Indian archers seem poised for medals at Olympics

July 7, 2012
india_archers

Like in the 2004 Athens Games, Indian archers will be competing in all the medal events in the Olympics - the men's individual, women's individual, men's team and women's team - this time around in London. While the women's recurve team members Laishram Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari and Chekrovolu Swuro earned their berths by clinching a silver medal at the World Archery Championship in Turin (Italy) in July 2011, the men's team of Rahul Banerjee, Jayanta Talukdar and Tarundeep Rai booked the London tickets by finishing second best in the last qualifying event in Ogden, USA last month.

Going by recent form, most experts feel the London Games is the greatest chance for the Indian archers to win some medals for the country, the best being teenager Deepika Kumari in the women's individual category. However, the manner in which the men's team fought to qualify for the Games has made them the dark horses for the Games.

"I think they (men) have peaked at the right time and I am confident that both the men's and women's teams will win medals in London," Archery Association of India (AAI) general secretary Paresh Nath Mukherjee told TOI. His confidence stems from the fact that the archers have been consistently shooting in the 220 points range, which Mukherjee feels is good enough for an Olympic medal.

London will be the first Olympics for four out six archers, which means India will have a mix of experience and exuberance. The onus will be on Rai and Bombayla Devi, who have participated in the Olympics before, to channelize the youthful energy of Banerjee, Talukdar, Deepika and Chekrovolu since big stage nerves like can leave first-timers awe-struck.

"Olympics are always special. Every sportsperson grows up listening to Olympics stories. It's no doubt the greatest show on Earth. I have also heard a lot from my sister (Olympian Dola). She has cautioned me that one can get unnerved at such a huge event. Hence it is important to stay calm and focused," Banerjee told TOI.

As for Deepika, Olympics is a dream which she has nurtured ever since she picked up a bow and arrow. The Ranchi girl won her first World Cup individual recurve gold medal in Antalya, Turkey in May and became the world No. 1 in the FITA rankings last month. But her focus is on London. "The No. 1 ranking is okay but I will be happy only when we win a gold in the Olympics," he said.

Cricket's mecca - the legendary Lord's stadium - will be the venue for the archery event this time and the AAI held a month-long summer camp at the Paljor stadium in Gangtok to help the archers get a feel of the conditions in London. The Sikkim training helped the archers concentrate better.

The team will leave 10 days before the event begins to get acclimatized to the conditions in London. "Wind is likely to play an important role this time," Banerjee felt.

National coach Limba Ram, who himself missed out on an Olympic bronze medal by just one point in Barcelona in 1992, wants to experience that winning feeling through his wards. "We stand a good chance to win medals this time. Deepika is in good form and the men's team too has picked up at the right time," he said.

The common complaint against Indian archers has been that they fail to live up to their potential in international tournaments. London will provide the opportunity to put such talk to rest.

Key Players


Individual

Deepika Kumari: Very few thought the eldest daughter of autorickshaw driver Shivnarayan Mahato and nurse Geeta Mahato would one day be India's best bet for a Olympic medal in archery. Hailing from Ratu Chati village some 15 km from Ranchi, Jharkhand, Deepika came into limelight by winning the 11th Youth World Archery Championship in Ogden, USA in 2009 at an age of 15 years. She carried her superb form to senior level too, winning gold in Commonwealth Games and World Cup. The shy, introvert girl is the reigning world No. 1 archer. She has prevailed over the world's best archers from Korea, which makes her a medal favourite this time. "All the leading archers of the world take part in the World Cup. Hence success there has given me a lot of confidence," Deepika said adding, "I'm confident of not returning empty-handed from London this time."

Team: Women's

Laishram Bombayla Devi, Deepika Kumari and Chekrovolu Swuro are capable of surprising many this time. Most importantly, Deepika and Bombayla are among the very few archers in the world who have beaten the world's best Korean archers at some time. The trio has formed a good combination among themselves and back up each other well. Qualifying a year back, they have got good enough time to coordinate, strategize and train as a team keeping the Olympics in mind. Winning four matches will ensure a medal in the team event. Medal chances here are high.

India's best show so far

Individual: Limba Ram missing out on a bronze medal by one point in the 70m individual category in 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Team event: Women's team of Dola Banerjee, Bombayala Devi and V Pranitha lost in the quarterfinals in 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Team: Men's

The Indian men's team of Jayanta Talukdar (from left), Rahul Banerjee and Tarundeep Rai qualified late last month at the Ogden, USA, meet, but the important aspect is that they have picked up at the right time. The team has done quite well this year, winning silver in the World Cup Stage II and Stage III events. The team has changed the shooting order this year with Jayanta and Rahul changing spots as the first and last shooters respectively, and that has worked quite well so far. The way Jayanta and Tarundeep backed Rahul when he lost his bow box before the final qualifying event speaks volumes about the team spirit.

Other Contenders

Bombayla Devi: This will be Bombayla's second Olympics after she became the first women to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Games. Being a regular member of the India side for the last four-five years, she has vast experience, which may come in handy in London.

Chekrovolu Swuro: The tall and stunning-looking archer from Dzulhami village of Phek district in Nagaland is a tough fighter and never loses heart in pressure situations. She has been in the circuit for more than a decade now and has enough exposure and experience to handle pressure in London.

Jayanta Talukdar: This quiet boy from Guwahati is one of the most consistent performer among Indian archers. Talukdar was the first Indian archer to win a gold medal at the World Cup in 2006. He is currently the highest ranked Indian archer (World No. 15).

