Emotions flooded former England skipper and commentator Nasser Hussain’s mind as he made his way to the pitch at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Friday. Born in then-Madras in 1968, Hussain shares a special bond with the city – he spent the six years of his life in Chennai before moving to the UK.
Incredibly, in the mid-1980s, Hussain even scored a few hundreds at Chepauk as a TNCA league cricketer. “I’m very pleased to be back in the place of my birth. I think I was born in a hospital just over the other side of the stadium. Actually, I didn’t realise that. It was Ashwin who told me about that the other day when I saw him,” Hussain told TOI on Friday.
The 48-year-old was sad to see the devastating effects of Cyclone Vardah but lauded the people of Chennai for coming up with a “magnificent” rescue act.
“It’s obviously been difficult to see the devastating damage from the cyclone over the last couple of days. But the community spirit from the people of Chennai, the way they have been trying to clear up the trees on the road has been absolutely magnificent,” Hussain said.
An honourary member of the Madras Cricket Club (MCC), Hussain wants to soak in the atmosphere here over the next five days.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports News> Cricket News / by Bagwati Prasad / TNN / December 17th, 2016
It all started on the 2nd of October last year when I chanced upon an article on a sports news website. It told the story of India’s first Olympic swimmer, Shamsher Khan, who represented the country in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Prior to that, he had set national records in all four strokes, or categories, as well as in water polo and diving, making him the only Indian to do so!
One of his contemporaries happens to be Milkha Singh, whose victories are celebrated and remembered by the entire country. On the other hand, Mr. Khan languishes in anonymity. Nobody in the country knows his name or is even aware of his whereabouts. The article identifies his village as Islampur, situated in rural Andhra Pradesh.
After reading the article, I was determined to document his untold story on camera. I decided to visit his village along with four of my friends and attempted to make a documentary on the forgotten legend.
Over the next few weeks, we pieced together Shamsher, our tribute to India’s greatest swimmer. In a series of interviews, we conversed with his contemporaries, family members, well-wishers and finally, the man himself. We encountered an interesting variety of opinions not just about his life, but also about the lack of recognition sportspersons get in India. What started as a documentation of the life of one forgotten sportsman became the story of countless unknown athletes who struggle to get by on the back of their glorious achievements.
In the end, we were faced with difficult questions about the current condition of sports in the country, to which we found no easy answers. Our only hope is to spread more awareness about Shamsher Khan, and his services to a nation that refused to recognise him.
Shamsher: The Forgotten Legend | A documentary by Bharat Misra
Blue Pencil Entertainment
Published on Jan 22, 2016
He represented India at the Olympics for the first time in swimming. He was once the national record holder in all strokes.
He saw two wars during his service in the Indian army…and then, he disappeared from limelight.
Watch as we trace the life of the legendary Shamsher Khan, who lies forgotten in today’s India, like so many gifted sports personalities…
Former Olympian and member of the Competitions Committee in the International Hockey Federation, Munir Sait, has been nominated as the Tournament Director for the Oceania Zone Olympic qualifier to be held at Brisbane from September 11 to 16.
This is the last of the continental competitions to decide the automatic qualifiers for the Olympics. – Hockey Correspondent.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport / August 29th, 2007
Ajgar Ali (left) and Mohammed Musthafa in Siliguri on Thursday
Siliguri:
Ever since they took the lead on Day I, Sheikh Ajgar Ali and Mohammed Musthafa never had to look back, emerging winners of the Biswa Bangla JK Tyre Himalayan Drive V – Tri-Nation 4-Wheeler TSD Rally – that concluded here on Thursday.
After driving more than 1250 km through forests, riverbeds, mountain roads and dirt tracks across India, Bhutan and Nepal over five days, the duo lifted the coveted HD 5 trophy.
Ajgar and Musthafa – the reigning National TSD (Time, Speed Distance) Rally champions – finished with 174 to win the competition for the second time. They had won the inaugural edition back in 2013. Deep Dutta and Prakash Muthusamy finished second, while Ashish Budhia and Calcutta’s Arindam Ghosh came third in the rally.
Talking about the experience, Ajgar, who comes from the village of Dighasipur (in Haldia), felt that things were more challenging for them on the first two days.
“The competition sector was really tough… The terrain was challenging. In Bhutan and Nepal the roads were really, really difficult. But I think it was far more challenging on Day I and II. Really hectic…,” the 36-year-old said after the prize distribution ceremony at a shopping mall.
