Much ado about rankingr

K DATTA

A new high for the Blue Tigers As we celebrate the 101 rank in the men's world football rankings, a couple of things are worth noting. First, India jumped 23 places between September 2016 and January 2017 without playing a game. Second, if India loses either of its two ties in June, it will find itself in the 120s or 130s. Evidence enough that rankings are at best a rough indication of a nation's standing, and should not be taken too seriously.
On the other hand, the current ranking underlines the consistent effort of coach Stephen Constantine and his men these past few years. Myanmar may be ranked below India in the world rankings, but it is a hard team to beat on its own soil.
India's victory on March 28 in Yangon was one of the best results achieved this century. It was way back in 1953 that India last beat Burma, as the country was then known, at Yangon (now called Rangoon) in the second Quadrangular tournament under the captaincy of the late Sailen Manna.
An away win over a country which has qualified for the under-20 world cup tournament should boost the confidence of the Indian players. The Myanmar victory almost ensures India a place in the Asian Cup final round in 2019 to be played in the UAE.
While the men seem to be doing well, our sports administrators could do well to take note of the defeats suffered by the women's team, which lost 0-10 to South Korea and 0-8 to North Korea in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifiers. Currently ranked 56th in the world, the women's team also needs a Constantine.

A matter of shame

It is a matter of shame that India has retained its their third position in the World Anti-doping Agency's annual Analytical Finding report for the third consecutive year, with 117 returned anti-doping rule violations. Russia is the worst offender with 176 while Italy was second with 129. Given India's consistency in failing to check doping, it could be just a matter of time for global sports authorities to start taking matters in their own hands, similar to the strategy they have followed for rogue countries such as Russia. One ray of hope though, as the sports ministry cleared in March a proposal to make doping a criminal offense, as recommended by the national anti-doping agence (NADA). The proposal will aim to punish not only errant athletes but also coaches who could not be touched until now because of a lack of a law, and manufacturers and suppliers of nutritional supplements who do not display the complete list of ingredients of their products.

All-Indian show

PT Usha, Shiny Abraham and Valsamma former track and field stars like PT Usha, Shiny Abraham and Valsamma from Kerala, a state known for its contribution to women's track and field; Delhi's Indu Puri, who in her time swept aside all opposition during her reign as the national table tennis queen. They were all there to add glitter to the function at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Stadium held by the central sports ministry to mark the International Women's Day.

Kidambi Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth While savoring the historic moment on a Sunday afternoon last month when two young Indians in trendy beards took the court to fight it out for the Singapore Superseries crown, one of the major prizes in world badminton, Indian fans faced the tricky problem of choice: who to root for? Both Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth belong not only to India, but also the same city of Hyderabad where they are coached by the same guru Gopichand.
In the end it was Praneeth who won, and everyone was happy for him as he picked up two Indian Tricolours from fans in the stands and handed one over to Srikanth while he wrapped his own shoulders with the other. You see, Srikanth had won a Superseries title once before, but for Praneeth it was a first-time achievement. A perfect example of a healthy sporting rivalry.

Happy tidings

While Praneeth and Srikanth were creating history in Singapore, from a different setting in a different country came the happy tidings that Gayathri, the 14-year-old daughter of Gopichand, had won a double crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya junior under-15 grand prix at Jakarta. After defeating compatriot Samia Farooqui in the girls singles final, Gayathri partnered her singles opponent to win the doubles title, defeating Indonesian opponents
Kelly Larissa and Shelandry Viola, 21-17, 21-15.

