Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, June 4, 2007
Rising Star
SUMIT AGNIHOTRI had been trying to get into the Chandigarh district team for the last two years. He couldn't. This time he switched over to Mohali, and more than made up for the disappointment of not getting a look-in earlier. The young off spinner was not only picked, but he also returned with an impressive haul of 20 wickets from four matches to emerge the highest wicket-taker in the tournament.
His superb showing has also won him a berth in the u-17 squad as well.
"I wasn't disappointed when I was not selected for Chandigarh. In fact it motivated me to work harder and I am hap py that I performed to the best of my abilities," said Sumeet.
"I am bowling a lot in the nets and try ing to add some variations to my bowling," said Sumit. "He is a genuine all rounder. He bats quite well and is a good fielder as well," said his coach Nagesh at St John's Cricket Academy, where he is learning his lessons in the game.
The only area of concern for this young off spinner is his penchant for experimentation. "He tends to experiment a lot and gives away some free runs to the batsmen. But he would learn with time," said his coach.
He idolises Pakistan great Saqlain Mushtaq and Austrian all-rounder Michael Clark and hope to represent the country in times to come.
His superb showing has also won him a berth in the u-17 squad as well.
"I wasn't disappointed when I was not selected for Chandigarh. In fact it motivated me to work harder and I am hap py that I performed to the best of my abilities," said Sumeet.
"I am bowling a lot in the nets and try ing to add some variations to my bowling," said Sumit. "He is a genuine all rounder. He bats quite well and is a good fielder as well," said his coach Nagesh at St John's Cricket Academy, where he is learning his lessons in the game.
The only area of concern for this young off spinner is his penchant for experimentation. "He tends to experiment a lot and gives away some free runs to the batsmen. But he would learn with time," said his coach.
He idolises Pakistan great Saqlain Mushtaq and Austrian all-rounder Michael Clark and hope to represent the country in times to come.
Deepak looking forward to bloom in Boom
DEEPAK THAKUR had been the main cog in the Indian forward line not too long back. Somehow the mercurial forward lost his way somewhere and soon found himself out of the team. And once your are out, there is only one way to get a recall -perform in the domestic circuit. That's what this opportunistic striker did and the recognition of his hard work has come in the form of a place amongst the probables for the national squad for the upcoming six-nation tournament in Boom (Belgium).
Though delighted, Thakur isn't taking his place in the squad for granted. He adopts a rather realistic line when he says it would be quite tough to win back his place as the current team, which brought bronze medal from the Azlan Shah, was playing really well.
But he is not deterred by the tough challenge he would face from his peers; he is rather taking it as an inspiration.
"I will have to give it my best shot if I have to get back into the side. But I have worked really hard on my game since I was out and I think I will be up to the task," he said.
Talking about his skills, he said it's of ut most importance for any striker to score goals. " I have worked on my conversion skills and it has reflected in my domestic performance," he said.
Thakur last played for India in Commonwealth Games in March 2006. "We did not perform well as a team and my personal performance too wasn't up to the mark. So I lost my place in the side," he said.
But ever since he lost his place in the squad, he has been performing quite well in the domestic circuit. His team Indian Oil Corporation reached the finals of eight tournaments and won seven of them. What could have delayed his comeback is a couple of injuries he suffered last year.
But now he feels he is ready to hit back the field with a vengeance and lead the Indian forward line once again.
Though delighted, Thakur isn't taking his place in the squad for granted. He adopts a rather realistic line when he says it would be quite tough to win back his place as the current team, which brought bronze medal from the Azlan Shah, was playing really well.
But he is not deterred by the tough challenge he would face from his peers; he is rather taking it as an inspiration.
"I will have to give it my best shot if I have to get back into the side. But I have worked really hard on my game since I was out and I think I will be up to the task," he said.
Talking about his skills, he said it's of ut most importance for any striker to score goals. " I have worked on my conversion skills and it has reflected in my domestic performance," he said.
Thakur last played for India in Commonwealth Games in March 2006. "We did not perform well as a team and my personal performance too wasn't up to the mark. So I lost my place in the side," he said.
