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Principal Correspondent
IN A major boost to the ruling body of the Vidarbha Hockey Association (VHA), Nagpur bench of Bombay High Court has ordered restoration of voting rights of ‘51 life members’ in elections to the association.
Former VHA secretary Shyam Sharma had moved court in November 2016, two days before the association’s elections, claiming the newly added 51 life members as illegal. He demanded removal of the new life members who were included in the voters’ list for the 2016 elections.
The 51 life members were included in voters’ list in October 2016, acting on an order passed by Deputy Charity Commissioner in May 2015.
Sharma had approached the High Court requesting to set aside the Deputy Charity Commissioner’s order as it was presented before the executive committee on the day when elections were declared.
For the record, VHA secretary DS Karunashankar presented the order to the VHA executive 16 months after it was passed.
The High Court, on November 26, 2016 has granted stay on the Deputy Charity Commissioner’s order of granting membership and voting rights to 51 new members. It led to postponement of the elections by then election officer Shrigopal Soni, who claimed lack of legal clarity on HC order.
After months of legal battle, the High Court passed order in favour of VHA Secretary DS Karunashankar, on Tuesday.
“The Honourable High Court has passed the order in our favour. The court has allowed 51 life members to participate and vote in the elections,” Karunashankar told ‘The Hitavada’ on Tuesday afternoon.
VHA’s election is now likely to be held after Diwali. “We will plan to hold the elections after Diwali, may be in November,” said president Radheshyam Sarda.
THE ‘NEW 51 MEMBERS’
RC Nema, NM Dakaha, Tanvir Ahmed, BAR Naidu, Shoeb Parvez, Shankar Manchandioa, Raju Joseph, Apurva Sarkar, BR Naidu, RS Trivedi, SN Mishra, Surendra Mishra, KR Reddy, Suhail Arshad, Pradeep Nagarkar, Sunil Agrawal, Sanjay Pande, VB Datarkar, MA Waheed, Amresh Pramanik, Dilip Chougule, Dharamraj Kanojiya, Ashok Yadav, Satdev Mahadule, SR Tiwari, Prabhat Singh, Shailendra Jhazed, CS Iyer, Bernard Ekka, Gopal Thapa, MZ Beg, Altaf Ahmed, S Biswas, Rampal Thakur, Shyam Dubey, Imtiyaz Rizvi, Anil Daral, HB Kedar, Oswald Joseph, Madhu Salve, IC Sachdeva, Shyam Arora, Anjan Dey, VA Khan, MV Khan, A Salim, Mahendra Lakhanpal, Sushil Surve, Shaket Ali, PS Rajeshwar Rao, KT Bose.
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How the life members got back in VHA fold
On September 12, 1989, Joint Charity Commissioner Office, Nagpur had ordered GM Pillay to work as Incharge secretary of VHA after two change reports, one by the elected body and another by TN Sidhra (who had lost the secretary’s post in the elections), were filed with the competent authority.
The elected body then called an executive committee meeting on September 17, 1989 and it was decided to enroll 51 new life members. Since then till 2004, VHA was run by late Balraj Aher as President and GM Pillay as its Incharge secretary. Then in 2004-05 Arun Kokane of Gondia Hockey Association brought an order from Joint Charity Commissioner to hold elections of the association and a fresh body was elected then (in 2005).
But the court’s order also stated that the list of voters which was used in 1987 will be used in 2005 polls.
After the new VHA body took charge, GM Pillay submitted a letter on September 3, 2005, stating that during his tenure (in 1989) 51 life members were enrolled and the same should be added to the list used during the 2005 polls. But several members opposed it and Aher and Pillay had no other option but to move court.
Pillay submitted all the relevant documents and copy of minutes of the executive meeting during which new members were enrolled, to the court.
After years of legal battle, the Deputy Charity Commissioner office passed the order on May 25, 2015 in Pillay’s favour and asked the association to incorporate all the 51 members.
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Sept 4
NOT for nothing Harendra Singh is rated as the best available hockey coach in India at the moment. With over a decade of experience, matured coaching style and a no-nonsense attitude, Harendra Singh ticks all the boxes needed to be incharge of Indian men’s hockey team.
The post is vacant after Hockey India slammed the doors on Dutchman Roelant Oltmans. David John, Director High Performance has been made interim coach of the senior team.
Within hours of Oltmans’ sacking, social media was abuzz with support to Harendra Singh, the 2016 Men’s Junior World Cup winning coach. Having a coaching experience of 379 matches, Harendra Singh has the wherewithal to take the Indian team to a much better ranking in the world.
Most of the current and former India players, who had played under Harendra, think he is the best man at present for the top job. It is Hockey India and Sports Authority of India’s prerogative to pick the coach, but the backing Harendra is receiving should make him a strong candidate.
