Govt should act strongly against IOA's decision, says Maken

New Delhi, Dec 28, 2016 (PTI)

Strongly protesting the appointment of tainted Suresh Kalmadi and Abhay Singh Chautala as Life Presidents of the IOA, former Sports Minister Ajay Maken today called on the government to take serious steps to reverse the decision and save the image of the country.

Terming the appointments as "sad and painful", he also asked the government to approach the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on the issue.

"As a former Sports Minister and sports enthusiast, the IOA's decision to appoint Kalmadi and Chautala as Life Presidents of IOA is sad and very painful. This decision is not good for sports and India's image," Maken told reporters here today.

"I request the Sports Minister not only to convey his reservations but take strong actions to reverse the decision. All the National Sports Federations are funded by the Sports Ministry, so the government should exercise its full powers to reverse the decision. If they do so there is no reason the matter can't be resolved."

Maken called on the BJP-ruled Central government to exercise its powers and force the Indian Olympic Association to withdraw the move.

"The first step to rectify is that the IOA should be pressurised to call an Emergent Meeting and forced to take back its decision till both Kalmadi and Chautala get clearance from the court.

"The government should also approach the International Olympic Committee's Ethics Committee. The government should support all the Public Interest Litigations (PIL) that will be filed in the court on this issue. If they are not removed this will be a big taint on Indian sports," Maken said.

Sports Minister Vijay Goel has already lashed out at the IOA for making tainted Kalmadi and Chautala the Life Presidents at its Annual General Meeting in Chennai, saying it was "totally unacceptable" as both of them were facing serious criminal and corruption charges.

Maken also questioned BJP Member of Parliament Anurag Thakur, BJP-ally Siromoni Akali Dal MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and IOA sitting vice-President Tarlochan Singh for not opposing the appointments being a part of the AGM yesterday.

"Today when we are talking about eradicating corruption and graft from the country we are bringing back such tainted individuals. What message the IOA is giving?" he asked.

"Anurag Thakur, Dhindsa and Tarlochan Singh were all part of IOA Executive Committee and were there at the meeting yesterday. I request them all to take back the decision for the image of the country," Maken added.

Maken said tainted and corrupt individuals have no place in the system. "When the Commonwealth Games corruption came up it was the ruling party which questioned us (Congress) but we acted immediately, removing Kalmadi from all positions. Now under the ruling regime such appointments are taking place. How can they justify that?" he questioned.

Maken, under whose tenure the first Sports Bill was made in 2011, said had the bill been approved by the Cabinet then not a single public functionary would have been a part of National Sports Federations (NSFs) in the country.

"All NSFs have been hijacked by the politicians. When I was the Sports Minister in 2011, we introduced the Sports Bill which clearly mentioned that no public functionaries be it politicians or bureaucrats, can be a part of sports federations. If it was adopted 95 per cent of the executive board of the NSFs would have been ousted by now," he said.

Kalmadi served as the IOA president from 1996 to 2011 and was jailed for 10 months for his involvement in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games corruption scandal but was later released on bail.

Chautala, on the other hand, served as the president of the IOA from December 2012 to February 2014 when the sports body was suspended by the parent IOC for fielding charge-sheeted candidates at the elections. His election as IOA chief was annulled by the IOC.

Indian hockey rose in stature in 2016

New Delhi, Dec 28, 2016 (PTI)

A few disappointments aside, it was all about Indian hockey's phenomenal rise in stature, both on and off the field, in 2016 with a historic silver medal in the Champions Trophy and Junior World Cup title after a hiatus of 15 years being the biggest achievements.
If the Champions Trophy silver, gold in Asian Champions Trophy and Junior World Cup title were the high points on the turf, former Hockey India chief Narinder Batra's election to the post of International Hockey Federation (FIH) President was the talking point off the pitch in the year goneby.

Batra was unanimously elected to the FIH President's post in November this year, thus becoming the first Indian and Asian to head the world body since its inception.
Batra's elevation to the FIH chief's post has also changed the power centre of world hockey from Europe to Asia.

