TOI-Hyderabad:
India begin on winning note
Gaurav Kanthwal TNN
Chandigarh: India beat New Zealand 2-0 to win the inaugural match of the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup at the floodlit Sector 42 Hockey Stadium on Saturday. India scored the first goal through a penalty corner in the 18th minute as Sandeep Singh drag flicked Rajpal's push inside the goalpost. Forward Shivendra Singh scored the second goal with a reverse sweep of Sandeep's scoop in the 61st minute of the game. Captain Sandeep Singh, for his inspiring play, was adjudged man of the match. Indians dominated the show right from the beginning as forwards made repeated attacks into the Kiwis side. India earned their first penalty corner in the eighth minute, but Sandeep could not manage to get an early lead for his side. However, it was the combined effort of Rajpal Singh and forward Arjun Hallapa who made a move for India, which earned another penalty corner. This time, Sandeep didn't make any mistake and slammed the board with a sizzling shot. The first half of the match saw both sides playing equally well with both teams making moves and trying to get inside each other's territory. As the game progressed, the scales got slightly tilted towards India and New Zealand effort ended in vain every time they tried to restore parity. The only time Kiwis looked threatening was in the 31st minute when J Baker, coming from left, got inside the circle. However, the ball crossed the line and India survived the scare. Black Sticks' forwards were well blunted by Indian defense, as Dalip Tirkey, Sandeep and Raghunath kept them at bay. Mid fielder Vikram Pillay was shown the green card in the first half (15th minute) for checking the stick. Later, in the 66th minute, he was shown yellow card along with Phillip Burrows. Indians maintained their attacking mode in the second half as well.
India’s Tushar Khandekar (right) vies for the ball with New Zealand’s Philip Burows (centre) and P Bhana in the opening match of the four-nation Hockey Gold Cup in Chandigarh on Saturday
Mamata HS in last four
Mamata High School made short work of Vignan PPN School 3-0 to move into the semifinals of the Vemparala Purushotham Memorial Inter-School Hockey Tournament at Gymkhana grounds on Saturday.
TOI-Bangalore:
SAI, PCTC in last 8: SAI edged out PCTC 5-4 in 12th Field Marshall Cariappa hockey tournament in Bangalore on Saturday. Both SAI and PCTC made it to the quarterfinals. In another match, KSP held MEG to a 1-1 draw. Both teams made it to the last-eight stage.
New Indian Express:
TN hockey selection trials
Tamil Nadu state team will participate in the Senior National Hockey Championships to be held at Pune from March 2 to15. The Indian Hockey Federation (adhoc committee/New Delhi) has announced the dates and in accordance the adhoc committee constituted by TNOA, under the chairmanship of V Baskaran, convenor Aezaz Ahmed convener, and member Renuka Lakshmi convened a meeting to select the TN team.
“Due to shortage of time the committee decided to conduct a open trials to pick the TN team for the National Championship at Mayor Radakrishnan Stadium from February 5 to 8. After the selections a camp will follow,” said Baskaran.
“All the affiliated districts are requested to send two or three outstanding players to attend the trials. Players from Madras University are also welcome to attend the trials,” added Baskaran.
The committee has appointed Olympians VJ Philips, Md Riaz, Thirumavalavan and CR Kumar (coach) to select the team. All the players have to assemble at Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium at 7 a.m. on Feb 5. For further details contact: Ph:9444271202, 9884968047.