“Without an iota of doubt Harendra paaji is the best at the moment. I have played a lot of hockey under him. I love the way he dedicates himself for the game,” a current India player told ‘The Hitavada’.
“Harendra would be a good choice. His commitment level is 100 per cent on and off the field. He is a taskmaster on the field and doubles up as a friend, philosopher off the field,” the player added.
Those who have spent their formative years with Harendra talk about his belief in them. “He instills belief in us. He trusts players and their abilities,” another young player asserted.
Olympian Tushar Khandker, who was also assistant coach of the Indian team at Rio Olympics, felt that Harendra would be a good choice for chief coach’s job.
“At present, Harendra is the best coach in the Indian set up, that’s what I feel. However, it is upto Hockey India and SAI to take a decision,” said Khandker,
who played under Harendra for several years.
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Sept 2
THE sacking of Indian men’s hockey team’s coach Roelant Oltmans comes as a shock for the world but a few current players were against the 68-year-old Dutchman.
Hockey India took the tough decision after the three-day power-packed meeting ended on Saturday. The meeting was attended by Harbinder Singh, BP Govinda, Vasudevan Baskaran, Thoiba Singh, AB Subbaiah, Dr RP Singh, Joydeep Kaur, Sardar Singh, PR Sreejesh, Manpreet Singh, Roelant Oltmans, Jugraj Singh, Arjun Halappa, Scott Conway, David John, Elena Norman, Mariamma Koshy, Md Mushtaque Ahmad Rajinder Singh, Tapan Das, Bhola Nath Singh, Firoz Ansari and Gyanendro Ningombam.
Sources told ‘The Hitavada’, several players were against Oltmans and wanted him to go. Though the Indian hockey team emerged as a much fitter side under Oltmans, it’s the performance that mattered when the Hockey India Committee members took the decision. In last one and a half years, since Rio Olympics where India finished a lowly eighth, India’s title drought has continued in major tournaments.
There were podium finishes by the Indian team at the invitational Sultan Azlan Shah Cup in Ipoh, Malaysia and the Asian Champions Trophy gold in 2016.
“The sword was hanging over Oltmans’ head after India finished sixth at the Hockey World League Semi-Finals in London. Players were not against his training regimen but it was the end result that mattered,” a current player said, on condition of anonymity.
“Out of the 35 players, around 10 wanted him as coach as the fitness level had improved a lot. But the desired results were not coming,” the player added.
“Though no body is speaking openly, they will come forward in coming days,” he said.
By sacking Oltmans, Indian hockey has only continued its tradition. The KPS Gill-led regime had sacked German coach Gerhard Peter Rach before hockey India took over in 2008. After HI came into existence, the story continued. It has sacked Australian Ric Charlesworth, Spainard Jose Brasa, Australian Michael Nobbs, Terry Walsh, Dutchman Paul Van Ass and now Oltmans.
Surprise family celebration planned for city’s chess prodigy
By Paritosh Pramanik
NEWLY-CROWNED World Under-12 Cadet Chess champion Divya Deshmukh will be receiving a surprise celebration at home when she returns on Saturday evening.
Divya and her father Dr Jitendra will be arriving in Nagpur on Saturday at 4.30 pm.
“We will be receiving her at the airport. All family members and friends will be there. It’s a big moment for us,” said Divya’s mother Dr Namrata Deshmukh while talking to ‘The Hitavada’.
Eleven-year-old Divya Deshmukh, a student of Bhavan’s Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir, Civil Lines, clinched the girls Under-12 World Cadets Chess title at Pocos de Caldas, Brazil on Thursday.
In the 11th and final round, third seed Divya drew with top-seed compatriot Rakshitta Ravi to win the coveted title. She scored a total of 9.5 points out of 11 to help India win its only medal in the championship.
Divya, who has an ELO rating of 1993, emerged winner in eight games and drew three rounds to wrest the trophy.
“Divya is fond of Patodi Bhaji. We are planning to prepare her favourite food. I know she will be eager to munch her favourite Patodi Bhaji as she might be tired of the continental food while on tour. Her aunt will be preparing Kande pohe, too, as Divya likes it the most,” said Dr Namrata.
“It will not be a very big celebration. All the family members will have a small get-together at home. Her cousins from Wardha and Amravati, apart from here will be there. She would be surprised to see all of them together,” she added.
Elated by her daughter’s success Dr Namrata, who has sacrificed her practice for Divya’s chess career, said she would give her daughter a gift of her own choice.
“It (gift) will be of Divya’s choice only. Whatever she wants I will give her,” said Namrata.
After winning her first world title in 2014 in Durban, Divya had to be content with third place finishes in the next two editions.
But after she went under the wings of GM RB Ramesh at his Chennai based Chess Gurukul, Divya’s performance shot up which helped her win the title on Thursday in the U-12 age category. Total 58 players from 27 Federations took part in the competition.
Divya’s first World title (U-10) came at the World Youth Chess Championship in Durban in 2014.
