Cape Cobras inflicted a highly venomous defeat on the Royal Challengers Bangalore. No antidote was capable enough to stop the poison from the King Cobra Duminy. The crowd applauded with fireworks. What a chase! What a start to the tournament opener! I became a fan of this team (Started following it on Facebook too.).
A cricket team from Cape Town named as Cape Cobras. What a unique name! I don’t know what’s the relationship between Cape Town, Cricket and Cobras but I can say that some sports teams have very unique name. Diamond Eagles is another team in Champions League from South Africa which has an uncommon name. I guess 'Diamond' could be because of the infamous diamond mines there but why 'Eagles'. We have another team Victoria Bushrangers in the tournament. Bushrangers, were outlaws in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who had the survival skills necessary to use the Australian bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. Otago Volts, Sussex Sharks and Somerset Sabres have equally strange name.
If we look at the owners of some of the cricket teams in India then we will see that this group is full with either film actors or businessmen. Kolkata Knight Riders, the "Korbo, Lorbo, Jeetbo Re" team, is owned by Shahrukh Khan, Juhi Chawla & Jai Mehta. Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals are partially owned by Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty respectively. The other partner of the Punjab team is Mohit Burman from Dabur and partners of the Rajasthan team are Emerging Media and Lachlan Murdoch. Deccan Chargers are owned by Deccan Chronicle, Delhi Daredevils by GMR group, Chennai Super Kings by India Cements and Mumbai Indians by Reliance Industries. Vijay Mallya of United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines owns Royal Challengers Bangalore. Mallya’s interest does not stop at cricket only. He also owns Formula One team Force India. He sponsors the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan football clubs. He also owns the company, United Racing and Bloodstock Breeders which has interests in horse racing. It runs the Kunigal stud farm.
I suppose the trendiest team names are the NBA teams. There one team is Detroit Pistons while another is Philadelphia 76ers. There are also some other teams with funky names like Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Bobcats, Minnesota Timberwolves, Memphis Grizzlies and New Orleans Hornets.
Though English football teams do not have very unusual names, their owners are pretty rich guys. Roman Abramovich, among the richest in the world, owns Chelsea. Though Arsenal's parent company is Arsenal Holdings, American sports tycoon Stan Kroenke owns a large chunk of it and another major part is owned by Alisher Usmanov. Other American businessmen like George Gillett and Tom Hicks own Liverpool Football Club and Malcolm Glazer owns Manchester United. (We have a local ManU team also, Mangalore United. It plays in the Karnataka T20 league.) Manchester City is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Ruling Family of Abu Dhabi. Fulham is owned by Mohamed Abdel Moneim Fayed, the owner of Harrods. Fayed's oldest son, Dodi had a close relationship with Diana, Princess of Wales. Both of them died in a Paris car crash on August 31, 1997. There is an Indian connection with an EPL team. Queens Park Rangers Football Club is partially owned by steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.
Sports is always interesting, both on field and off. Sometimes it is people like Mohammad Asif, who failed a dope test, and sometimes it is people like Serena Williams, because of her outburst during the US Open. There are also times when sportspersons like Kim Clijsters inspires a million and Vijender Kumar encourages a billion-strong nation. Sports has its pieces. Champions T20 League is another chapter in it. Hope it brings joy to its followers and hope my hissing reptiles ‘Cape Cobras’ win it.
Friday, October 09, 2009
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Come Out and Play
“Come Out and Play” is the motto of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, scheduled to be held in New Delhi between 3rd and 14th October 2010. Though India has hosted Asian Games twice, in 1951 and 1982, it has never hosted the Commonwealth Games. It will be only the third developing country to host this event. Jamaica in 1966 and Malaysia in 1998 have hosted it earlier.
The Commonwealth Games is a multinational, multi-sport event, just like Olympics. It is held every four years. A total of 71 teams participated in the last Games, including 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Tokelau, a dependency, is expected to take part in the 2010 Games in Delhi. The first such event, then known as the British Empire Games, was held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. The name changed to British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1954, to British Commonwealth Games in 1970 and assumed the current name of the Commonwealth Games in 1978. There are a total of 31 sports and further 7 para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games Federation. A number of optional sports may be picked by the host nation. In the last edition, a total of 4500 athletes participated in 16 sports.
