Changing coaches frequently not good for Natl team: Balbir Sr

July 22, 2015

New Delhi, Jul 22: Legendary hockey Olympian Balbir Singh Sr is extremely disappointed in the manner Hockey India has handled the Paul Van Ass issue making it clear that this frequent hire and fire policy would affect national team's performance with only one year left for Rio Olympics.

Balbir Sr"If we change coaches this frequently, then something apparently is wrong with our system. It reflects poorly on us and it would definitely affect the on-field performance of the Indian national team," the triple Olympic gold medallist told PTI in an exclusive interview reacting to sacking of Terry Walsh and Van Ass in a space of eight months.

Only two days back, Dutch coach Paul Van Ass created a flutter by claiming that he has been fired by Hockey India following his alleged public altercation with federation president Narinder Batra, throwing the sport into yet another phase of uncertainty.

Balbir Sr knows a thing or two about man management having guided India to its only World Cup triumph in 1975 feels that if are recruiting foreign coaches, then we should also learn to respect them.

"If we do not appoint an Indian coach and invite a foreign coach, then we should treat him with due respect. We should give that person adequate opportunities, because his own reputation is equally involved," Balbir Sr said.

Without taking HI chief Narinder Batra's name, the former Indian hockey captain made it clear that administrator should refrain from giving technical inputs as it is the sole domain of a coach.

"During a tournament, the administrator has no role to play in the technical aspect of the game," he added.

Over the past few years, HI has stressed on getting a foreign coach on board, paying them handsome salaries. The last Indian coach to take charge of the senior team was Joaquim Carvalho, who had a one-year stint that ended in 2008.

But four foreign coaches – Jose Brasa, Michael Nobbs, Terry Walsh and in all likelihood Van Ass now – have had unceremonious pre-mature exits. Balbir Sr however suggested that Van Ass should be encouraged to come back.

"The team still has one year to go to the Olympics. As per the President of HI, Van Ass is still the coach and should be encouraged to come back and take charge of his wards to ensure continuity from now till the Rio Olympics," he said.

"The same sort of situation was there there in 1975 but our combined efforts and persistent hard work won us the World Cup," the legend added.

When asked about what would be his advice for the team to do well in Olympic, he said that players should concentrate on on-field activities without thinking about the off the field drama.

"What the mind can conceive, your brain can believe and you can achieve. Set specific and clear goals. Commit to them and focus on achieving them. Leave the rest of the clutter and drama aside mentally," stated one of the finest centre forward, who scored a record five goals against the Netherlands in the 1952 Olympic Games final in Helsinki.

"My best wishes are always there for each and every member of the squad. All I will tell them is work hard, play for each other and think positive. The spot at the top is always vacant," he concluded.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 2: Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has said that he was ashamed on seeing the training regime of Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Iqbal said that the incident happened two-three years back as he thought to himself that why he cannot do the same even when he is the same age as Kohli.

"I must say this, it is not because I am talking to an Indian commentator, India is our neighbour so whatever things they do, it affects Bangladesh as well. We follow what is happening in India, when India changed its approach towards fitness, it impacted Bangladesh the most," Iqbal told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I have no shame in admitting this, when I saw Virat Kohli running around two-three years ago, I was ashamed of myself, I thought this is a guy who is probably my age, but he is training so much and I have not doing even half of it. We have a great example in our team as well, Mushfiqur Rahim manages himself well regarding fitness," he added.

During his initial days of international cricket, Kohli was fond of chicken which he has admitted several times during media interaction.

But in 2013, the 31-year-old batsman intentionally shifted his focus to fitness, diet, and training.

Now he has become punctual about his diet which has given him a different character on and off the field.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have also kept on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar managed to call time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings.

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Agencies
January 25,2020

Headingley, Jan 25: England have become the first team in the world to score 500,000 runs in Test cricket. They achieved the feat during the ongoing fourth and final Test against South Africa being played at The Wanderers.

On Friday - the opening day of the Test match -- England captain Joe Root's single through the covers took the Three Lions to a landmark 500,000 run-mark in the longest format of the game. They achieved the feat in their 1022nd Test match.

Australia comes second in the list, with 432,706 runs in 830 Tests. India, meanwhile, are third, with 273,518 runs in 540 Tests, followed by West Indies (270,441 runs in 545 Tests).

In the third Test played at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, England had become the first team to play 500 Test matches on foreign soil. Australia are the second team to play the most away Test with 404 matches they have played so far.

India have played 268 Tests on foreign soil in which they have won 51, lost 113 and 104 have ended in a draw.

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News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

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