As for me stepping down, well, Jwala has no moral standing to say that, because we have always supported her. She has gone for 200 tournaments or more in the last 10 years and if I don’t propose her name, how would she go? If she says I haven’t supported her, let her specify. If it is about sponsors, come on, I am not responsible for players getting sponsors. And even if I were to do that, I wouldn’t go out of my way to get a sponsor for someone who speaks ill of me. I think my actions and performance speaks for me. I do my job very well, whether it was as a player, or now as the chief national coach.”

The merits of Gutta’s circumstances cannot be denied.

Will the concerned authorities act now and ensure that future decisions are not prejudiced?

Or is that more than sports lovers can hope for in the morass that is Indian sports administration?

The questions remain.

The answers are staring us in the face.

Indian test specialists Rahane and Vijay lead the ODI charge in Zimbabwe

Ajinkya Rahane is a quiet man.

He lets his bat do the talking and how his willow has conversed with the game and the fans over the past two years.

Ajinkya Rahane is a team-man.

He is in the Rahul Dravid mould.

Dropped in Bangladesh for not being suited to the ODI format and having a slower strike rate than his contemporaries, the Mumbaikar is now the stand-in skipper for the upcoming Zimbabwe tour in the absence of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

Rahane—refreshingly—has no pretensions about his new role.

He said:

“The decision of naming me captain did come as a surprise because I wasn’t thinking about captaincy ever. I didn’t know how to react when I heard the news.

Once the news slowly began to sink in, I became really confident of handling this new responsibility.”

He added:

“Firstly, playing under MS Dhoni I would observe how he would be calm on the field. He has a very peculiar and calm way of handling situations. I would like to take that quality from him.

What I would like to take from Virat Kohli would be controlled aggression. You can see that quality in his batting and his captaincy.

And finally, Rahul bhai is someone who likes to keep things really simple on the field, which I got to know while playing under him with the Rajasthan Royals.

Having said that, I have my own set of ideas and I know what I have to do on the field.”

This is the first series for Team India since the re-framing of the ODI rules.

The changes are as follows:

• No batting powerplay of 5 overs.
• 3 fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle between 41 and 50 overs.
• No compulsory catchers in 1 to 10 overs.
• Free hit for all no balls.

The obvious effect is to reduce team totals. 400+ scores may once again become a thing of the past.

A return to a more traditional format implies that batsmen should eschew risk-taking and play to their strengths. Technique would be of paramount importance again. Spinners, of course, benefit with the extra fielder in the deep in the slog overs. Captains can be either offensive or defensive in the first 10 overs.

Murali Vijay, too, gets a chance to buttress his ODI credentials.

And the likes of Robin Uthappa and Kedar Jadhav can stake their claims to the wicketkeeper’s slot should Dhoni decide to quit sooner than later.

I suspect that it is this game of musical chairs that is of more salient interest to the selectors and the Indian think tank.

Other stories to follow are whether Manish Pandey, Ambati Rayudu or Manoj Tiwary can make a lasting impression.  Opportunities to be in the full XI are few and far between.

Despite the absence of the main stalwarts, the squad is not a young lot with Harbhajan Singh leading the spinning trio.

The squad:

• Ajinkya Rahane (c) , Stuart Binny, Harbhajan Singh, Kedar Jadhav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Ambati Rayudu, Sandeep Sharma, Karn Sharma, Mohit Sharma,Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa (wk), Murali Vijay.

Cheteshwar Pujara is missing from the above. He leads the India A side at home against Australia A.

Now Rahane, Vijay and Pujara may consider themselves hard-done by that they are not first choices whenever the ODI squad is chosen. They are labelled ‘Test specialists‘.

But , to be frank, is that really an injustice to the troika? Is it not an indicator of the selectors’ faith in them that despite the relatively fewer opportunities given them, they are penciled in ahead of the glory boys when it comes to the guts-and-gore version of the sport?

Being a Test player is the pinnacle of achievement. For Rahane, Vijay and Pujara to be considered head-and-shoulders above their counterparts should be a matter of pride and not despondency.

Class always tells.

Vijender Singh turns pro, ‘Pacquiaos’ his bags for London

Sport knows no borders.

Vijender Singh, a bronze medalist for India at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the middleweight category, has embraced professionalism.

The boxer has moved to London after signing a contract with Queensberry Promotions that will see him fight a minimum of six bouts in his first year as a pro.

The celebrated pugilist brings the curtain down on his aspirations of a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

His current employers, the Haryana police, objected to Vijender’s move claiming that he cannot serve two masters—Mammon and the Indian public, at large.

Vijender is currently on probation as a DSP.

Vijender said:

“I don’t want to compare myself to a legend like Pacquiao, but if I can achieve even half of what he has, I will consider myself successful.

Just like how Pacquiao carried the Phillipines flag and (Floyd) Mayweather Jr carried the US flag to their bout, I will carry the Indian flag to my bouts. I’ve taken Indian boxing to a new, untested level and opened international avenues for our boxers. This cannot be viewed as un-patriotic.”

