Heartening show

Indian hockey captain Harjeet Singh takes his Jr World Cup trophy to bed The photo that appeared on the sports pages showing Harjeet Singh, captain of the Indian under-20 team, cuddled up in bed with the world junior hockey cup won in Lucknow on a cold December Sunday night said it all. It was too precious a toy for any youngster to part with before he had fondled it to his heart's content. It came India's way after a 15-year-long wait. The last time India had won the trophy was in Hobart, Tasmania, in 2001.
With the victory of the Harendra Singh-coached team Indian hockey rounded off the year on a heartening note. Earlier in the year Indian teams had won the Asian youth, as well as the senior men's and women's tournaments.
For all the joy Harjeet and his team gave the enthusiastic Lucknow crowd, whom the captain did not forget to gratefully thank, must be aware that soon he, as also the rest of his team, will no longer remain boys. They will be stepping into the demanding world of adult men's hockey.
For all the optimism Harjeet expressed in his post-match interview in Lucknow, it remains to be seen how well his boys will fare in the coming years. Without detracting from the Lucknow success, it would do well to remember that players under 20 years old are at a developmental stage.

Future in hockey

Dilip Tirkey With little business done in the winter session of Parliament, Dilip Tirkey, former Indian hockey captain with a record 412 caps to his name and now a Biju Janata Dal member of the Rajya Sabha, kept himself busy leading a unique movement to wean rural tribal youth of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh away from the Maoist inluence and take to hockey instead.
There is a future for them in the game, as there has always been in the past' Tirkey himself being an outstanding example. .
A gathering estimated to be 25,000, all of them with hockey sticks in their hands, occupied every inch of space on the artificial pitch and off it at the Biju Patnaik Stadium at Rourkela. Amazed by what he saw, the country's Vice-President, Hamid Ansari, invited as guest to inaugurate the movement, remarked he had "never seen such a gathering of players of a single sport."

The movement has on its fourmonth- long programme tournaments in which 1458 teams will take part in the states in the Maoist-affected region.

It would be pertinent to recall that India's first Olympic hockey captain was a tribal by the name of Jaipal Singh. That was at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. Many other players, both men and women, from the tribal areas have since figured in the nation's hockey teams.

Funds are reported to have been set aside to lay a regulation size artificial turf pitch besides a couple of smaller ones for six-a-side competitions in Sundergarh district so that players there have access to the modern game.

The ugly side

A detailed and time-consuming investigation by the Indianapolis Star newspaper has successfully shifted the ugly child abuse spotlight from English soccer across the Atlantic to US gymnastics, pointing fingers at not only 115 adults at every level of the sport but also on USA Gymnastics.

Journalists investigating the case believe the cases of 368 gymnasts alleging sexual abuse during the past 20 years could be just a tip of the iceberg.

The most unfortunate part is that even if coaches were found guilty and relieved of their responsibilities, they retained their USA gymnastics membership, were allowed to go scotfree and found employment in another certified gym, continuing their ugly acts.

USA Gymnastics and so many English soccer clubs have been guilty of either looking the other way or brushing such incidents under the carpet, indirectly encouraging such abominable acts. All in the name of sports.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY NOTEBANDI DRAMA NOTEBANDI DRAMA FRANKLY SPEAKING POLL 2017 TAMIL NADU POLITICS TAMIL NADU POLITICS REALPOLITIK POLITICAL RESERVATION KASHMIR WATCH A HOLLOW RITUALRY ENVIRONMENTAL FALLOUT BABY TRAFFICKING AVIATION NOTE HITS & MISSES SPORT NOTEBOOK NEW PAK ARMY CHIEF PAGE FROM HISTORY MIDDLE EAST SCENE US WATCH NEW WHITE HOUSE INDO-VIETNAMESE TIES BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR GENDER VIOLENCE SIGNS OF THE TIMES YOGA IN DAILY LIFE-IX ART OF LIVING Issue:January' 2017 Subscribe Now	HITS & MISSES Heartening show Indian hockey captain Harjeet Singh takes his Jr World Cup trophy to bed The photo that appeared on the sports pages showing Harjeet Singh, captain of the Indian under-20 team, cuddled up in bed with the world junior hockey cup won in Lucknow on a cold December Sunday night said it all. It was too precious a toy for any youngster to part with before he had fondled it to his heart's content. It came India's way after a 15-year-long wait. The last time India had won the trophy was in Hobart, Tasmania, in 2001. With the victory of the Harendra Singh-coached team Indian hockey rounded off the year on a heartening note. Earlier in the year Indian teams had won the Asian youth, as well as the senior men's and women's tournaments. For all the joy Harjeet and his team gave the enthusiastic Lucknow crowd, whom the captain did not forget to gratefully thank, must be aware that soon he, as also the rest of his team, will no longer remain boys. They will be stepping into the demanding world of adult men's hockey. For all the optimism Harjeet expressed in his post-match interview in Lucknow, it remains to be seen how well his boys will fare in the coming years. Without detracting from the Lucknow success, it would do well to remember that players under 20 years old are at a developmental stage. Future in hockey Dilip Tirkey With little business done in the winter session of Parliament, Dilip Tirkey, former Indian hockey captain with a record 412 caps to his name and now a Biju Janata Dal member of the Rajya Sabha, kept himself busy leading a unique movement to wean rural tribal youth of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhatisgarh away from the Maoist inluence and take to hockey instead. There is a future for them in the game, as there has always been in the past' Tirkey himself being an outstanding example. . A gathering estimated to be 25,000, all of them with hockey sticks in their hands, occupied every inch of space on the artificial pitch and off it at the Biju Patnaik Stadium at Rourkela. Amazed by what he saw, the country's Vice-President, Hamid Ansari, invited as guest to inaugurate the movement, remarked he had "never seen such a gathering of players of a single sport." The movement has on its fourmonth- long programme tournaments in which 1458 teams will take part in the states in the Maoist-affected region. It would be pertinent to recall that India's first Olympic hockey captain was a tribal by the name of Jaipal Singh. That was at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. Many other players, both men and women, from the tribal areas have since figured in the nation's hockey teams. Funds are reported to have been set aside to lay a regulation size artificial turf pitch besides a couple of smaller ones for six-a-side competitions in Sundergarh district so that players there have access to the modern game. The ugly side A detailed and time-consuming investigation by the Indianapolis Star newspaper has successfully shifted the ugly child abuse spotlight from English soccer across the Atlantic to US gymnastics, pointing fingers at not only 115 adults at every level of the sport but also on USA Gymnastics. Journalists investigating the case believe the cases of 368 gymnasts alleging sexual abuse during the past 20 years could be just a tip of the iceberg. The most unfortunate part is that even if coaches were found guilty and relieved of their responsibilities, they retained their USA gymnastics membership, were allowed to go scotfree and found employment in another certified gym, continuing their ugly acts. USA Gymnastics and so many English soccer clubs have been guilty of either looking the other way or brushing such incidents under the carpet, indirectly encouraging such abominable acts. All in the name of sports.