Anurag Srivastava, district magistrate, Darjeeling, was the chief guest.
Ajgar added: “We started here (in Siliguri) and went to Paro. Thereafter, we went to Thimpu, then back to Paro again… Then Darjeeling, Hile (in Nepal) and back to Siliguri… So, one should understand how tough it was.”
Ajgar and Musthafa had to brave temperature of three-degrees Celsius in Paro. “In Nepal too, it wasn’t easy. The temperature was around 4-5 degrees Celsius,” Ajgar said.
“But thanks to the Himalayan Rally back in October, where the temperature was some minus five or six (degrees Celsius), we could survive the conditions in Paro and Nepal. That experience certainly helped.”
Ajgar’s navigator Musthafa thinks the duo were under more pressure, having taken the lead on the first day. “Look, this event was far more challenging for us because our performance in the past events weren’t too good.
“If you are the favourites in a competition, there’s bound to be extra pressure on you… The pressure of expectations… So, in that sense, the first day’s lead added to our pressure because everyone’s focus was on us and we were the team that others chased. Maintaining the lead was really difficult, from Day I to Day V.
“The rally was well and truly a roller-coaster…
“We, therefore, decided that we would just not look at the results and instead, concentrate on the basics. In any case, Ajgar and I share a wonderful rapport and we understand each other really well.
“The intensity was high and the end result is there for everyone to see,” said Musthafa, who comes from Erode.
The duo now look forward to the Uttarakhand Adventure Rally in April, where they will certainly be one of the favourites. “Honestly, our understanding developed ever since the first time we came together as a pair, which was at the Himalayan Drive (HD) I back in 2013.
“We won that as the understanding between the two of us had already developed well,” Musthafa said.
Ajgar and Musthafa, having won India’s premier rallies like the Raid de Himalaya and Desert Storm in the adventure categories, had come second in HD II and third in HD III.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph, Calcutta,India / Front Page> Sports> Story / by Sayak Banerjee / Friday – March 03rd, 2017
After traversing through the hills and the plains for over 1,250km in five days, Ajgar Ali (Kolkata) and co-driver Mohammed Mustafa (Erode) emerged a clear winner over nearest rivals Deep Dutta (co-driver Prakash Muthusamy) in the Biswa Bangla JK Tyre Himalayan Drive 5 here on Thursday.
Ajgar and Mustafa enjoyed the extra edge of a strong lead in the national class points table going into the final day. But the duo decided to stick to the basics. They showed great understanding from the start (Hile in Nepal) and reached here without having to nurse the car right through the journey.
“There was nothing much to do for us today. We had to just keep the car on the road for the title,” said Mustafa.
They were obviously thrilled to have clinched their maiden international title.
“We have driven together for five years and have been successful in about 50 TSD events. But this was our first international event. It was a totally new experience. We saw different countries, beautiful locations and lovely people and that set the winning mood for us,” he added.
Mustafa said they were under some pressure after taking the lead on the first day. “But we managed to come clean thanks to Ajgar’s brilliant drive. I was always confident of him. He also does not complicate things.”
Ajgar was pretty pleased as well and credited the title win to Mustafa’s clean work. “He did a great job right through.”
Having tasted success at the international stage, the former Himalayan
Drive champions promised to return next year. “We will be back and in
an even better shape to defend our title,” said Ajgar.
Ashish Budhia (co-driver Arindam Ghosh) had to rest content for the third place.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports> Other Sports / by Rayan Rozario / March 02nd, 2017
No stopping her Shaik Husna Sameera playing a friendly game with AICF president Neeraj Kumar Sampathy in Hyderabad on Saturday. | Photo Credit: V_V_SUBRAHMANYAM
Issues certificate to the carrom champ for setting a world record
For Shaik Husna Sameera, the agonising two-month wait has finally ended with the Guinness World Records (GWR) issuing the certificate recognising her feat of playing carrom for 34 hours and 45 minutes at DRRMC Indoor Stadium in Vijayawada in December last.
She broke the previous record of 32 hours and 45 seconds set by Narayan Paranjpe, Atul Kharecha, Prakash Kagal and Pramod Sen in the US in 2005.
Another record holder
With the GWR insisting that the world record be certified, she had to play with only one opponent, 22-year-old Allada Pavan, who is now employed in Bengaluru.