2016 was an Olympic year and much was expected from India and the eight-time Olympic champions did achieve success on the pitch barring a few failures -- major among them being a loss to Pakistan in the final of the SAF Games and a quarterfinal exit in the Rio Games.

But at the fag end of the year, the Indian colts lifted the Junior World Cup title after a long gap of 15 years on their home turf in Lucknow.

The year, however, started on a bad note for the sport.

For those who believe in perfect starts, defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in Guwahati in the SAF Games final for the third consecutive time was as disastrous a beginning as one could imagine.

In the earlier two editions of the Games in 2006 and 2010, Pakistan had won the gold by beating India.

But the SAF Games team did give India two players -- goalkeeper Vikas Dahiya and Ajit Kumar Pandey -- who played an major role in the nation's title triumph in the Junior World Cup later in the year.

Meanwhile, the senior men's side travelled to Ipoh, Malaysia for the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, a tournament looked upon as a preparation for the Rio Olympics.

Dutchman Roelant Oltmans' was at the helm and was given the charge of preparing the side for the Olympics following the unceremonious exits of Terry Walsh and Paul van Ass.
In the Azlan Shah Cup, it was smooth sailing for India till the final where they were hammered 4-0 by the mighty Australians.

The thrashing once again raised questions about India's submission against big teams in big matches and Oltmans was desperate to prove the theory wrong in his next assignment.

The Dutchman, a master tactician, then decided to change the composition of the team and he was helped by a rare controversy involving the talismanic Sardar Singh.
Then Indian captain was accused of sexual exploitation by a British citizen, Ashpal Kaur Bhogal, and to keep him safe the ace midfielder was left out from the London-bound Champions Trophy squad.

In the Champions Trophy, the Indians played out of their skins to reach the title clash, where they probably played their best match of not only the year against a very strong Australian outfit only to end on the losing side.

Despite the loss, the Indian team created history -- a Champions Trophy silver as they had never gone beyond the bronze earlier. 

Tickets for opening India-England ODI sold out

Pune, Dec 28, 2016 (PTI)

The Maharashtra Cricket Association has announced that tickets for the first One-Day International cricket match between hosts India and England, scheduled on January 15, 2017 at the MCA's International Stadium, Gahunje, here, have been sold out.

Ticket sales for the day-night fixture commenced on December 15 and were sold out in 12 days, MCA said in a media release, adding that bookings for both physical and online tickets have thus, ended.

As a result of the sell-out, the stadium will have a total capacity of 37,406 in attendance at the game, the second ODI to be hosted at the stadium after a three–year gap, the release said.

The last time an ODI was played at the MCA Stadium was the India-Australia encounter on October 13, 2013. "This is a great moment for MCA. Among many reasons for this sell-out include, the current form of the Indian team, the long gap since the last ODI was played in Pune, the following that the sport has in India and undoubtedly the Punekars," said MCA President, Ajay Shirke.

England is set to play three ODIs, with the other two scheduled to be played at Cuttack (January 19) and Kolkata (January 22) on their return to the country after the Christmas and New Year break.

Afterwards, the two teams are also set to play three T20 Internationals between January 26 and February 1 at Kanpur, Nagpur and Bengaluru.

Kalmadi backs off, Chautala defiant; IOA show-caused by govt

New Delhi, Dec 28, 2016, PTI:

Suresh Kalmadi chose to back off but Abhay Singh Chautala remained defiant even as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) today invited the Sports Ministry's wrath and widespread outrage for its inexplicable decision to make the scam-tainted duo its Life Presidents.

Kalmadi and Chautala were elevated to the position at the IOA's Annual General Meeting in Chennai yesterday, stunning the Indian sporting landscape and leaving the Sports Ministry fuming.

As the storm gained in intensity today, Kalmadi chose to step aside even as Chautala remained adamant.

"I thank the Indian Olympic Association for conferring the honour of Life President on me. However, I do not feel that it would be appropriate for me to accept this honour at this time," Kalmadi said in a letter addressed to IOA President N Ramachandran.

"I am confident that my name will be cleared and I will defer acceptance of the honour till such time," he added.