Tarundeep Rai: This will the second Olympics for this archer from Sikkim, who as a 20-year-old participated in the Athens Olympics in 2004. He suffered a career-threatening shoulder injury which put him out of action for about two years but he made a strong comeback to the Indian side through sheer hard work.

Rahul Banerjee: The younger brother of Olympian Dola Banerjee, Rahul has watched from close quarters how her sister prepared intensely for the Olympics. Hence in spite of this being his first Olympics, he should not be left wanting in London. He showed great character by qualifying for the team event in spite of losing his bow box before the last qualifying event.



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Agencies
May 26,2020

Some of the ICC guidelines on resumption of cricket border on the impractical and will need a review when the cricketing world is closer to action, feel former players Aakash Chopra, Irfan Pathan and Monty Panesar.

Last week, the International Cricket Council recommended a host of "back to cricket" guidelines including 14-day pre-match isolation training camps to ensure the teams are free from COVID-19.

The world body issued training as well as playing guidelines which will drastically change the way the game is played.

Among them are regular hand sanitising when in contact with the ball, no loo or shower breaks while training, minimising time spent in the changing room before and after a game, no use of saliva on ball and no handing over of personal items (cap, sunglasses, towels) to fellow teammates or the on-field umpires.

"Social distancing is very doable in individual sport but very tough in a team sport like cricket and football. If you need a slip during the game, would you not employ it?

"If the team is going through a 14-day quarantine and is being tested for COVID-19, I am fine with that process. Now, after that, if we have more guidelines for the players during the game, then you are making things complicated. Then there is no point of a quarantine period," former India pacer Pathan told PTI.

Safety cannot be compromised but regularly sanitising hands during the game will be too much to ask from the players.

"Safety is paramount but we should not make the game complicated. If a bowler or fielder has to sanitise hands every time he touches the ball, then it would be very difficult.

"You can shorten the process of giving the ball to the bowler. Instead of the usual chain (wicket-keeper to cover fielder to bowler), the keeper can straight away give the ball to the bowler but even then the bowler will have to sanitise hands six times in an over," said Pathan seeking more clarity on the guidelines.

Former India opener Chopra said it is still pre-mature to prepare a fixed set of guidelines for resumption of cricket as the situation is evolving "every day".

"That (regular hand sanitisation after contact with ball) is obviously impractical but my big question is when the game happens in a bio secure environment and everyone is quarantined and tested, do these additional measures make a difference?

"On the field, I can still understand but what happens when you go back into the dressing room? How do you practice social distancing there? So it becomes quite complicated.

"To be honest it is all very premature. Once they get closer to resumption, which will take some time, there will be more clarity," said Chopra.

International cricket is likely to resume in July with England hosting West Indies and then Pakistan.

Bundesliga football league has already begun in Germany behind closed doors and by the time cricket resumes, more sporting competitions would have restarted and Chopra feels that will help cricket decide the way forward in post COVID-19 times.

"By the time cricket resumes, more football would have started after Bundesliga. Cricket can take lessons from there, collect data and ideas and see what is practical and what is not."

Former England spinner Panesar foresees the start of the England-West Indies series making things a lot clearer for the entire fraternity than they are at the moment.

"The 14 day quarantine is very much needed and well done to the ICC for including that. I think we will see resumption of international cricket with England hosting West Indies in July. We might have some practical ideas then, the other countries would also be watching keenly and will learn how to go about it.

"But measures like regular hand sanitising is not going to be practical. May be you could sanitise every one hour but it can't be regular during the game," said Panesar.

While Pathan feels the on-field safety measures will make managing over-rate a bigger challenge for teams, Chopra said no loo or shower breaks during training won't be that much of an issue.

"Training is still controllable. You don't have to be there for a long time but you would still have to use the restroom at some stage. You may avoid taking a shower but you will have to use the restroom.

"I think the idea of these guidelines is to make cricketers more aware that you have to take care of yourself and inculcate habits which are in everyone's interest in the current scenario," added Chopra.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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Agencies
February 12,2020

Mumbai, Feb 12: Former Indian greats Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin have been left disappointed by the behaviour of the Under-19 team after the World Cup final where they were involved in an altercation with their Bangladeshi counterparts.

After Bangladesh won the final beating India by three wickets (via DLS) at the Senwes Park on Sunday, the players of the two teams were seen engaging in an exchange of words and even some pushing and shoving on the field.

"I would like to see the board (BCCI) take some strict action against the players to set an example. Cricket is not about abusing the opponent. I am sure there is enough reason for these youngsters to be dealt with firmly by BCCI," Kapil was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

"I welcome aggression, nothing wrong in it. But it has to be controlled aggression. You can't cross the line of decency in the name of being competitive. I would say it was unacceptable that youngsters put up such an obnoxious display on the cricket field," he added.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has sanctioned five players, including three from Bangladesh -- Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain and Rakibul Hasan --and two from India --Akash Singh and Ravi Bishnoi for the scuffle.

Azharuddin also reiterated what Kapil said, insisting that players need to be disciplined.

"I would take action against the errant Under 19 players, but I also want to know what role has the support staff played in educating these youngsters. Act now before it is too late. The players have to be disciplined," Azharuddin said.

Earlier, Bishan Singh Bedi has lashed out at the Priyam Garg-led team, saying their behaviour was disgusting and disgraceful.

"You bat, bowl and field badly�happens, but there's no excuse for behaving badly. The behaviour was disgusting and most disgraceful. The innocence of that age was not visible at all," Bedi told Mid Day.

Bedi, who represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, said the behaviour of the Bangladesh cricketers is not our problem.

"Look, what Bangladesh do is their problem, what our boys do is our problem. You could see that there was abusive language used," he said.

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