Delhi became the host for the 2010 Games by defeating the Canadian city of Hamilton by 46 votes. This voting was done at CGF General Assembly in Montego Bay in November 2003. The preparations for the Games are already well underway at an estimated cost of Rs. 70 billion (US$1.4 billion). Delhi is expecting around 5,200 athletes and 1,800 officials. There are numerous civic and infrastructure projects being carried out to make Delhi a world-class city, ready to host the Commonwealth Games and guests in 2010. Delhi’s airport is being modernized, upgraded and expanded to handle the passenger traffic envisaged during the Games. Twelve new flyovers and several bridges and under-bridges have been planned to improve road connectivity with the Commonwealth Games Villages, the sports venues, and within the city. An additional 25,000 hotel rooms are being built to meet the requirements of the Games. India is also getting ready to cash in on the Commonwealth Games barrage of tourists. It is developing 20 tourist destinations.
Shera, the official mascot of the Games, is a Royal Bengal Tiger wearing a white sporting jersey and blue shorts. The Royal Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India. It is also an endangered species because of its vulnerability to habitat loss, poaching and environmental degradation. The Nineteenth Commonwealth Games promise to be Green Games. The Organizing Committee has made a commitment to ensure that the negative environmental impact of the Games is minimized. The Games will focus on waste management, forestation, anti-litter campaigns, sustainable transport, use of renewable energy sources and efficient water management.
India won a total of 50 medals, including 22 gold, in the last edition of the games in Melbourne. India’s highest medal tally was in 2002 Games when it won a total of 69 medals, including 30 gold. India has never led the medal tally. Hope as a host nation it will achieve this too.
I and many others of my age-group have never seen India hosting such a mega event other than the cricket world cup. It is a kind of first for us. I am very excited and waiting in eager anticipation to watch the Games to be held in India. I hope it becomes super-duper successful. Hope India shows its best both on the field as well as off the field in hosting it. “Atithi Devo Bhava”. India now has a chance to show that it still believes in it. Hosting a sporting event at a scale such as the Commonwealth Games is a matter of international prestige for the country, and is bound to provide a significant boost to India's global visibility, viability and the overall "brand India". India is heralded as the next world economic superpower and the 2010 Commonwealth Games will be another opportunity to project the nation on the world stage. The Games will also leave behind dramatically improved, world-class sports facilities that generations of India's athletes can use in the future. I am very thrilled about this event happening in my country and thus I try to track every development about it. And I expect that many of my fellow Indians too would be following the development.
Bolt!! We are waiting for you.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sportswomen in India
There are very few female sports persons from India who have gained worldwide prominence. And in the case of Sania Mirza, one would have to admire the acclaim and recognition that she has received. Sania is the very first female player from the country to be ranked in inside the women’s top 100 on the WTA Tour rankings. She reached upto 27. She became the first Indian woman to win any grand slam event. And though as of late she has fallen down the rankings, she has to be admired for being viewed as a role model for others in the country. If we look for famous female sports persons in India then she is not he first and never the last one, however she is among the most talked about sports person in India.
According to me P.T. Usha has been the most famous female sports person in India. People of my generation have grown up listening about her. In the 1986 Seoul Asiad, she created new Asian Games records in all the events she participated. The Payyoli Express is one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced. Like Anil Kumble Circle in Bangalore, there is a road named after her in Cochin, P.T. Usha Road.
There are many more famous female sports persons in India. Saina Nehwal is one such lady. She is currently ranked number 6 in the world badminton female rankings. She scripted history on June 21 2009, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesia Open. She has been named The Most Promising Player in 2008 and India too has hopes in her. Aparna Popat is ranked amongst the finest badminton players in the world. She has been winning the senior national title since 1998. Shikha Tandon is another such promising sports person. Though she has not made much splash uptil now, she has great potential to perform well for India. She was awarded Arjuna award in 2005.
Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in Long Jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics. She was once ranked World No. 4 of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). In Chess also India has a few great female sports persons. Humpy Koneru is currently number two in the world for women. In shootings, we have Anjali Bhagwat. She was awarded the Arjuna award in 2000 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2002-03.
Karnam Malleswari, also a Khel Ratna awardee, won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, which made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. In 1995, Malleswari won the world weightlifting title in her class (54 kg) with a new record. Dola Banerjee is a cousin of the singers Shaan and Sagarika. She became world champion in archery by winning the gold medal in the women's individual recurve competition at the archery world cup held at Dubai, in November 2007. Joshna Chinappa was the first Indian girl to win the British Squash Championship title in 2003 and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion.
We have many great women cricketers too, the Tendulkars and Dravids. Mithali Raj, trained in Bharata Natyam, was the captain of the Indian women's cricket team. Jhulan Goswami is an all round cricketer who is currently the Indian Women's cricket team captain. She bowls at an unbelievable speed of 130-135 km/h, which is even on par with the male counterparts. She won the ICC Women's Player of the Year 2007.
The list of great Indian female sports persons is endless. Bachendri Pal was the first Indian woman to scale the Mount Everest, and the fifth woman in the world. Even the famous Nafisa Ali was a national swimming champion. Some one has said it so correct that “Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece.” I suppose Indian sports’ masterpiece is coming out now.
According to me P.T. Usha has been the most famous female sports person in India. People of my generation have grown up listening about her. In the 1986 Seoul Asiad, she created new Asian Games records in all the events she participated. The Payyoli Express is one of the greatest athletes India has ever produced. Like Anil Kumble Circle in Bangalore, there is a road named after her in Cochin, P.T. Usha Road.
There are many more famous female sports persons in India. Saina Nehwal is one such lady. She is currently ranked number 6 in the world badminton female rankings. She scripted history on June 21 2009, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesia Open. She has been named The Most Promising Player in 2008 and India too has hopes in her. Aparna Popat is ranked amongst the finest badminton players in the world. She has been winning the senior national title since 1998. Shikha Tandon is another such promising sports person. Though she has not made much splash uptil now, she has great potential to perform well for India. She was awarded Arjuna award in 2005.
Anju Bobby George made history when she won the bronze medal in Long Jump at the 2003 World Championships in Athletics in Paris. With this achievement, she became the first Indian athlete ever to win a medal in a World Championships in Athletics. She was once ranked World No. 4 of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). In Chess also India has a few great female sports persons. Humpy Koneru is currently number two in the world for women. In shootings, we have Anjali Bhagwat. She was awarded the Arjuna award in 2000 and the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2002-03.
Karnam Malleswari, also a Khel Ratna awardee, won a bronze medal in the 2000 Summer Olympics at Sydney, which made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal. In 1995, Malleswari won the world weightlifting title in her class (54 kg) with a new record. Dola Banerjee is a cousin of the singers Shaan and Sagarika. She became world champion in archery by winning the gold medal in the women's individual recurve competition at the archery world cup held at Dubai, in November 2007. Joshna Chinappa was the first Indian girl to win the British Squash Championship title in 2003 and was also the youngest Indian women's national champion.
We have many great women cricketers too, the Tendulkars and Dravids. Mithali Raj, trained in Bharata Natyam, was the captain of the Indian women's cricket team. Jhulan Goswami is an all round cricketer who is currently the Indian Women's cricket team captain. She bowls at an unbelievable speed of 130-135 km/h, which is even on par with the male counterparts. She won the ICC Women's Player of the Year 2007.