The Ministry, on its part, issued a showcause notice to the IOA and also threatened to severe ties with the body if it failed reverse its decision.

"This move is against the constitution of IOA and is not acceptable to the Sports Ministry. I am disappointed by the decision because both are facing cases of corruption. We want transparency in sports. Till the time, these two don't resign or are sacked, we will not deal with the IOA," Sports Minister Vijay Goel told reporters here.

"The Government after careful consideration has decided to issue a show cause notice to IOA as to why it should continue to be recognized as the National Olympic Committee (NOC) when it has failed to conform to the basic principles of ethics and good governance," the ministry said later in a statement.

Earlier, the IOA top brass went incommunicado for some time before Associate vice-President Narinder Batra, who is now the President of International Hockey Federation, criticised the move and called for the duo to step aside.

"I might be quitting the IOA soon because I can't be associated with something which does not make sense to me in terms of good governance. They should not accept this position till the time their names are cleared," Batra said, breaking ranks with the officials, who voted unanimously for these appointments yesterday in Chennai.

However, Chautala refused to budge and said that his case was different from that of Kalmadi.

"Kalmadi may have declined to accept the position (of Life President) because there was accusations regarding Commonwealth Games and so related to sports issues. My case is different," he said.

"I was elected as IOA President (in December 2012) but due to unreasonable interference from International Olympic Committee, I left the post. So, if all the past presidents can be made Life President why could not I be?" he asked.

He went to the extent of ridiculing Goel for expressing pain on his appointment. "I was surprised by the reaction of Sports Minister Vijay Goel. He was claiming that there are criminal and corruption cases against me. The case against me is not a criminal case, it is a political case. People are telling me to withdraw. Then please tell all the politicians, ministers in this country against whom there are political cases to withdraw also," Chautala said.

"Mr Goel has failed in his responsibility as a Sports Minister. I would advise him to fulfil his responsibility as Sports Minister because if he does that, our medal count will increase manifold and he will get credit for that. Instead of getting into a controversy without knowing full facts, he should focus on his job," he added.

Goel was joined by Ajay Maken, the Sports Minister in the previous government, in criticising the move and calling it "sad and painful".

"As a former Sports Minister and sports enthusiast, the IOA's decision to appoint Kalmadi and Chautala as Life Presidents of IOA is sad and very painful. This decision is not good for sports and India's image," Maken told reporters.

Chautala also said that he had done enough for Olympic sports in India to deserve the IOA Life President's post.

Asked if he was not responsible for the mess boxing went through recently, Chautala said former IOA Secretary General Randhir Singh was responsible for it.

Kalmadi served as the IOA president from 1996 to 2011 and was jailed for 10 months for his involvement in the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games corruption scandal but was later released on bail.

Chautala, on the other hand, served as the president of the IOA from December 2012 to February 2014 when the sports body was suspended by the parent IOC for fielding charge-sheeted candidates at the elections. His election as IOA chief was annulled by the IOC.

And a top IOA official, who did not wish to be named, said this annulment is the technical reason why Chautala should never have been made Life President in the first place.

"Why everybody is forgetting that the IOC, a day after IOA was suspended, had declared that the election of Chautala and Lalit Bhanot as president and secretary general was null and void? The IOC had refused to recognise Chautala-led dispensation and had communicated with V K Malhotra only," he said.

"So, under the IOA Constitution, only a person who has been a president can only be made Life President. Chautala was never a president of the IOA and so can how he be made a Life President?" the official asked.

There has been speculation that Chautala was elevated as Life President to placate him so that he does not create any further problem in the IOA giving recognition to the newly-formed Boxing Federation of India.

The erstwhile Indian Amateur Boxing Federation, of which Chautala was a former president, is still recognised by the IOA as the NSF for boxing event though it has been de-recognised by the world body AIBA and the Sports Ministry.

Sources said IOA is now inclined to consider BFI's application for recognition positively.

Also speaking on the issue was Justice (retd) Mukul Mudgal, who headed a Supreme Court-appointed committee to inquire corruption in the 2013 Indian Premier League. Mudgal felt the IOA has erred.