Interestingly, both are certified as world record holders for their feat.
“It’s a great moment. I have been waiting for this for long. Only I know what I had to go through in the last two months because of the suspense. But I must thank the AICF President Neeraj Kumar Sampathy for his support in helping me realise my dream,” said the Intermediate second year student of Sri Gayathri College at Chaitanyapuri in the city here.
“Yes, there were some doubts about the date mentioned in the proof that was submitted and there were quite a few queries too. But once they were satisfied, they declared that I did set a world record with a break of five minutes after every hour. This is a great moment for me,” said the 16-year-old Hyderabadi, who took to the sport as her mother was also a player and a qualified umpire too.
National titles
What next? “The focus is on winning the national titles. I am sure that given the kind of support from the AICF and Hyderabad Carrom Association with founder-president Haranath and S. Madan Raj going all out to help me, I hope to win the World Cup one day,” she said.
For his part, Dr. Neeraj said it was a great honour for the young champion as it’s not every day that such a record is attempted in any sport.
“And, I feel it is a huge fillip to the sport itself,” he added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Telangana / by V.V. Subrahmanyam / Hyderabad – February 25t, 2017
Muaythai fighters attached to Academy of Martial Science (AMS) and representing Mysore Muaythai Trust won 6 Gold and 4 silver medals respectively at the MTI(R) National Federation Muaythai Cup-2017 held between recently in Bengaluru.
Bengaluru had its first date with an air show 106 years ago
In 1911, Jules Wyck and Belgian adventurer Baron Pierre De Caters were the two pilots who brought their aircraft to Bengaluru
__________________________________
Bengaluru :
As the curtains were drawn on the 11th edition of Aero India on Saturday, thousands who thronged the Yelahanka Air Force Station need to know that they are not the first patrons of such a show. In fact, they are not even the first generation.
Bengaluru, India’s aviation capital, had its first date with an air show 106 years ago. February 3, 1911. Cricket hadn’t become the religion it is today in India. The Chinnaswamy Stadium was a barren land, and parts of Bengaluru were still a functional cantonment.
While people from districts neighbouring Bengaluru had made their way back then to catch what the organizers had called a “miracle in the skies,” Bengaluru’s quest for the flying machines remained intact in 2017 with at least three lakh people reported to have visited the aero show.
In 1911, Jules Wyck and Belgian adventurer Baron Pierre De Caters were the two pilots who brought their aircraft to Bengaluru, for a show that garnered a huge response. “But police had been prepared to handle the crowd here, after things had gotten slightly out of hand in Kolkata,” historian Vemagal Somashekar said.
If the elaborate preparations of the organizers a century ago are any indication then it only shows that a lacklustre event, like the 2017 edition of Aero India — just 53 aircraft on display and four aerobatic display teams — may fail to garner similar response in the coming years.
(The poster in Urdu, issued by merchants and businessmen from the Baidwadi (present day Shivajinagar) area. Photo Credit: fly.historicwings.com)
The fact that organizers did not reveal the right number of aircraft at Aero India 2017 is an indication that even they know it. When TOI enquired about the details of the show and the preparations in the run-up to the show, Mayaskar Deo Singh, director, Defence Exhibition Organisation, the nodal government agency organizing the show said: “An official release with final numbers on participation and other details will be issued so that there is no confusion.”
The official release days before the show had claimed that the number of aircraft participating would be 72, as many as the 2015 show, rated much better, had seen. Answering a specific question, defence minister Manohar Parrikar, however, had said on February 14: “There are 53 aircraft participating…”
Also, there are ways to watch the show for free, hundreds of citizens who stood with their cameras on terraces, the highway, some even got hospitality at villages around the air base.
But organizers in 1911 had figured out a plan for such free viewers. A poster in Urdu, issued by merchants and businessmen from the Baidwadi (present day Shivajinagar) area, reveals that the organizers, who had learnt that people would not buy tickets as they thought planes could be spotted even otherwise, had organized the show in such a way that only those with tickets (worth 25 paise each) had a one-hour exclusive.
“…Between 3.30pm and 4.30pm the planes will fly at a height of just 30 metre which only the ticket holders can see. For a few minutes after 4.30pm, the planes will fly a little higher,” reads a translation of the poster documented by the state archives department.