“Every coach has played a crucial part in Divya’s successful journey so far. She has learnt a lot from every coach.
“Under RB Ramesh sir she has gained much more knowledge. As she is growing, her understanding is improving. As a player she is maturing fast and taking her own decision. Ramesh sir is giving personal attention to her. We are not bothered about ELO ratings. If she keeps on performing well her rating will automatically improve,” said Divya’s mother on her daughter’s journey ahead.
Divya has so far won the U-10 Asian blitz event in 2014 after winning the rapid and standard formats in the Asian Schools Championship in 2012.
In 2013, Divya became the youngest woman FIDE Master. She has also won gold in the blitz section, silver in rapid and bronze in the classical version in the Asian Youth Championship held in Uzbekistan in April last year.
By Paritosh Pramanik
24-8-2017
AFTER months of delay, the much-awaited steeplechase pit was finally added to the newly-constructed synthetic track at Divisional Sports Complex in Mankapur. The work for synthetic track was completed a few months ago but there was no provision of steeplechase which had irked several athletic administrators as well as athletes.
Since the beginning, Deputy Director of Sports Subhash Rewatkar has been saying that steeplechase pit was in the plan and would be added after completion of the track work.
A couple of months ago the steeplechase pit, along with shot put, long jump and triple jump pits, have been constructed at the stadium. “This brings an end to the work as far as synthetic track is concerned. This will be the first venue all over Maharashtra where two shot put pits as well as two long jump/triple jump pits have been constructed. No other venue in the entire state has provision of two pits,” Rewatkar told ‘The Hitavada’. However, there would be no synthetic track warm-up area. Either a lawn or chat field, which is by the synthetic track, will be used for warm up.
FUNDS EXHAUSTED
Rewatkar said that the entire fund had been exhausted. “We have utilised entire Rs 19 crore on this project. But the work of pavilion building, electricity is still pending. We have demanded another Rs 10 crore. Around Rs 4-5 crore will be utilised for completion of pavilion building and electricity works,” said Rewatkar. He added that the Divisional Commissioner’s office has asked for more funds from the State Government.
NO GALLERIES
With no funds, the proposal of construction of galleries around the synthetic track, too, has to be postponed. Hundreds of tree saplings have been planted near the boundary wall of the synthetic track to provide shade to the spectators.
“Right now we don’t have funds. So, the proposal of construction of galleries, at present, has been put off. Right now we have planted several tree saplings which will help in maintaining greenery around the area. It will also provide shelter to spectators during events,” reasoned Rewatkar.
This means that the under-construction office cum pavilion building can accommodate only 500 spectators in the stands.
INAUGURATION AWAITED
The synthetic track is ready for competitions and authorities are awaiting Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ time to inaugurate the track. At present students of Krida Prabodhini are using the track for practicing.
Proposal sent to government under ‘Khelo India’ Scheme
By Paritosh Pramanik
23-8-2017
WITH fresh hopes, Vidarbha Hockey Association (VHA) has once again submitted a proposal for astro turf to the Director of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Maharashtra, Pune under Government of India’s ‘Khelo India’ Infrastructure Scheme.
The first proposal of VHA got ‘lost’ after change of guard at the top level. Now the department has asked them to submit a fresh proposal under the new scheme.
Determined to bring an astro turf in Nagpur, the Radheshyam Sarda-led body is leaving no stone unturned and has once again submitted a detailed proposal. Secretary DS Karunashankar submitted the proposal a couple of days ago to the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs Office, Pune.
VHA had earlier submitted proposals under the Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme to the District Sports Office and other concerned government departments. Letters and proposals were drafted and dispatched to Maharashtra Government in January last which had recommended financial grant for the project to the Union Sports Ministry.
The School Education and Sports Department, Government of Maharashtra, on April 22, 2016 had forwarded VHA’s proposal to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, New Delhi requesting them to grant 100 per cent financial assistance for synthetic playing surface under Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS).
“Please refer to the proposal of Vidarbha Hockey Association, Nagpur for granting 100% financial assistance for Synthetic Playing Surface Under Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) forwarded herewith. You are requested to sanction the said proposal,” the letter, signed by SN Joshi, Under Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, had stated.
However, the proposal was caught in the proverbial bureaucratic red-tape. The elevation of the then Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal as Chief Minister of Assam further added to the hurdles. VHA’s representative had met Sonowal before Assam elections but after that the process came to a grinding halt.
Later, VHA submitted all the required documents to the concerned department. However, to their bad luck, the ministry decided to rename the Urban Sports Infrastructure Scheme (USIS) and asked VHA to submit their proposal in ‘Khelo India Infrastructure Scheme’, it has been learnt.
In the meantime, VHA president Sarda met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and submitted a letter requesting him to look into the matter.
“CM Fadnavis assured me to look into the matter. He has directed concerned officials to speed up the work. Now our proposal has once again gained pace,” Sarda told ‘The Hitavada’.