The Bhiwani lad has always sought the limelight and is considered the glamour boy of Indian boxing.

His clean-cut good looks made him a favorite with advertisers and a brief doping (heroin) scandal did nothing to sully his reputation. The slugger also starred in a Bollywood film Fugly that released in 2014.

Vijender is not the first Indian boxer to turn professional but he could be one of the best and turn the spotlight back on a sport that has lost its luster with a disaffiliated and derecognized national boxing federation  unable to send Indian fighters to participate in international tournaments.

Indian boxing needs another shot in the arm and this could very well be it.
Embed from Getty Images

Has Indian men’s badminton started to peak and prosper?

Kidambi Srikanth,Parupalli Kashyap,Haseena Sunil Kumar Prannoy,Ajay Jayaram,Sai Praneeth Bhamidipati, Anand Pawar,Rajah Menuri Venkata Gurusaidutt,Manu Attri, B. Sumeeth Reddy, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar.

Who are these guys, really?

These young stalwarts are the modern face of Indian men’s badminton making the country proud in Badminton World Federation (BWF) competitions across the globe.

These are the players ranked in the top 100 of men’s singles and doubles by the BWF.

Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap are at the forefront of this brigade.

Pictograms of Olympic sports – Badminton. This is unofficial sample picture. Images of official Olympic pictograms for 1948 Summer Olympics and all Summer Olympics since 1964 can be found in corresponding Official Reports. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: kashyap is a indian badminton player (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Kashyap has been around for a while and captured gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Glasgow. He was also a quarter-finalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He is ranked 10 in the world.

Kidambi Srikanth is the highest ranked Indian currently No.3 in the world. He clinched the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier beating Lin Dan in the final. He is the first Indian male to win a Super Series Premier title.

Haseena Sunil Kumar Prannoy is ranked 12th in the World and had his best year by far in 2014. He was a semi-finalist at India Open Grand Prix Gold,Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold,Macau Open Grand Prix Gold and the Sri Lanka Open International Badminton Challenge in Colombo. He was also a finalist at the Vietnam Open Grand Prix crowning it with a tournament win at the Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold.

Ajay Jayaram is next on the list at 32 and his best is the 2014 Dutch Open Grand Prix.

Following closely at No. 33 is B. Sai Praneeth whose exploits at the US Open last week catapulted him to the limelight.

RMV Guru Saidutt and Anand Pawar at 44 and 55  round up the Indian men in the top 100.

Pairs Manu Attri & B. Sumeeth Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra & Akshay Dewalkar are ranked 24 and 33 in men’s doubles respectively.

Tournaments organised by the BWF are ranked in the following order:

World Ranking Points Table

*At the Olympic Games 3rd place will receive 9200 points. Fourth place will receive 8400 points.

Source: http://bwfbadminton.org

Only the best 10 results are considered while aggregating points.

Women players such as Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu and even Jwala Gutta have monopolized the headlines with their stunning deeds. But Force Men will not be left behind.

Indian badminton fans can look forward to having another All-England champion , if not, a numero uno from amongst the above.

Let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.

Sim Bhullar and Satnam Singh’s tall tales (Humour)

There have been a couple of tall tales in the Indian media recently.

Two of our very own boys have been selected to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) league.

Their names: Sim Bhullar and Satnam Singh Bhamara.

One’s Canadian and the other’s from our very own Ludhiana.

National Basketball Association (NBA) Conferences and Divisions. Locations of teams marked with square. Western Northwest Southwest Pacific Eastern Atlantic Central Southeast (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Both seven footers. Giants, indeed.

Bhullar plays for Sacramento Kings.

Sacramento? Isn’t that California’s forgotten seat of governance much like Canberra is Australia’s?

Or is that Sacrament-O?

And Dallas Mavericks?

Whoever’s heard of them?

Chirp ‘Dallas‘ and all I can recall is that American soap opera telecast on Star World.

And a maverick? Isn’t that an unbranded calf or yearling? Or isn’t that Mel Gibson portraying the title role in ‘Maverick’?

How Mad Maxingly confounding!

An ABCD (American-Born Confused Desi)  tells me that it’s not as perplexing as the NBA draft. I’m told they have a weighted-lottery system that favors the bottomed out—quite unlike the ‘simple‘ auctions at our Modi(l) IPL.

How fortunate!

Sim signs on for a week or so and Satnam may never play. Yet, there’s a hoopla here like never before.

There are whispers that it’s all a marketing gimmick to target the extremely long, extremely fat tail that is the Indian market for American basketball.

Whoosh! In goes another three-pointer!

It’s said the two Singh’s can do a Yao Ming for the NBA in the sub-continent.

You’d imagine that  two billion plus Indians and Chinese the majority of whom barely top the five-and-a-half foot mark would find it hard to identify with a trio of seven-foot-plus and 20-plus-shod behemoths who themselves belong to a minuscule minority not just in their nations but all across the globe.

Sporting goods marketers expect otherwise.