"Their (Kalmadi and Chautala) guilt is a matter of trial but I think it (elevation in IOA) was avoidable and they should not have done it. I am told this was not even on agenda. In theory, sports bodies are independent but for all events, they need state funding. The government can stop funding but it will only hurt Indian sports. It's a difficult situation," he opined.

Ganesh does star turn as YFA Sports Club beat MEI

Dec 29, 2016, Bengaluru, DHNS

Ganesh’s superb bowling performance handed YFA Sports Club a comprehensive nine-wicket victory over MEI Polytechnic in the KSCA Group I, Division V tournament for the JB Mallaradhya Trophy here.

Batting first, MEI Polytechnic were restricted to a paltry 121 all out in 37.4 overs thanks to Ganesh’s six for 18.

Rohith struck a defiant 53 to add some respectability to MEI’s total.
YFA made light work of the chase as they strolled home in just 16.1 overs as Abhijit top scored with 52 not out.

In another fixture, Shrinivas scored a half-century and team-mate Muneer produced an all-round show as South End Sports Club scored a comfortable 133-run victory over Sparklers Cricket Club. 

Brief scores: MEI Polytechnic CC: 121 all out in 37.4 overs (Rohith 53; Manjunath 2-5, Ganesh 6-18) lt to YFA Sports Club: 122/1 in 16.1 overs (Abhijit 52 n.o.).

South End Sports Club: 329 all out in 43.4 overs (Shrinivas 71, Younus 48, Muneer 47, Akash 29, Imran 30, Sagar 34; Mahesh 3-70, Pandey 2-40, Darshan 3-70) bt Sparklers Cricket Club: 196 all out in 42 overs (Mahesh 63, Pandey 27, Suraj 25; Muneer 3-43, Bharath 2-26).

Coles Cricket Club: 190 all out in 45.1 overs (Abhinav Roy 30, Shashank 34, Aditya B Sagar 27, R Madhusudhan 41; Dayanand S 2-18, Akshay 2-47, Hari Chaitanya 2-18, Jithendra VN 4-28) bt Head Quarters Cricket Club: 130 all out in 26.5 overs (Akshay 37; R Madhusudhan 2-20, Shantharaju G 2-25, Somashekar K 3-16, Shivaraj 2-12).

Young Cricketers Association, Kolar: 197 all out in 49 overs (Mohd Ashiq 58, Nithin 37; Prashanth 2-30, Shreyas 2-10) lt to Diamond Cricket Club: 198/7 in 46.3 overs (Prashanth 71, Anup 65 n.o.; Venu Pai 4-30, Chandan Reddy 2-40).

All-round Manu sets up Sindhi HS' victory

Dec 29, 2016, Bengaluru, DHNS

Manu P followed up his two-wicket effort with an unbeaten ton to set up Sindhi High School’s (Hebbal) eight-wicket win over The New Cambridge High School in the KSCA (under-14) III Division knockout tournament for the BTR Shield here.

Sindhi HS restricted New Cambridge to 143/8 in 50 overs despite Arshil’s unbeaten 70. Nihil Krishna (2/28) and Manu (2/21) got amongst wickets.

In response, Sindhi HS replied with 145/2 in 26.4 overs with Manu remaining unbeaten on 110.

Brief scores: The New Cambridge HS, ICSE: 143/8 in 50 overs (Arshil 70 n.o., Sreevatsa 29; Nihil Krishna P 2-28, Manu P 2-21) lt to Sindhi High School, Hebbal: 145/2 in 26.4 overs (Manu P 110 n.o.).

Baldwin Boys’ HS: 34 all out in 25 overs (Nikhil BK 5-5, Ujwal 4-9) lt to Sri Siddaganga HPS: 35/3 in 15 overs (Sanjeev 2-3).

Venus International School: 189 all out in 45.3 overs (Sandeep 71; Sai Prasad 2-27, Abhay 2-28, Danash 3-39) bt Jnana Vijnana Vidyapeeta: 59 all out in 18 overs (Prajwal Rathod 5-18, Levit 2-20).