Upward swing

Savita Punia The stock of Indian hockey has recently seen an upward swing. The women's team, led by Rani Rampal, earned quite a bit of pride for the country by making their way to the semi-final of the world league round 2 in West Vancouver, to Savita Punia going the credit of being adjudged the best goalkeeper, something the Indian men's team captain and goalkeeper P.Sreejesh must have been the first to applaud.
On our own soil at Bhopal, India's schoolboys held promise for the future by emerging as Asian school champions, getting the better of the Malaysian team by a 5-1 margin. In the process indications of our teenagers moving in the right direction were visible. The victories come barely a few months after the Indian team's triumph in the junior world cup at Lucknow. Let's hope the winning trend continues at the Azlan Shah Cup, at Ipoh, Malaysia, where, at the time of writing, the Indian team, including a few of the youngsters who took part in the junior world cup, is in action.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY MARCH OF AYODHYA INDIAN PRESIDENCY REALPOLITIK FOR CREDIBLE OPPOSITION A GAME CHANGER DEFENCE MODERNISATION STATE OF EDUCATION DELHI MCD POLLS FRANKLY SPEAKING SACRILEGE IN PUNJAB KASHMIR WATCH CRIMES AGAINST WOMEN POLL-YEAR HIMACHAL KERALA UNDER LDF CHANDIGARH DIARY U.S. FOREIGN POLICY AMERICAN DIARY JADAV ISSUE INDO-BANGLADESH TIES CIVIL AVIATION HITS & MISSES TEST CRICKET SPORTS BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES MIGRATION & WOMEN'S RIGHTS YOGA IN DAILY LIFE-XIII ART OF LIVING Issue:May' 2017 Subscribe Now	HITS & MISSES Much ado about rankingr K DATTA A new high for the Blue Tigers As we celebrate the 101 rank in the men's world football rankings, a couple of things are worth noting. First, India jumped 23 places between September 2016 and January 2017 without playing a game. Second, if India loses either of its two ties in June, it will find itself in the 120s or 130s. Evidence enough that rankings are at best a rough indication of a nation's standing, and should not be taken too seriously. On the other hand, the current ranking underlines the consistent effort of coach Stephen Constantine and his men these past few years. Myanmar may be ranked below India in the world rankings, but it is a hard team to beat on its own soil. India's victory on March 28 in Yangon was one of the best results achieved this century. It was way back in 1953 that India last beat Burma, as the country was then known, at Yangon (now called Rangoon) in the second Quadrangular tournament under the captaincy of the late Sailen Manna. An away win over a country which has qualified for the under-20 world cup tournament should boost the confidence of the Indian players. The Myanmar victory almost ensures India a place in the Asian Cup final round in 2019 to be played in the UAE. While the men seem to be doing well, our sports administrators could do well to take note of the defeats suffered by the women's team, which lost 0-10 to South Korea and 0-8 to North Korea in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup qualifiers. Currently ranked 56th in the world, the women's team also needs a Constantine. A matter of shame It is a matter of shame that India has retained its their third position in the World Anti-doping Agency's annual Analytical Finding report for the third consecutive year, with 117 returned anti-doping rule violations. Russia is the worst offender with 176 while Italy was second with 129. Given India's consistency in failing to check doping, it could be just a matter of time for global sports authorities to start taking matters in their own hands, similar to the strategy they have followed for rogue countries such as Russia. One ray of hope though, as the sports ministry cleared in March a proposal to make doping a criminal offense, as recommended by the national anti-doping agence (NADA). The proposal will aim to punish not only errant athletes but also coaches who could not be touched until now because of a lack of a law, and manufacturers and suppliers of nutritional supplements who do not display the complete list of ingredients of their products. All-Indian show PT Usha, Shiny Abraham and Valsamma former track and field stars like PT Usha, Shiny Abraham and Valsamma from Kerala, a state known for its contribution to women's track and field; Delhi's Indu Puri, who in her time swept aside all opposition during her reign as the national table tennis queen. They were all there to add glitter to the function at Delhi's Indira Gandhi Stadium held by the central sports ministry to mark the International Women's Day. Kidambi Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth While savoring the historic moment on a Sunday afternoon last month when two young Indians in trendy beards took the court to fight it out for the Singapore Superseries crown, one of the major prizes in world badminton, Indian fans faced the tricky problem of choice: who to root for? Both Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth belong not only to India, but also the same city of Hyderabad where they are coached by the same guru Gopichand. In the end it was Praneeth who won, and everyone was happy for him as he picked up two Indian Tricolours from fans in the stands and handed one over to Srikanth while he wrapped his own shoulders with the other. You see, Srikanth had won a Superseries title once before, but for Praneeth it was a first-time achievement. A perfect example of a healthy sporting rivalry. Happy tidings While Praneeth and Srikanth were creating history in Singapore, from a different setting in a different country came the happy tidings that Gayathri, the 14-year-old daughter of Gopichand, had won a double crown at the Pembangunan Jaya Raya junior under-15 grand prix at Jakarta. After defeating compatriot Samia Farooqui in the girls singles final, Gayathri partnered her singles opponent to win the doubles title, defeating Indonesian opponents Kelly Larissa and Shelandry Viola, 21-17, 21-15. Upward swing Savita Punia The stock of Indian hockey has recently seen an upward swing. The women's team, led by Rani Rampal, earned quite a bit of pride for the country by making their way to the semi-final of the world league round 2 in West Vancouver, to Savita Punia going the credit of being adjudged the best goalkeeper, something the Indian men's team captain and goalkeeper P.Sreejesh must have been the first to applaud. On our own soil at Bhopal, India's schoolboys held promise for the future by emerging as Asian school champions, getting the better of the Malaysian team by a 5-1 margin. In the process indications of our teenagers moving in the right direction were visible. The victories come barely a few months after the Indian team's triumph in the junior world cup at Lucknow. Let's hope the winning trend continues at the Azlan Shah Cup, at Ipoh, Malaysia, where, at the time of writing, the Indian team, including a few of the youngsters who took part in the junior world cup, is in action.