Under the ‘Khelo India Sports Infrastructure Scheme’, VHA can get a maximum admissible grant of Rs 5.50 crore for synthetic hockey field.
With Fadnavis himself taking the initiative, an astro turf in the heart of the city could be a reality. It would be great for the players who are yearning for years to practice on synthetic turf.
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Bought for Rs 47 lakh, the Bengal Warriors player has responsibilities to fulfil
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Aug 9
MONEY can’t buy everything in life, goes a saying. But without money, one can’t fulfil one’s dreams. Now, with the advent of several franchisee-based leagues, players have started earning big money and to fulfil their dreams.
The Pro Kabaddi League, in its fifth season, too, has helped the players make out a good living while playing for their teams only for half of the year.
With big pay packets, players, who once used to find it difficult to make their ends meet, are now fulfilling their dreams. But their priorities have changed — it is no more bungalows and SUVs but repairing dilapidated houses, performing marriages of their brothers/sisters and sending their younger siblings to reputed schools.
One such person to have his priorities right is Ran Singh, the dependable all-rounder of Bengal Warriors. He spent three seasons with the Abhishek Bachchan-owned Jaipur Pink Panthers before the Bengal Warriors fetched him for Rs 47.5 lakh in auction.
‘The Hitavada’ talked to Ran Singh, who knows what to do with the amount he would be getting for his six-month ‘job’.
Ran Singh has his task cut out. He will first repair his dilapidated house in Punjab and then perform wedding of his younger brother next year.
The amount Ran Singh has fetched means a lot to him. “For first two years I got only Rs 2 lakh. This amount is really big. It means a lot to me,” he said in an exclusive interview with ‘The Hitavada’, before Bengal Warriors’ match against Bengaluru Bulls, on Wednesday.
Being the eldest in the house, responsibilities are also huge on Ran Singh’s big shoulders. And the former Punjab Police player is shouldering the task efficiently.
“I will use some part of my earnings to repair my house. I have a younger brother. He is growing and I will have to perform his marriage. Then whatever amount is left, I may purchase a Mahindra Scorpio,” Ran Singh chalked out his plans.
Ran Singh is playing kabaddi for past 18 years. He loves to stay in his village and perform household works when not on tour.
“When not touring with the team I love to stay in my village. I spend my eight months at home and at my village. I do training there and perform household works,” said Ran Singh, who has scored over 100 tackle points while playing for Jaipur.
The Punjab lad had a special praise for his former boss Abhishek Bachchan. “He is an excellent person. He used to motivate us all the time, used to spend a lot time with us. He always used to enquire about our needs and was more than eager to bail us out from difficult situations. He was very supportive,” said Ran Singh, who worked for Punjab Police for five years,.
“I used to play circle kabaddi. During that time I went to play a tournament in Canada where I had to spend around eight months. As I was unable to get that much leave from my Police Department I had to resign from the job,” he revealed.
From eight teams to 12 this season, PKL has grown up in its stature. But Ran Singh feels the organisers should stick to the 12-team format. “I think this is fine. More teams should not be included as the tournament would become lengthy. At present we spend around six months with teams, three months of training followed by three months of actual tournament. I think expanding the tournament further would increase the risk of injuries to players. So, this 12-team format is perfect for kabaddi,” he said.
To popularise the game, Ran Singh felt that the game should be developed at grassroots. “We should promote kabaddi at grassroots. Kids should get more opportunities. The KBD Juniors is a great thing. Such meets for school students should be increased and encouraged,” he signed off.
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Aug 10
SPORTSPERSONS dream of achieving glory. They put in their sweat and blood during training to make sure they don’t falter at the final hurdle.
Some get satisfied after fulfilling their ultimate dream. But, there are a few for whom the hunger to win medals only for the country never ends. They want to keep fetching medals one after the other.
Manjeet Chillar, a professional kabaddi player, belongs to that group of sportspersons who always wants to put country first.
Despite winning gold medals at 2012 Asian Beach Games, 2014 Asian Games, 2014 Asian Indoor Games, World Cup 2016, apart from yellow metals at 2010, 2011, 2012 nationals and above all 2015 Arjuna Award, Manjeet Chillar, the Jaipur Pink Panthers skipper, still wants more. He wants to win more medals for India.
In an exclusive interview with ‘The Hitavada’ Manjeet said he is hungry to do more for the country and never hankers for personal achievements despite achieving so much in life.
“It feels great to win an Arjuna Award and so many gold medals. But I want to win more medals for India. My hunger to win medals for the country will never diminish,” said Manjeet.
Born to a wrestler father, Manjeet, was sent to akhadas at a very young age in his home town in Bahadurgarh, in Jhajhar district. “My late father Jaiprakash was a wrestler and I too was inclined towards wrestling since my childhood. I went to the famous ‘Guru Hanumanji ka Aakhada’, which has produced several Olympians, for my initial training. But as luck has it, I seriously got injured and was sent back home,” Manjeet narrated his wrestling days.