But ever since he lost his place in the squad, he has been performing quite well in the domestic circuit. His team Indian Oil Corporation reached the finals of eight tournaments and won seven of them. What could have delayed his comeback is a couple of injuries he suffered last year.
But now he feels he is ready to hit back the field with a vengeance and lead the Indian forward line once again.
Bhavan student skates to glory
11-year-old wins gold, bronze in Kolkata championship
AN 11-YEAR-OLD Bhavan Vidyalaya student has won gold and bronze medals at the 44th National Roller Skating Championship at Kolkata. Hardeep Singh Dhull's performance also fetched him a national champion award in his age group. He won gold in road race event and bronze in rink one event.
Hardeep took to skating at the age of four. "Skating was more of fun for me in the beginning. I started taking it seriously when I won a couple of medals in school," says Hardeep.
At the CBSE National Roller Skating meet in Chandigarh last year, Hardeep won gold in a road race and bronze in rink one event. He continued his superb run, striking gold and bronze in the North Zone Roller Skating Championship at Rohtak.
Hardeep owes his success to his mother, school management and his coach.
"My coach Jaswinder Singh has helped me a lot," says Hardeep. Singh feels Hardeep has the potential to achieve more success.
"He will get better with time. He has dominated the road race events he has participated in. His hard work has started to show results. But he will have to work harder if he has to stay at the top," says Jaswinder Singh.
Hardeep's mother Satyabala, a former national athletic champion, says: "He is always thinking of how to improve his performance. His discipline helps him in the rink. He has also been able to strike a balance be tween studies and sports."
Hardeep took up skating as a hobby but now it's his passion. "My aim is to play for the country in international tournaments," says Hardeep.
as a hobby but now it's his passion. "My aim is to play for the country in international tournaments," says Hardeep.
AN 11-YEAR-OLD Bhavan Vidyalaya student has won gold and bronze medals at the 44th National Roller Skating Championship at Kolkata. Hardeep Singh Dhull's performance also fetched him a national champion award in his age group. He won gold in road race event and bronze in rink one event.
Hardeep took to skating at the age of four. "Skating was more of fun for me in the beginning. I started taking it seriously when I won a couple of medals in school," says Hardeep.
At the CBSE National Roller Skating meet in Chandigarh last year, Hardeep won gold in a road race and bronze in rink one event. He continued his superb run, striking gold and bronze in the North Zone Roller Skating Championship at Rohtak.
Hardeep owes his success to his mother, school management and his coach.
"My coach Jaswinder Singh has helped me a lot," says Hardeep. Singh feels Hardeep has the potential to achieve more success.
"He will get better with time. He has dominated the road race events he has participated in. His hard work has started to show results. But he will have to work harder if he has to stay at the top," says Jaswinder Singh.
Hardeep's mother Satyabala, a former national athletic champion, says: "He is always thinking of how to improve his performance. His discipline helps him in the rink. He has also been able to strike a balance be tween studies and sports."
Hardeep took up skating as a hobby but now it's his passion. "My aim is to play for the country in international tournaments," says Hardeep.
as a hobby but now it's his passion. "My aim is to play for the country in international tournaments," says Hardeep.
Lake Club starts archery centre
APART FROM games like tennis, squash, rowing and swimming, the Lake Club is also providing lessons in archery to the youngsters. The club has started an archery coaching centre the only one in the city with a view to promoting the sport at the grassroots level. Around 25 children in 813 age group are taking their first lessons in the ancient sport. All of them have been picked up from different schools in the city. All children, who come to this centre, are residents of the surrounding areas of the Lake. They all are provided with free coaching and equipments.
"There is no dearth of talent… all we need is to exploit it. We regularly send our representatives to different schools in the city for talent hunting and developing interest among children. So far we have been able to attract 25 children," said Lake Club Gen eral Manager Reet Mohinder Singh. "The schools are however not cooperating. I have contacted many school principals over phone, but in vain," he said.
"We are aiming to increase the number of children to 200. Once we get this number, we will start an archery academy," he said.
