Issue :   
January 2018 Edition of Power Politics is updated.         January 2018 Edition of Power Politics is updated.
Issue:Jan' 2018

HITS & MISSES

Tribal youths' potential extraordinary

K DATTA

Jaipal Singh Inaugurating the first tribal sports meet in the state, Odisha's Naveen Patnaik hailed the "extraordinary" sporting potential of tribal youth there. Their potential is enormous, as they have proved in sports like hockey, athletics and archery.
There are sixty odd tribes in Odisha, many of whom have proved their mettle on the international sporting stage, starting with Jaipal Singh, who captained the country's hockey team in the gold medal-winning team in the 1928 Olympic Games. Leading the Biju Janata Dal in the Rajya Sabha these days is 42- year-old Dilip Tirkey, the legendary former national fullback and captain who played for the country in three Olympics.
The unique event, spread across 119 tribal-dominated blocks in the state and open to all under the age of 35, was inaugurated by Mr Patnaik through video conferencing, with prize money to the tune of Rs.1,08,36,000 on offer.

Naveen Patnaik The man has turned his state capital Bhubaneswar into a hub of international sports events. He earned the appreciation of the Asian track and field community when Odisha offered to host the Asian athletics championships after Jharkhand expressed its inability to stage the event. There was little time left to prepare.
But in a matter of a few months a brand new facility came up at Bhubaneswar.
And what a success the show turned out to be! He could be seen in the stands in dhoti-kurta, personally keeping an eye on the arrangements made by his organizing committee. A dozen chief ministers like Mr. Patnaik will do a world of good to Indian sport.
The recent World Hockey League finals was another feather in the cap of Bhubaneswar. To make the event all the more memorable for India's bronze medal-winning players were the cheques of Rs10 lakh to each of them and Rs.5 lakh to each of the staff with the party. The attendance at the matches, even those in which the Indian s team was not involved, was another point to be noted.

Dilip Tirkey One does hope that the kind of state-wide tribal meets that Mr Patnaik has inaugurated do unearth plenty more of "extraordinary" sporting talent lying undiscovered – more Tirkeys and Lakras and their likes who have done the state country proud.

Contrasting worlds

Dilip Tirkey Cricket players representing the country might get a great new year ' s gift if the Board of Cont rol for Cricket India (BCCI ) approves of the proposal made by captain Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri to the Committee of Administration (CoA) , with the forme r ' s e a rnings expected to double from Rs 5 to 10 crores a year . Ranj i player s could earn up to Rs 30 lakh a year , wi th the likes of Saurav Ganguly pitching hard for cricketers at all level s to get handsome increment s . In sharp contrast , Indian track and field athletics are unfortunately caught in noman's land while the Athletics Federat ion of India (AFI ) and the Spor t s Author i ty of India (SAI ) are at loggerheads over the r e l e a s e of mone y r equi r ed for a thl e t e s to pur cha s e the i r da i l y food suppl ement s . The requi rement s vary f rom a thl e t e to a thl e t e . A shot -put t e r or j a v e l in may have to pay Rs 700 a da y for hi s food suppl ement and a spr inter Rs . 300. Wi th the a thl e t e s prepar ing for the As ian and Commonwe a l th Game s ne x t y e a r , i t look s l i ke the Mini s t r y of Spor t s needs to sor t thi s out a s f a s t a s pos s ible. Of cour se, i t ' l l be nicer i f both SAI and AFI act more respons ibly and proa c t i v e l y to resolve thi s !

A h e a l i n g t o u c h

Afshan Ashiq F o r o n c e , t h e s t a t e o f J ammu a n d K a s hmi r w a s n o t i n t h e n e w s f o r i t s s t o n e - p e l t i n g y o u t h . T h e s p e c t a c u l a r t u r n a r o u n d s t o r y o f 2 3 - y e a r - o l d A f s h a n A s h i q f r om a n a n g r y y o u n g w oma n w h o v e n t e d h e r a n g e r t o p r o t e s t a g a i n s t p o l i c e mi s b e h a v i o u r i n t o t h e c a p t a i n o f J ammu a n d K a s hmi r ' s w ome n ' s f o o t b a l l t e am c a n b e i n s p i r i n g n o t o n l y f o r t h e y o u t h b u t a l s o f o r t h e a u t h o r i t i e s . A l l n e g a t i v e e n e r g y c a n b e c o n v e r t e d i n t o p o s i t i v e .
A f s h a n , n ow t h e s u b j e c t o f a b i o p i c , i s h a p p y t o s h a r e t h a t g o t a c h a n c e t o me e t t h e U n i o n h ome mi n i s t e r a n d imp r e s s u p o n h im t h e n e e d t o s t a r t a S p o r t s A u t h o r i t y o f I n d i a ( S A I ) c e n t r e i n K a s hmi r t o t a p t h e a b u n d a n t s p o r t i n g t a l e n t i n t h e s t a t e . H owe v e r , t o ma k e t h a t h a p p e n b o t h t h e c e n t r a l a n d s t a t e g o v e r nme n t s wi l l n e e d t o p l a y a p r o a c t i v e r o l e . A c o u p l e o f me n f o o t b a l l e r s f r om t h e v a l l e y h a v e d o n e w e l l e n o u g h t o we a r t h e I n d i a c o l o u r s , n o t t o f o r g e t t h e l i t t l e o n e wh o c r e a t e d a s e n s a t i o n r e c e n t l y b y w i n n i n g t h e w o r l d k i c k - b o x i n g t i t l e .
Wh i l e A f s h a n i s wo r k i n g h a r d t o ma k e h e r s t a t e a n d n a t i o n p r o u d , t h e r e a r e ma n y mo r e A f s h a n s Afshan Ashiq o u t t h e r e , wa i t i n g .