Commonwealth Games: Security concerns prevail over Commonwealth games

With quite a few countries issuing advisories against visiting India for the moment; all of a sudden there are some question marks over the biggest sporting extravaganza in India ever the organisers of the commonwealth games know that in these times of turmoil; mere assurances won’t do.

“The home ministry has done a fantastic job, as you saw it in the Beijing Olympic Games, and they are looking into various committees on security which are held by home ministry itself,” says chief of Indian Olympic Association, Randhir Singh.

The commonwealth games federation has already said that it is continuing to assess the situation in India after a spate of blasts all over the country. But this isn’t just a problem for sporting events in India. London too is working round the clock to ensure a safe Olympics in 2012.

“It’s sad that a country which is known for peace and friendship and brotherhood, a sport gets involved and gets targeted for this,” Lord Sebastian Coe from London Olympic committee.

Athens spent a whopping $ 1.5 bn on anti terrorism measures for the 2004 Olympic games. The figures for Beijing are not known yet but China’s security was top notch. These measures come at a cost but after the attack on Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972; it’s an expense that has never been questioned.

“It is an unpleasent world that we are living in, but our security plans are underway and we would deliver secure games,” adds Randhir Singh.

Even as construction goes on at commonwealth games village, securing it is more important than just meeting the construction deadlines. The athletes village is the most visible symbol of any games and also the most obvious target. Beijing ahs shown the way and it is now for the Indian security officials to go one better.

Controversies and Olympic Associations

Controversies always seem to dog the guys up in the various state Olympic associations. It doesnt matter that none of them are really bothered about sports, but they sure are bothered about their posts and power. In what has become the norm among the office bearers of the state associations, the Haryana Olympic Association has threatened legal action against the IOA. PV Rathee who is leading the Haryana Association says that the former President Abhey Chautala has been giving the wrong impression that he is still leading the association.

Surprisingly this tu tu- main main comes from political parties. While Abhey Chautala belongs to INLD led by Om Prakash Chautala, Rathee is supported by the Congress. So its politics out there and nothing else. These administrators do not seem to understand anything about sports except for the fact that they hanker after power and money. Everything else comes secondary including the very Sport they claim to represent. Its all about politics and nothing else.

Never say die– KPS Gill holds an AGM

Here is a man under whose regime Indian Hockey hit its nadir. But , he is convinced that he is the knight in shining armour for the Indian Hockey. KPS Gill, the old man who should have retired, has gone ahead and held an AGM of the Indian Hockey Federation. Though IHF has been disbanded officially, KPS Gill still seem to think that he is still in the game. As if to add muscle to his efforts, nearly 18-20 of the 41 affiliated associations did attend the meeting. The decision they have taken in simple, they will hold elections after the court has delivered its judgement on the dissolution case.

And yes, he is keen on sending a message across. He has said IHF will be conducting a tournament in Chandigarh in the month of November for sub juniors.

My piece of advise, Gill saab, it is time to call it quits. It is also time that IOA and other involved officials offer him an exit package i.e clear him and give him a clean chit for all wrong doings(if there were any), so that he can retire from managing Indian Hockey.

2011 National Games to be held in Goa

The 36th Edition of the National Games will be held in Goa in 2011. The IOA headed by Suresh Kalmadi and the Government of Goa have signed an agreement to that effect.

Hockey: Action atlast… IHF suspended, KPS Gill sacked.

At last there seems to be some progress towards managing the Indian Hockey Federation. KPS Gill was unceremoniously sacked as chief of the Federation and IHF was suspended with immediate effect.

Indian Hockey will now be ruled by a committee comprising of Aslam Sher Khan(head of committee), Ashok Kumar, Dhanraj Pillay , Ajit Pal Singh and Zafar Iqbal. Hope these stalwarts of Indian Hockey will be able to provide a vision for Indian Hockey as well as ensure that Hockey gets itself up back to where it needs to be.

However I wonder if this action has come a few years late. With KPS Gill ruling the Indian Hockey Scene with an Iron grip, his chelas am sure would have stuffed their cupboards with more than a few skeletons. How many of those Skeletons will tumble out of their well stocked cupboards is something that needs to be seen in the days to come.

Will the committee be given the freedom to manage Indian Hockey the way it needs to be managed. I am sure these mongrels will make a comeback in no time given their penchant for backroom maneuvering.

India might miss the Hockey world cup in 2010

As if the failure to make it to the Beijing was not bad enough, India could miss out on hosting the 2010 men’s hockey World Cup as well if the FIH is not satisfied with the steps taken to revive the game in the country.The world body has provisionally allotted the mega event to New Delhi, but the FIH Executive Board will decide in its meetings starting in Lausanne, Switzerland on March 25, whether to confirm the proposal.

“The FIH Executive Board will discuss further steps to be taken on continuing the project ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ and on the decision on the staging of the 2010 Men’s World Cup in New Delhi,” the president of the world body Els van Breda Vriesman said in an official statement.
She indicated that the hosting rights for the 2010 World Cup were subject to the Indian Hockey Federation getting its act together and showing some initiative in putting the game back on the track in the country.“It has been made clear that the staging of the 2010 World Cup is related to the success of the project and the world body is still waiting for signs that things are really going to happen in India,” Vriesman said.

FIH had done its bit by launching the ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ project and getting Australian legend Ric Charlesworth as IHF’s Technical Adviser, but it seems the world body is not satisfied that the KPS Gill-led Federation is keeping its end of the bargain.“The result (in Chile) shows that Indian Hockey now needs to implement the Operational Plans which have been provided nearly a year ago as part of the project ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’ without any further delay.“

In these plans, Ric Charlesworth is going to play an instrumental role for a more structural development of Indian hockey in the long term, while he can also be of great assistance on the short term with the help of the Indian Ministry of Sports and the Indian Hockey Confederation,” the FIH boss said.

“The project ‘Promoting Indian Hockey’, supported by the FIH, the International Olympic Committee and the Indian Olympic Association, should be taken seriously to achieve progress in the identified areas of concern, amongst them the national teams of India,” she added.