The list of great Indian female sports persons is endless. Bachendri Pal was the first Indian woman to scale the Mount Everest, and the fifth woman in the world. Even the famous Nafisa Ali was a national swimming champion. Some one has said it so correct that “Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece.” I suppose Indian sports’ masterpiece is coming out now.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Ludo – I still remember
Last week I was at my native place. While I was searching for my old school diaries in an old box, just to get a little nostalgic about my school days, I found something very very interesting. I stumbled upon an old torn board of Ludo. Yes Ludo, that game which we used to play so very often. We never used to let a single evening of our summer vacations pass without a round of it. Whenever some uncle or aunt used to visit us, our parents used to instruct us to play a game of Ludo with their children. I remember once playing it even with my ‘strict’ grand-father; I played the whole game in utter discipline which was never my usual self.
Ludo, for those of you who have heard of it for the first time, is a simple board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens ‘goti’ from start to finish according to dice rolls. Some know it by its cousin ‘Pachisi’. Pachisi has a history dating back to the 6th century.
A Ludo board is normally a square marked with a cross. Each arm of the cross is divided into three columns, with the columns divided into usually six squares. The centre of the cross is the finishing square which is often divided into four coloured triangles. Each coloured triangle is combined with a coloured middle column appears as an arrow pointing to the finish. The shaft of each arrow is a player's "home column" and is five squares long. My favourite was red as it used to get the first chance to throw the dice.
To the left of each home column, one square from the edge of the board is a starting square, also coloured. During game play a piece moves from its starting square, clockwise around the perimeter of the board, and up the player's home column to the finishing square. In the space to the left of each arm is a circle or square to hold a player's pieces before they are allowed into play. Huhh, that much of an explanation!! We were the ‘experts’ of it. We used to make several rules and many a times break them too.
Usually, at the start of the game, the player's four pieces are placed in the start area of their colour. Players take it in turn to throw a single dice. A player must first throw a six to be able to move a piece from the starting area onto the starting square. In each subsequent turn the player moves a piece forward 1 to 6 squares as indicated by the dice. When a player throws a 6, the player may bring a new piece onto the starting square, or may choose to move a piece already in play. It was very pleasing to watch the face of the player who had all four of his pieces inside and he was throwing the dice waiting for a 6.
If a player's piece lands on a square containing an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is captured and returns to the starting area. We wanted all our moves to land at such places. Once a piece has completed a circuit of the board it moves up the home column of its own colour. The winner is the first player to get all four of his pieces onto the home square.
We had some special rules like if a player's piece lands on another of his own pieces; they are doubled and form a "block" which cannot be passed by any opponent's pieces. Doubled pieces may move half the number if an even number is thrown. A doubled piece may capture another doubled piece. Ahh!! That’s called a ‘Double Bonanza’.
Ludo may seem pretty lame to most people, but when played with proper strategy it would be very absorbing. Another game, usually comes packaged with Ludo, is Snakes and Ladders. It is also as engrossing as Ludo. Here the cells are numbered from 1 to 100 and a player has to tread through it. The players would meet several ladders and snakes in between. And that adds the spice to the game.
I have spent much of my childhood playing Ludo and thus I got very sentimental about it. I immediately rushed out to buy a new one. Though it was difficult to find one, I found it at last at a small shop around a km from my home. It was a feeling of bliss when I found it. I did not buy it just to play it again, but to recall those happy days when we used to play and fight over it. I bought it because it reminds me of my childhood days. I bought it since it teaches that the game depends just on the turn of the dice but still we fought over it, so very similar to life. It teaches me about life, its true nature.
Ludo, for those of you who have heard of it for the first time, is a simple board game for two to four players, in which the players race their four tokens ‘goti’ from start to finish according to dice rolls. Some know it by its cousin ‘Pachisi’. Pachisi has a history dating back to the 6th century.
A Ludo board is normally a square marked with a cross. Each arm of the cross is divided into three columns, with the columns divided into usually six squares. The centre of the cross is the finishing square which is often divided into four coloured triangles. Each coloured triangle is combined with a coloured middle column appears as an arrow pointing to the finish. The shaft of each arrow is a player's "home column" and is five squares long. My favourite was red as it used to get the first chance to throw the dice.