no place for foul play
Former Indian hockey goalkeeper Ashish Ballal tells SS Shreekumar that politicians have no place in sport
f ormer India hockey captain Ashish Kumar Ballal, the man whose heroics under the goal post made the 1998 Asian Games gold medal possible, says the ad hoc committee currently in place to run hockey must be replaced by a constitutionally-elected body as soon as possible. Excerpts from an interview: On the state of Indian hockey The game has hit rock bottom. It can’t slip further. During KPS Gill’s time there was at least a policy, right or wrong. The ad hoc committee has no policy in place. How can the game develop? How can a committee run by failed politicians improve hockey? On administrative problems Be it infrastructure, academies, camps, tournaments, coaching or the national team, the game’s development is being affected at every step. If we took one step backwards in Gill’s time, we have taken 10 steps backwards during the ad hoc committee’s tenure. Not a single state association runs a hockey academy despite infrastructure being available. How do you spot and groom players? On what needs to be done The ad hoc committee should call for elections and ensure that a proper national federation is in place at the earli est. At the Amby Valley conclave last year, IOA chief Suresh Kalmadi said he was busy till 2010. If he meant that the ad hoc body would continue till then, only God can save Indian hockey. On the Indian team We have always had good teams. Coaching is the problem. More often than not, coaches who have ne ver gone through the grind or even coached good club sides are given charge of the national team. A coaching certificate from the FIH doesn’t mean much if you have n’t coached at all levels. On selection-related disputes A good player always has a big ego. It is for the coach to nurture such players and not label them as und i sciplined. It is because coac hes lack man ma n a gement skills that players like Deepak Thakur have been dropped and lost precious years. If such players are fit, there is no thing wrong in selecting them.
On areas of improvement The game has become fast er and more physically demanding. In today’s game, you need a strike the right balance. All round players are needed and I think the Indian team has the right balance.
On promoting hockey in India The rules must be changed to make them easier to und erstand and te levision-friendly. Un less the game is on TV , it can never grow.
Look at Formula One. When more people wa tch the game, there wi ll be more players. You don’t need to do anything else to promote hockey in India.
shreekumars@hotmail.com
Indian Express:
Gold Cup loses Dutch superstars
UTHRA GANESAN
CHANDIGARH
E VEN before the four-nation hockey Gold Cup kicked off, the tournament lost two of the biggest names in the fray. Senior Dutch players Taeke Taekema and Teun de Nooijer, who between themselves have close to 600 international caps, will return without playing a single match in the tournament.
The reason: According to International Hockey Federation (FIH) rules, a team can have only 18 players in their squad. According to official sources, Gold Cup organisers had decided to relax rules and allow teams to have 20-member squads to ensure more flexibility. However, since the tournament has been accorded official status by the FIH, the question of organisers allowing extra players does not arise.
Holland chief coach Michel van den Heuvel was quoted as saying: “The main purpose of the tournament is to train young players and prepare for the 2010 World Cup in India and there is no question of deviating from the same,” on the official website of the Dutch hockey association. “The tournament schedule (of having 20-member squads) was not approved by the FIH and I am now forced to make choices,” Heuvel added. Holland were the only team to have come with 20 players.
Tournament director Ramesh Appoo confirmed that it could only be an 18member squad. “I have the list of the first 18 and that will be the official squad. The other two players are free to be with the team and watch the matches but offi cially they will not be a part of this tournament,” he told The Sunday Express. The Dutch list of players did not include Taekema and de Nooijer. Key players THE Dutch were told about the decision late on Friday and the decision to drop the seniors was taken late on Friday night. The 29-year old Taekema is considered the best drag-flicker and penalty corner expert in the world at the moment, in addition to being a key member of the midfield. Nooijer, who with 388 international caps is the senior-most player in the squad, has been world player of the year a record three times and is the only one to get the award twice in succession.
The two had been the tournament’s marquee names and had made the Dutch favourites to win the title here, but now the field seems wide open. With Ronald Brouwer also not coming for the tournament, defender Geert-Jan Derikx is the senior-most player in the squad, though Timmy Hoyng has been named captain.
The Hindu:
Tamil Nadu ad hoc committee’s proposals
Chennai: The ad hoc committee governing the administration of hockey in the State has chalked out a programme for the next six months.
This will include the selection of the State team for the forthcoming National championship for the Rangaswamy Cup at Pune in the first fortnight of March.
The selections trials for the same will be held from February 5 to 8 at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium here, followed by a camp till the departure. The committee consisting of V. Baskaran (chairman), Aziz Ahmed (secretary) and Ms. Renuka Lakshmi (member) is in the process of drawing up the schedule.
Apart from picking the team for the Nationals, the ad hoc committee has proposed to conduct inter-district championship for juniors (u-20) in March and April and the senior South Zone event for the Fr. Kaniampuram Trophy in May.