But wrestling’s loss was kabaddi’s gain as Manjeet started playing kabaddi at local level. “I then started playing kabaddi and within months of training I got selected for the junior team of Haryana state,” said Manjeet who works with Northern Railway and is posted at New Delhi.
“My wrestling stint helped me a lot in kabaddi. I had tremendous strength in my arms and my grip was very strong which helped me in easy tackling and even during my raids,” Manjeet, who is playing kabaddi since 2003, explained.
His unparalleled performance in the junior nationals fetched him a place in the Indian junior team and the rest is history.
Manjeet started Pro Kabaddi with Puneri Paltan and then moved to Bengaluru Bulls. He captained both the teams and, in Season 5, is representing Jaipur Pink Panthers.
Manjeet, who is also the vice-captain of the Indian kabaddi team, is not losing sleep thinking of leading the national team. “It doesn’t matter whether I am captain or vice-captain of the national team. For me, it is the country first. I want to win as many medals as I can for India. Nothing matters for me more than my country,” said Manjeet who won the Arjuna Award in 2015 along with cricketer Rohit Sharma, Indian hockey captain PR Sreejesh and gymnast Dipa Karmakar to name a few.
The all-rounder, who has won Asian Games and Asian Indoor Games kabaddi gold medal in 2014 wants kabaddi to be included in Olympics.
“Kabaddi is a very popular game. It has now grown more all over the world. I think it is the right time to include it in Olympics. The game attracts spectators and the rules are very easy to understand. If included, it will also increase India’s chance of winning a gold medal in the Olympics,” Manjeet concluded.
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, Aug 7
HIS replies were short, quick and crisp, just like his raids. Pardeep Narwal, celebrated raider of the Patna Pirates, is a simple 20-year-old ‘man’ from Haryana, who is spearheading his franchisee in the Pro Kabaddi League with élan.
In a brief chat with ‘The Hitavada’ before embarking to Ahmedabad for their next round matches, Narwal said Patna’s win over Bengaluru Bulls was a pleasing one. They were confident of coming out victors against the ‘home’ team.
“We were confident of winning. The team played well. I got the opportunity to convert my raids successfully and earn points for my team,” he said. For the record, Narwal collected 15 raid points in his team’s thumping 46-32 win over Bulls.
The 20-year-old raider has a strong body with brute power. When asked from where does he get the strength, Narwal replied, “it’s all about training. I practice twice daily under the guidance of my coach. It is hard training, daily, and that helps me in building my strength.”
What does he eat to build muscles and strength? The diet is as simple as the person himself. “I eat sabzi, roti, dal, milk and curd.”
Born and brought up in Haryana, Narwal’s liking for milk is obvious. The 2016 World Cup gold medal winner used to gulp down ‘gallons’ at home but it has come down to ‘litres’ on tours.
“At home I drink a lot of milk. But the quantity reduces when I am on tour. Back home I get pure milk and here I have to drink those from packets. But I have to adjust,” he said sheepishly.
Patna Pirates, the two-time defending champions, have been unbeatable so far this season and Narwal felt they would continue to do so with such a strong line-up.
“We are performing well and are playing as a unit. Monu Goyat, Jaideep, Sachin Shingade, Vishal Mane are the some of the players who have the capability to turn the tables any moment.”
For Narwal, the most valuable player of Season 4, Gujarat Fortunegiants are the strongest in the 12-team competition.
“All team are strong but I feel the strongest is the Ahmedabad team (Gujarat Fortunegiants). They have some good players and are good at attacking and also in defence. But I hope we would tackle them well,” he said.
On retaining the title, Narwal said, “So far we have won three out of three matches. Hope we continue in the same manner. If we continue our good work we will definitely retain the title,” he concluded.
Stadium to come up at Divisional Sports Complex
By Paritosh Pramanik
FINALLY, there is a good news for hockey lovers of city as well as of entire Vidarbha. The long-cherished dream of city players of displaying their skills on an astro turf is going to be a reality in a couple of years.
After the first-ever Athletics Synthetic Track at Divisional Sports Complex in Mankapur, Divisional Commissioner Anup Kumar has okayed the proposal of Hockey Astro Turf, too. The astro turf proposal got green signal during a meeting held on July 5.
A hockey stadium will also be built at the sports complex with Krida Suvidha Nidhi (Sports facilities fund).
“We have okayed the proposal of hockey astro turf at Divisional Sports Complex. A detailed proposal will be forwarded to the Director of Sports and Youth Affairs, Pune,” Anup Kumar informed ‘The Hitavada.’
Talking about the hockey stadium he added that the Divisional Sports Complex would be getting Rs 9 crore under the Krida Suvidha Nidhi. “We will use that fund in construction of the stadium.”