To the left of each home column, one square from the edge of the board is a starting square, also coloured. During game play a piece moves from its starting square, clockwise around the perimeter of the board, and up the player's home column to the finishing square. In the space to the left of each arm is a circle or square to hold a player's pieces before they are allowed into play. Huhh, that much of an explanation!! We were the ‘experts’ of it. We used to make several rules and many a times break them too.
Usually, at the start of the game, the player's four pieces are placed in the start area of their colour. Players take it in turn to throw a single dice. A player must first throw a six to be able to move a piece from the starting area onto the starting square. In each subsequent turn the player moves a piece forward 1 to 6 squares as indicated by the dice. When a player throws a 6, the player may bring a new piece onto the starting square, or may choose to move a piece already in play. It was very pleasing to watch the face of the player who had all four of his pieces inside and he was throwing the dice waiting for a 6.
If a player's piece lands on a square containing an opponent's piece, the opponent's piece is captured and returns to the starting area. We wanted all our moves to land at such places. Once a piece has completed a circuit of the board it moves up the home column of its own colour. The winner is the first player to get all four of his pieces onto the home square.
We had some special rules like if a player's piece lands on another of his own pieces; they are doubled and form a "block" which cannot be passed by any opponent's pieces. Doubled pieces may move half the number if an even number is thrown. A doubled piece may capture another doubled piece. Ahh!! That’s called a ‘Double Bonanza’.
Ludo may seem pretty lame to most people, but when played with proper strategy it would be very absorbing. Another game, usually comes packaged with Ludo, is Snakes and Ladders. It is also as engrossing as Ludo. Here the cells are numbered from 1 to 100 and a player has to tread through it. The players would meet several ladders and snakes in between. And that adds the spice to the game.
I have spent much of my childhood playing Ludo and thus I got very sentimental about it. I immediately rushed out to buy a new one. Though it was difficult to find one, I found it at last at a small shop around a km from my home. It was a feeling of bliss when I found it. I did not buy it just to play it again, but to recall those happy days when we used to play and fight over it. I bought it because it reminds me of my childhood days. I bought it since it teaches that the game depends just on the turn of the dice but still we fought over it, so very similar to life. It teaches me about life, its true nature.
Monday, May 04, 2009
Football in India!!
I was crestfallen to hear that Dempo conceded a last minute goal against Al Muharraq of Bahrain in an AFC Cup Group E match. This would have given it a chance to set one foot onto the quarter-finals. To add insult to injury, my room-mate taunted that 0-1 was a much respected score and had it played against ManU (I don't know whether he was referring to some character from Ramayana or some Hollywood star), the score would have been 0-90, a goal every minute. I was as red as Guntur chillies. I have always thought of India as a great football team and Mohun Bagan & East Bengal as the best in the world. My team had already lost, I did not want to lose to my friend. I wanted to substantiate my points. Thus I searched everywhere on the net about football in India, its history, the clubs here and the overall standing among the other nations.
To be very frank, it was sheer disappointment and complete shame. It ranks 149 in the world!! (The highest being 94 in February 1996.) Shame, shame. A country of over a billion people can not produce a football team. Trinidad & Tobago, a country of a little over a million people, had qualified for the last world cup and India lost out in the 1st stage of the qualifiers this time.
Dempo was not competing in the Club World Cup, instead it was just an Asia-level competition for second-rung clubs. One good point is that Dempo was a semi-finalist in the last year tournament and this year too it is doing well.
Although football in India is in a very poor state, it has quite an interesting history. Mohun Bagan was founded way back in 1889. It is in fact the oldest football club in Asia. In 1911, it caused a stir by becoming the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. The Government of India has also issued a postage stamp to commemorate this victory and given it the title of the "National Club of India". The Durand Cup football tournament, the world's third oldest tournament, was started in Shimla in 1898.
Gradually a number of clubs like East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting, Dempo, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar proliferated all over the country leading to the formation of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1937. AIFF is interestingly one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954. League football was being played in Calcutta long before Real Madrid or the world governing body Fifa even existed.