Mustafa Khan (mandi merchants, Ibrahim Sahib Street); Abdul Razak (businessman, Modi Road); Ibrahim Sahib (Meenakshi Kovil Street), Abdul Razak Sahib (steel merchant, Narayan Pillai Street) and Mastan Khan from Baidwadi (present day Shivajinagar) were the men who had signed off on the poster —they are an indication of how Bengaluru had a good trade set-up.
While TOI got a look at the poster, permission to take a photograph was denied. The poster, which has been sourced from fly.historicwings.com, further reveals as Somashekar had pointed out.
Police had been ordered to patrol major roads leading to the venue such as South Parade Road (now MG Road), Brigade Road and Church Street and even in Cubbon Park.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Bangalore News / Chethan Kumar, TNN / February 20th, 2017
Mohammad Kaif was appointed as the assistant coach of the Gujarat Lions team on Friday.
The former middle-order batsman Kaif said he is looking forward to the new role.
IPL franchise Gujarat Lions on Friday appointed former Indian middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif as its assistant coach for the upcoming season starting April 5.
Speaking on appointment, Keshav Bansal, Director, Intex Technologies and Owner, Gujarat Lions said: “Kaif is a great resource for our team, who has valuable experience and in-depth knowledge of the sport.
“The experience that he carries of the game, made us realise that he needs to be given larger roles as it will prove beneficial in our efforts to develop the game. I am confident that our team will benefit immensely from his guidance and mentorship.”
Kaif said he is looking forward to the new role.
“I am looking forward to my new role as an Assistant Coach in the team. It will be a great opportunity to work with a dynamic owner like Keshav Bansal and with an extremely talented players with likes of Suresh Raina, Ravinder Jadeja, Bravo etc.,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket / PTI / New Delhi – February 17th, 2017
He may have been released by his last year’s IPL franchise, Rising Pune Supergiants. Still, Irfan Pathan had a reason to smile on Monday. The veteran seamer exploded the explosive North Zone batting line-up to set up West Zone’s thumping eight-wicket victory in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Twenty20 championship.
In fact, Pathan’s spell of three for 10, with the prize scalps of Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Yuvraj Singh, would have impressed the sizeable IPL team coaches and scouts present in the President’s Box along with all three national selectors.
Pathan’s job was made easier by the North batsmen who committed hara-kiri and threw their wickets away. While Shikhar Dhawan poked at one that moved away from him to offer Kedar Jadhav a sharp chance in the slips, Pant and Yuvraj played extravagant shots against a moving ball to offer skiers on the off-side in the circle.
Barring Gautam Gambhir, who registered a second successive fifty before being dismissed off the penultimate ball of the innings, none of the other batsmen tried to apply themselves. As a result, a target of 106 was never going to ask questions of West Zone.
Parthiv Patel and Shreyas Iyer’s quickfire partnership at the top ensured West overhaul the paltry target with more than seven overs to spare and make up for the opening day’s loss against Central Zone. Iyer along with Ankeet Bawne and Priyank Panchal will now join the India A squad for the warm-up game against visiting Australians.
The scores:
North Zone: Shikhar Dhawan c Jadhav b Pathan 3, Gautam Gambhir c Tambe b Thakur 60, Rishabh Pant c Hooda b Pathan 2, Yuvraj Singh c Hooda b Pathan 0, Amit Pachhara run out 5, Parvez Rasool c Pathan b Nayar 5, Mayank Dagar run out 11, Harbhajan Singh c Pathan b Chaudhary 7, Pradeep Sangwan (not out) 10, Mohit Sharma (not out) 1; Extras (lb-1, w-2) 3; Total (for eight wkts. in 20 overs): 107.
Fall of wickets: 1-12, 2-24, 3-24, 4-32, 5-39, 6-57, 7-90, 8-106.
West Zone: Shreyas Iyer lbw Rasool 30, Parthiv Patel b Sharma 56, Aditya Tare (not out) 14, Ankeet Bawne (not out) 4; Extras (w-4) 4; Total (for two wkts. in 12.4 overs): 108.
Fall of wickets: 1-80, 2-92.
North Zone bowling: Pradeep Sangwan 2-0-26-0, Umar Nazir 2.4-0-24-0, Harbhajan Singh 2-0-15-0, Mohit Sharma 2-0-24-1, Mayank Dagar 2-0-12-0, Parvez Rasool 2-0-7-1.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Cricket / by Amol Karhadkar / Mumbai – February 13th, 2017