The hockey stadium will come up near the synthetic athletics track.
Deputy Director of Sports Subhash Rewatkar said that two acres land near the synthetic track has been marked for hockey astro turf stadium.
“A master plan of the stadium will be prepared and then it will be submitted to the NIT who will build the stadium,” Rewatkar said.
The astro turf can become a reality within two years if the synthetic track work is taken into consideration. The track and related infrastructure came up with a rapid pace once the Devendra Fadnavis Government gave green signal to the development of sports and infrastructure in the city.
PROPOSAL TO BUILD WARM-UP AREA
FOR ATHLETICS
ON Wednesday, Rewatkar held a meeting with NIT officials and Dr Sharad Suryawanshi, vice-president, Maharashtra Athletics Association and other office-bearers for construction of warm-up area near the synthetic track.
Suryawanshi has requested to construct a 400-metre warm-up track adjacent to the main track. Though paucity of land will be a big factor in fulfilling this demand a 200-metre warm-up area is possible near the synthetic track. “We will try for the best,” Rewatkar assured.
Principal Correspondent
THE synthetic athletics track coming up at the Divisional Sports Complex, Mankapur has inched a step closer to getting qualifying certificate from world athletics governing body. Members of Athletics Federation of India (AFI) recently visited the venue and after inspecting the track and its surroundings have informed the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) about its completion.
The newly-laid synthetic track and the pavilion which is being constructed at a total cost of Rs 25 crore has now received Class II Certification and has been listed on the IAAF website after it was updated on July 1, 2017.
It’s now just a matter of time when the synthetic track sees light of the day and athletes from Nagpur and Vidarbha region show their mettle on the track.
“A letter has been sent to the construction company who would pay the certification fees to the IAAF. After that we would get the completion certificate from the IAAF and AFI,” Deputy Director of Sports Subhash Rewatkar told ‘The Hitavada.’
After Balewadi, Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and Mumbai, Nagpur’s would be the fifth synthetic track in the state.
“After getting the certificate we will seek Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ dates for inauguration of the track,” informed Rewatkar. Competitions will follow soon, he added.
In September the Under-14 to Under-19 age categories athletics competitions will be held at the synthetic track. The championships will be organised by District Sports Office and Deputy Director of Sports and Youth Services, Nagpur. In December Under-14 nationals athletics meet for boys is also allotted to Nagpur by School Games Federation of India. A meeting of Games Officials was held in Pune on May 24 where it was decided to allot the state meet to Nagpur.
It has been almost two decades when the land for the sports complex was allotted by the government. After construction of indoor complex, the work order for synthetic track was given to New Delhi based Sports Infratech Private Limited for a total cost of Rs 17.53 crore. But the company failed to keep its promise and showed inability to complete the work. The administration then canceled contract with the Delhi-based company and roped in Nagpur’s Musle Constructions which took the work of laying sand on the track.
Later in September 2016, Nagpur’s Super Construction Company took the contract for a total cost of Rs 12.66 crore.
The 400-metre synthetic track, which is of international standard, has been built on 8517 square metres of land. It has nine lanes on the east side and 10 lanes on the west side. Each lane is of 1.22 metre.
On the west side, the 10th lane is for 100 metres races. On the same side, two long jump sand pits as well as a triple jump pits are being constructed.
Events like shot put, pole vault, hammer throw, javelin throw will be held on the north and south sides of the track. The water pit for 3000 metres steeple chase event will be constructed later on the north side of the track.
Bermuda grass, brought from Panchgaon, Umrer has been laid on 7466.30 square metre for football field which is of international size. The grass is being laid in the inner area of the synthetic track.
Below the Bermuda grass, layers of black cotton soil, sand, red soil have been used. Between the red soil, filtration pipes have been laid for underground drainage system.
The football field has 35 water sprinklers to water the field.
The entire project was overlooked by Malaysian engineers. Both the engineers were appointed by International Association of Athletics Federations. All the construction material has being imported from Germany, it was learnt. The work of pavilion will start soon.
The pavilion will be constructed at a total cost of Rs 11.34 crore. It will have a seating capacity of 35,000-40,000 spectators.
Despite improper facilities, VHA sr boys win hearts with stupendous performance
By Paritosh Pramanik
THOUGH they once again failed to make the next round, the senior boys hockey team of Vidarbha Hockey Association (VHA) showed remarkable improvement in their performance in the Hockey India’s Senior National Championship at Lucknow.
Vidarbha’s boys team failed to qualify for the quarter-finals from Pool C with two wins and three losses, finishing third in the five-team pool. But their performance in this year’s tournament was far better than what it used to be. Their improved performance definitely won many a heart in the city. Gone are the days when Vidarbha team was treated as an easy meat in the competition where opponents used to feast upon them scoring goals in heap.
This year at Lucknow, the opponents were surprised with gallant effort shown by the Mujahid Khan-led senior team.