The State team will also take part in the major tournaments like Bombay Gold Cup and Agha Khan Trophy. The ad hoc committee also constituted a four-member selection committee consisting of Olympians V.J. Philips, Mohammad Riaz, Thirumalvalavan, besides international coach C.R. Kumar.
All the district associations and the University of Madras have been requested to send two or three outstanding players to attend the trials at the Mayor Radhakrishnan Stadium. For details call 9444271202 or 9884968047.
Semifinalists spotted
THALASSERY: Defending champion SAI (Kollam), Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram and host Kannur completed the semifinal line-up of the State senior men’s hockey championhips at the Municipal Stadium, here on Saturday.
SAI topped Group ‘A’ to qualify, while host Kannur qualified as winner of Group ‘B.’ Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur qualified as winners of Group ‘C’ and ‘D’ respectively. SAI will take on Thiruvananthapuram, while Kannur will meet Thrissur in the semifinals.
The results:
League: SAI (Kollam) bt Palakkad 4-0; Kasaragod bt Kottayam 2-0; Thiruvananthapuram bt Ernkulam 1-0; Alappuha bt Idukki 1-0; Thiruvananthapuram bt Wayand 5-0; Thrissur bt Kasaragod 3-0; Kozhikode bt Kottayam 3-0; Kannur bt Kollam 3-0; Kannur drew Kollam 1-1.
SAI beats PCTC
Bangalore: Sports Authority of India (SAI) defeated Pioneer Corps Training Centre (PCTC) 5-4 in a Field Marshal Cariappa Memorial hockey tournament match at the KSHA Stadium, here on Saturday.
M.B. Aiyappa, Rafeeq, Deepak, K.D. Kariappa and C.K. Somanna scored for the victor, while Cyprian Aind (two), Dinesh Kumar and Anthony Kumar chipped in for PCTC.
Other result: MEG 1 (Kiran Kunjappa) drew with KSP 1 (Chetan Kumar).
Easy for Mamata HS
HYDERABAD: Mamata High School defeated Vignan PPN (Kondapur) 3-0 in the quarterfinal of the Vemparala Purushotham Memorial inter-School hockey tournament at the Gymkhana ground on Saturday. Sridhar (two) and Sasikian scored for the winner.
In another quarterfinal match, St. Josephs HS beat CRPF School ‘B’ 5-0. Umesh Kumar (two), Sijo, Harashvardhan and Paulson were the scorers.
The Tribune:
Netherlands win easy Vaibhav Sharma
Tribune News Service
Netherlands’ Evers tries to dodge German players during the Punjab Gold Cup Hockey Tournament in Chandigarh on Saturday
Chandigarh, January 31The German team, it seemed, found it hard to cope with the winter chill of Northern India as they were beaten 2-0 in the second game of the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup hockey tournament here today.
The opening exchanges were placid and the two sides took time to get into their stride. The Dutch played with a heavy midfield and dominated possession through the match.
There was little to excite the crowd as the teams could do little inside the opposition 16-yard box.
The only chance of the first half fell to the Netherlands as Hertzberger shot at the goal from close range only to find the post.
The ball was in play but Evers failed to beat the Weinhold, and shot straight at his body. At the breather neither goal had been breached.
In the second half, the Dutch picked up the tempo. The relentless prodding paid for the Dutch as in the 41st minute, Judge, on receiving a pass from Hofman, inside the 16-yard box, beat Weinhold with a controlled lob to put his side in the lead.
But the misery was to pile on for the Germans as the Netherlands got a penalty corner in the 62nd minute and this time Hertzberger was there to add the finish with a thumping shot, low left into the goal, to make it 2-0.
Germany made some attempts in the dying moments, but were out of sorts. Hertzberger was yellow carded in the 70th minute for a challenge on Muller, but the advantage came too late for Germany and the Netherlands walked away with three points. Netherlands’ Judge was declared the Man of the Match.
Six top hockey centres by next year
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 31
Punjab wants to dodge past the problem of drugs through sports. And hockey has been its top of the list sport to wean the youth away from drugs and bring them back to the playfields.
Kabaddi will follow suit and then come other sports, including football, volleyball, basketball and some individual sports.
This is the plan new Sports Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has drawn for the state.
And his faith in sports to fight drugs has been corroborated by the response his first venture - four-nation Gold Cup Hockey - has evoked.