Holy Angel’s High School: 225 all out in 45 overs (Monish 71, Sagar S Agrahar 47; Manish Kumar 2-43, Jawad Hussain 3-40, Abdul Sameer 3-24) bt Lilly Rose Eng. School: 203/8 in 50 overs (Meecan Ahmed 26, Manish Kumar 29, Abdul Sameer 44; Tanish 2-36, Chetan S Badiger 3-30).

Head Start Education Academy: 114 all out in 27.2 overs (Dharshan 37; Akash 3-21, Gagan 2-18, Suhas 2-10) bt St Claret School: 71 all out in 26 overs (Padam 4-15, Sidarath 2-9, Akshar 2-6).

Jain Hertiage School: 185 all out in 45.5 overs (Aprameya 28, Kanak 65, Varshin 28; Rushil R Gopal 2-25, Sharat 3-41, Vishnu 3-24) lt to St. Paul’s English School: 186/9 in 48.1 overs (Rishil R Gopal 90 n.o.; Akshan J 2-35, Leen 2-15).

Embassy Public School: 35 all out in 25.4 overs (Aarnav 3-8, Abhiram 5-5) lt to Sri Kumaran’s Children Academy: 36/0 in 8.3 overs).

Cook ton puts SA in command

Dec 29, 2016, PORT ELIZABETH, Reuters

Proteas take 432-run lead

Opener Stephen Cook scored a career-high century to help South Africa build a massive 432-run lead over Sri Lanka despite rain delays on the third day of the first Test at St George's Park on Wednesday.

South Africa were 351 for five at the close and in a commanding position to seal victory.

The hosts, with two days left, are likely to put the touring side back into bat early on Thursday, leaving plenty of time to claim the 10 wickets they need to go ahead in the three-match series.

Cook reached his century off 152 balls and went on to score 117 before being caught behind, trying to tickle a ball down to third man but only getting a faint edge to Dushmantha Chameera's delivery.

Cook shared a 116-run opening partnership with Dean Elgar, who scored 52, and another 105-run stand with Hashim Amla, who was out for 48 off 53 balls. Elgar top-edged an attempted pull shot and was caught at mid-on off Suranga Lakmal in the first success for the visitors on a track that was supposed to favour the seamers.

Amla, who has struggled with form in recent months, showed aggressive intent when he came to the crease but was trapped lbw by Nuwan Pradeep with the last ball before tea, the 10,000th leg before decision in Test history.

JP Duminy and Temba Bavuma were the other batsmen out with captain Faf du Plessis (41) and Quinton de Kock (42) unbeaten at the end of the day's play.

score board

South Africa (I Innings): 286
Sri Lanka (I Innings O/n: 181-7)
Karunaratne b Abbott 5
K Silva lbw b Philander 16
K Perera c de Kock b Philander 7
K Mendis c de Kock b Abbott 0
Mathews c Elgar b Rabada 39
Chandimal lbw b Philander 28
Dhananjaya c de Kock b Philander 43
Herath lbw b Maharaj 24
Chameera c Amla b Abbott 19
Lakmal c Abbott b Philander 4
Pradeep (not out )8
Extras (lb-4 nb-3 w-5) 12
Total (all out, 64.5 overs) 205
Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-19, 3-22, 4-61, 5-94, 6-121, 7-157, 8-181, 9-185
Bowling: Philander 20-7-45-5, Abbott 21.5- 4-63-3, Rabada 13-3-63-1, Maharaj 10-3-30-1.
South Africa (II Innings)
Cook c Chandimal b Chameera 117
Elgar c Mathews b Lakmal 52
Amla lbw Pradeep 48
Duminy c Mathews b de Silva 25
du Plessis (batting) 41
Bavuma c Mendis b de Silva 8
de Kock (batting) 42
Extras (B-5, LB-1, W-3, NB-9) 18
Total (for 5 wkts; 80 overs) 351
Fall of wickets: 1-116, 2-221, 3-245, 4-267, 5-277
Bowling: Lakmal 15-2-57-1, Pradeep 14-0-65-1, Mathews 4-0-10-0, Chameera 11-0-63-1, Herath 23-1-76-0, de Silva 13-0-74-2