The team played fearlessly and believed in themselves and their abilities. Unlike previous years, most of the team members were accustomed to playing on astro turf. Most of the players were from Dhyanchand Sports Academy, the district and VHA league champions. The team regularly participates in tournaments all over the country. That experience helped them a lot in the nationals.
The goalkeeper skipper Mujahid, too, was an experienced campaigner who is a regular member of Central Railways Headquarters, Mumbai team.
The conditioning camp organised by Vidarbha Hockey Association, too, helped the team in the tournament a lot. The boys concentrated on building their speed, stamina stopping and hitting which helped them in the Lucknow meet. That was the reason Vidarbha thrashed Sports Authority of Gujarat Hockey Academy 3-1 and drubbed Uttarakhand 4-1.
Their narrow defeats to Coorg and Central Industrial Security Force (lost both matches 2-3) too showed their will to fight against teams boasting of players of national repute.
Vidarbha’s performance will get better only if the players get an opportunity to play regularly on astro turfs.
“We need to play more on astro turf. We have players who can perform against any team but they need to play on astro turf regularly,” Dhyanchand Sports Academy coach Lalit Singh had said during the coaching camp.
Similar views were expressed by Vidarbha coach Syyed Imtiyaz Rahim after the team’s second game against Coorg.
“We matched their (Coorg’s) strength. We were dominating in the match but we failed to stop the ball during penalty corners. Stopping and hitting on astro turf is totally different as compared to that on mud or chat field. Lack of astro turf in our region is the reason for our team’s failure,” Rahim said.
Singh had rightly predicted that the team would spring surprise and would never lose by the margins which it used to be in previous nationals. “They will not lose by 15-20 goals that’s for sure. They will give tough fight to their opponents,” Singh had said. And the players did the same, posing challenge to their opponents.
Players like defender Asif Rahim, Sayyad Fahim, midfielder Wasim Khan, forward Sakib Rahim, Khalid Ahmed, Zaim Khan to name a few are all excellent players and have proved their might in the meet where Vidarbha recorded two wins.
Only senior boys team recorded two victories for Vidarbha. Other teams, sub-junior, junior boys and girls as well as senior girls, all failed to register even a single win in Hockey India’s nationals this year.
Junior boys team suffered the biggest defeat when they lost to Services Sports Control Board 1-16 while the junior girls were thrashed by Hockey Andhra 0-15. The senior girls too were given a 0-15 hiding by Andhra in Rohtak, Haryana. The sub-junior boys’ performance too was pathetic as they lost to Coorg 0-13 and to Bengal 0-15.
It was only the senior boys team that saved Vidarbha the blushes with their stupendous performance. This, despite the absence of training on astro turf or top class facilities.
VHA is taking steps for an astro turf at its playfield but the proposal is still at a nascent stage. After doing the bureaucratic rounds, VHA’s file is still caught in the red tape.
Hockey lovers and players are still pinning hopes on Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Given his love for sports and his efforts in setting up SAI centre in the city, the players of the national game, too, are hoping for Fadnavis’ kind eye.
n By Paritosh Pramanik
DRIBBLING the white hockey balls, with dimples on its shell, on the green lawns and astro turfs, Vishal Sangani and Saurabh Mishra balanced their studies with the national game to bring smiles on their parents’ faces.
The Dhyanchand Sports Academy players and Dr Ambedkar College, Deekshabhoomi students excelled in the Higher Secondary Certificate Examination and passed out with flying colours.
Sangani, who plays as a forward with Dhyanchand Sports Academy, secured 87 per cent from commerce stream. Similarly, goalkeeper Mishra garnered 82 per cent. Both the players have represented Vidarbha in national meets.
Mishra was the goalkeeper of Dhyanchand team which won the inter-district title at Chandrapur a couple of months back and is second goalkeeper in the current Vidarbha senior team which will be participating in the nationals at Lucknow from June 5.
Vishal, son of LIC agent Kiran, wants to become a financial advisor after completing his graduation in commerce. “I want to do an MBA course and after that will take financial advisory field,” he said.
Mishra, whose father Dinesh is a school bus driver with Swaminarayan, too, wants to complete his graduation from commerce. “I want to complete my commerce graduation first and then will decide on future.”
Both said they hardly studied for hours. “I used to study for around half an hour daily and used to solve accounts problems late in the night,” said Sangani. “After returning home from evening practice I used to go to bed after dinner. After an hour or two I used to wake up and solve problems,” he added.
Mishra said, “I used to attend only Sunday tuition classes. I never studied for hours. Rather, I preferred playing hockey.”
By Paritosh Pramanik
NAGPUR, May 18
WITH the World League Final just a few months away, goalkeeper Akash Chikte wants to cement his place in the Indian team by performing well in the forthcoming 3 Nations Invitational Tournament as well as in Men’s Hockey World League Semi Final.