Missing first Olympics in 80 years has been no damper for hardcore Punjabi hockey enthusiasts for their continuous love for once national sport was evident from the way they almost filled the massive Sector 42 Hockey Stadium before the inaugural match of the double-leg four-nation Punjab Gold Cup tournament here this evening.
Interestingly, the turnout today, the first-day of the 10-day tournament, was no less than on any day of two cricket Test matches the neighbouring Mohali hosted at the PCA Stadium in the recent weeks. All indications are that sports can still turn the tables.
Hockey cannot survive without government support. From a traditional poor man’s sport, it has now become the second costliest team sport in the world today.
A synthetic pitch is a mandatory requirement for any international game of hockey.
And to lay a pitch besides a huge piece of land, a regular tube well connection with proper drain system are the supplementary requirements.
The Sector 42 Stadium, that the Punjab government chose to hold its inaugural event in absence of a single hockey stadium of international specifications sin the State, has been nothing more than a compulsive choice.
The cash-rich Chandigarh Administration uses this huge sports complex more as an administrative complex than a sporting venue.
The change rooms, umpires and judges’ rooms in the main pavilion building of the stadium are now used as offices.
It is why, the organizers had to pitch in rooms on the other side of the stadium as change rooms for the teams. Electronic scoreboards do not work.
“Next year, we will hold the matches at six different venues in Punjab,” says Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir.
The Punjab Government has some of its new sports projects cleared by the centre.
These include new ultramodern hockey stadium at Talwandi Sabo, one of Takht cities of the Sikhs, and another such complex in Taran Tarn in the Majha belt.
Incidentally, Taran Tarn is the area to which Union Minister of State for Sports Manohar Singh Gill belongs.
The GNDU hockey complex and the Surjit Singh Hockey Stadium in Jalandhar would also be upgraded and provided floodlights and facilities meeting requirements of an international tournament.
Besides, a new six-a-side synthetic surface would also be laid at Sansarpur, once hockey nursery of the country.
Mid Day Mirror:
Did customs officer Negi allow smuggled goods to pass through?
By: Vinod Kumar Menon
Date: 2009-01-30
Mumbai:
inquiry: Mir Ranjan Negi and three others have been temporarily transferred to the chief commissioner's (airport) office
Mir Ranjan Negi was an observant hockey player in his time. But he wasn't so vigilant on January 17 when a smuggled consignment containing electronic gadgets, cigarettes and computer RAMs was not intercepted by him and other customs officials. The Vigilance Wing of the Central Board of Excise and Customs has initiated an inquiry against Negi, a customs superintendent, Assistant Commissioner (customs) G B Agashi, S Kudalkar (PRO) and Abhay Choduhary (Air Intelligence Unit) and they have been temporarily transferred. Senior customs officials confirmed the move and told MiD DAY that prima-facie the action against Negi and the others is for dereliction of duty. Smuggled goods That day, 35 people carrying the smuggled goods arrived from Dubai on Jet Airways (9W-543) and Cathay Pacific (CX-684) flights. Ideally, they should have been intercepted by the baggage section, of which Negi is in charge. But they were intercepted by the vigilance team while the bags were being screened in terminal 2A. The raiding team decided to zero in on those carriers who were carrying goods over Rs 5 lakh, which attracts prosecution, while some who were carrying goods worth less than Rs 5 lakh paid the customs duty of 150 per cent and got the consignment cleared. Spying gadgets However, the matter turned grave when the raiding team discovered 25 abandoned bags without the luggage tags. And to their horror around seven bags contained electronic spying gadgets (see box). The vigilance team is now checking the disembarkation cards, which may lead them to the owner of the bags. The smuggled goods were worth around Rs 2 crore. A senior officer probing the case said, "Such large scale smuggling is not possible without the connivance of custom officials at the airport." The officer said that most of the carriers were from Mumbai. Two of them have now been arrested. Negi told MiD DAY that he did not want to comment. "The matter is being investigated by the vigilance department," he said. And Agashi added, "It is a routine administrative action." Spy gadgetsThe seized electronic spy gadgets include fountain pens with inbuilt video camera, Cloning accessories used for mobiles, gadgets used for recording.
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