At present the young archers have to content with Indian made wooden bows and arrows. The authorities are in process of importing equipment from abroad.
"We are trying to import fibre arrows and good bows from abroad. We have requested Archery Federation of India to import good equipment and supply it to this centre as they are exempted from custom duty, but they haven't helped us so far," said the GM.
The archers in the centre are being trained by Gurpal Singh, who himself is a former national medallist.
"There is no dearth of talent… all we need is to exploit it. We regularly send our representatives to different schools in the city for talent hunting and developing interest among children. So far we have been able to attract 25 children," said Lake Club Gen eral Manager Reet Mohinder Singh. "The schools are however not cooperating. I have contacted many school principals over phone, but in vain," he said.
"We are aiming to increase the number of children to 200. Once we get this number, we will start an archery academy," he said.
At present the young archers have to content with Indian made wooden bows and arrows. The authorities are in process of importing equipment from abroad.
"We are trying to import fibre arrows and good bows from abroad. We have requested Archery Federation of India to import good equipment and supply it to this centre as they are exempted from custom duty, but they haven't helped us so far," said the GM.
The archers in the centre are being trained by Gurpal Singh, who himself is a former national medallist.
I wasn't under any pressure…
I just played my natural game and that worked fine for me as well as the team — Rajpal Singh
RAJPAL SINGH, the citybased hockey player, played a crucial role in helping India make a podium finish in the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament and break what was becoming a too long string of painful defeats. His performance becomes all the more praiseworthy as he wasn't even in the scheme of things for the tournament at the outset. He wasn't shortlisted for the camp initially and was drafted in later, allegedly at the insistence of the new coach.
So did that provoke him to prove a point or put him under some pressure? "I wasn't under any pressure… I just played my natural game and that worked fine for me as well as my team," he said.
The fleet footed forward is one of the few players who has escaped the chop and change policy of the IHF after every tournament and is now a veteran of 85 matches.
He has played with the combination of Gagan Ajit Singh, Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh and looked equally as ease with that of youngsters like Shivender Singh, Gurbaaz and Roshan Minz in the Azlan Shah Tournament.
"I have played with most of the players in domestic circuit and we know each other's game pretty well. But it was still a wonderful experience to play for the country with them," he said. When asked to spell the reason behind the team's reasonable success, he didn't think twice before putting a finger on team spirit. "Success comes more easily when team plays as a unit and individuals play for team rather than for themselves. An individual may perform bril liantly but it wouldn't , count for much if the team fails. So one is successful only when the team succeeds," he said.
As for his personal goals, the gifted forward is determined to work harder on his strength and endurance so that he can make the most of his skills. "I am working really hard on improving my strength and endurance. You have to be very strong if you want to play hockey at the top," he said.
"I have been in the squad for sometime now and just want to carry on with that for as long as possible," he said.
So did that provoke him to prove a point or put him under some pressure? "I wasn't under any pressure… I just played my natural game and that worked fine for me as well as my team," he said.
The fleet footed forward is one of the few players who has escaped the chop and change policy of the IHF after every tournament and is now a veteran of 85 matches.
He has played with the combination of Gagan Ajit Singh, Deepak Thakur and Prabhjot Singh and looked equally as ease with that of youngsters like Shivender Singh, Gurbaaz and Roshan Minz in the Azlan Shah Tournament.
"I have played with most of the players in domestic circuit and we know each other's game pretty well. But it was still a wonderful experience to play for the country with them," he said. When asked to spell the reason behind the team's reasonable success, he didn't think twice before putting a finger on team spirit. "Success comes more easily when team plays as a unit and individuals play for team rather than for themselves. An individual may perform bril liantly but it wouldn't , count for much if the team fails. So one is successful only when the team succeeds," he said.
As for his personal goals, the gifted forward is determined to work harder on his strength and endurance so that he can make the most of his skills. "I am working really hard on improving my strength and endurance. You have to be very strong if you want to play hockey at the top," he said.
"I have been in the squad for sometime now and just want to carry on with that for as long as possible," he said.
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