Hockey India announced Indian men’s team for the 3 Nations Invitational Tournament to be held in Dusseldorf, Germany from June 1 and Men’s Hockey World League Semi Final starting June 15 at London.
The Manpreet Singh-led 18-member team will play two matches each against hosts Germany and Belgium. India are grouped with Canada, Netherlands, Pakistan and Scotland in Pool B in the World League Semi-Finals.
With No 1 goalkeeper PR Sreejesh out of the squad with knee injury, the Indian goalpost will be manned by Akash Chikte and Vikash Dahiya.
Akash, in all probability, will be the first choice goalkeeper in both the tournaments.
“This will be make or break tour for me. If I perform well during this Europe tour, I will gain a lot of confidence and cement my place in the side for the World League Finals,” 24-year-old Chikte said while talking to ‘The Hitavada’ from Bengaluru where the team is undergoing conditioning camp.
The World League Final will be held in Bhubaneswar from December 1-10.
Chikte, who played the Sultan Azlan Shah meet, said the tournament was a turning point of his career. The Yavatmal-born goalkeeper had made his debut at Malaysia in 2015 where India won the bronze medal. Though he could not better his performance this time, again winning the bronze, Chikte said he has learnt a lot from the Azlan Shah meet.
“Azlan Shah meet has been the turning point in my career. I have learned a lot through this tournament and it will remain very close to my heart. But I want to win gold in such tournaments and am working hard in improving myself,” said the former Vidarbha goalkeeper.
The lanky lad from BEG, Pune said the Indian team is working hard to iron out its flaws. “The coach and support staff are working hard on us and so are all the players. We have to increase our conversion rate (field goals as well as PC conversions). The drag flickers are trying out several variations and we goalkeepers are also working hard on saving penalty corners,” informed Chikte.
“We are also watching videos of other teams and planning accordingly,” he added.
In the World League Semi-Finals India are grouped with Pakistan, Netherlands and Poland in Group B and the Indian custodian said they are preparing well to face these teams.
“Yes, it will be tough (against these top teams) but we are working hard in training sessions. We are concentrating on scoring quick goals and improving our ball possession,” he concluded.
The Squad
Goalkeepers: Akash Chikte, Vikas Dahiya. Defenders Pardeep Mor, Kothajit Singh, Surender Kumar, Rupinderpal Singh, Harmanpreet Singh. Midfielders: Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (Vice Captain), S K Uthappa, Satbir Singh, Sardar Singh, Manpreet Singh (Captain), Harjeet Singh. Forwards: Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil, Talwinder Singh, Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh.
By Paritosh Pramanik
VIDARBHA Hockey Association (VHA) is always in news, most of the times for wrong reasons. Be it not holding elections of the executive body or not maintaining the playfield, or not holding regular tournaments, VHA has earned a bad name for itself in the past couple of years.
If this was not enough, now even the players have started accusing them of serious breaches which would further tarnish the association’s image.
Members of senior women’s hockey team have complained of being left starving while on their way to Rohtak to participate in the Hockey India’s Senior Women’s National Championship (Division B).
After losing to Hockey Himachal and playing a 1-1 draw with Jammu and Kashmir VHA women’s team returned to the city on April 17.
Immediately on their return, a few annoyed players of the team have made a written complaint to VHA stating that they were left starving while on their way to Rohtak, allegedly by the team manager Reena Samudre.
‘The Hitavada’ has in its possession a copy of the signed complaint which the players submitted to VHA on Monday. They have blamed Reena Samudre for not providing dinner while on their way to Rohtak. The complaint was received by VHA joint secretary Pramod Jain but no further steps were taken.
As per the complaint the team reached Delhi late and their connecting train to Rohtak, too, was running late by a few hours. The team reached Rohtak well past midnight and had to sit outside the stadium till 2.30 am, it has been learnt.
“We left Nagpur for New Delhi on April 12 night. We had our lunch next afternoon (April 13) at Gwalior and reached Delhi same night. We had train to Rohtak from Delhi at around 10.30 pm.
“As all players were hungry we asked Reena madam for dinner but she refused,” said one of
the players on condition of anonymity.
To their utter shock, the players were told they should have saved some food from their lunch for dinner.
“We were told by the manager that we should have saved some food from our lunch. We did not get any food whole night as we reached the venue (Rohtak) well past midnight. It was only on 14th morning that we got the breakfast,” the player narrated
the ordeal.
The player also complained that the manager was accompanied by her family members which included her four-year
old kid.
“Against the rules, two of the family members accompanied the manager and stayed with her. She (manager) accused us of creating discord among the team which was not the case. She talked very rudely and at times used abusive language,” the player alleged.
VHA Secretary DS Karunashankar denied any such happening. When informed that a complaint letter has been handed over to joint secretary Jain, Karunashankar said, “I met Jain today but he did not talk of any such complaint letter.”