The 1951 to 1962 decade was the golden age for Indian football as the country put up a commendable show in a number of international competitions. India won the gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games at New Delhi and Jakarta respectively. It also won the bronze medal title in the 1970 Bangkok Asiad. In the 1956 Melbourne Olympics India became the first Asian nation to reach the semifinals of an Olympic football event defeating Australia 4-2 in the quarterfinal. Much to my astonishment, India also qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil when all of their opponents withdrew from the competition. However India refused to participate in the event as FIFA required all the players to wear football boots whereas the Indian players were used to play barefoot. India has also hosted the 2001 Millennium Super Cup, but were knocked out in the group stage following defeats by Iceland and Uruguay.
Recently, in August 2007, the Indian team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1-0. In August 2008, India defeated Tajikistan 4-1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. Other recent successes have been limited to the South Asian Football Federation Cup and the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002.
Football is very popular in the states of Goa, Kerala, Manipur, West Bengal, Mizoram and Sikkim. Most of the popular football clubs of India are based among these states. Bengal leads the states in the Santosh Trophy, a state-level tournament, with 29 wins. Although football is second only behind cricket in popularity in India, it is marred by lack of grass-roots infrastructure, negligible training & sheer neglect. The sport is in the doldrums in both standards and patronage. Recently many programs have been started to boost football in India.
I-League is one such initiative. It is the top tier league in the Indian football league system. It was started by AIFF in 2007-08. Following a AFC review of the I-League's progress, the champions of the I-League would be awarded a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League club championships in 2009.
Bharti Enterprises will start a world-class football academy, to be named 'Bharti-AIFF Academy' with an investment of more than 100 crores, to be set-up either in Haryana or Goa. It will initially take around 100 youngsters in four age group categories of 8-11, 11-13, 13-15 and 15-18, will have all the western club style facilities including multiple grounds, basic training, coaching and medical facilities. The youngsters will be selected under a massive talent hunt programme throughout the country to find out budding talent via scientific means.
Recently, Brazil has signed an agreement with India that would formalise a scheme to train Indian footballers and coaches.
We see kids playing football in the street with no shoes everywhere in this country but there's no development at youth level. That, and coach education, are reasons why we are not as advanced as we should be. We have 28 states but only a few are doing anything with any success to develop youth. If only they could catch players at a young age because India definitely has a lot of talent. India's youth coaching set-up is haphazard. Today football is nominally under the control of the All India Football Federation, and its president Priya Ranjan DasMunshi, a committee-based body funded by FIFA. But national youth football is traditionally controlled by a different body - the Sports Authority of India - which gets no money from FIFA. It is difficult to implement a successful youth development programme here because the people who run football are politicians, not professionals. There are people in Indian football who are secretary or treasurer of different state associations who have been there for 40 years. So for them holding onto power is the main issue. Improving the game is never the issue. So we need a set up for professionalism. Indian football never had a set up of that kind. Football should be managed by the chief executives of marketing or training. This is professionalism.
Presently, India in football is like Brazil in cricket. Lets hope it turns around.
To be very frank, it was sheer disappointment and complete shame. It ranks 149 in the world!! (The highest being 94 in February 1996.) Shame, shame. A country of over a billion people can not produce a football team. Trinidad & Tobago, a country of a little over a million people, had qualified for the last world cup and India lost out in the 1st stage of the qualifiers this time.
Dempo was not competing in the Club World Cup, instead it was just an Asia-level competition for second-rung clubs. One good point is that Dempo was a semi-finalist in the last year tournament and this year too it is doing well.
Although football in India is in a very poor state, it has quite an interesting history. Mohun Bagan was founded way back in 1889. It is in fact the oldest football club in Asia. In 1911, it caused a stir by becoming the first Indian team to lift the IFA Shield, a tournament previously won only by British teams based in India. The Government of India has also issued a postage stamp to commemorate this victory and given it the title of the "National Club of India". The Durand Cup football tournament, the world's third oldest tournament, was started in Shimla in 1898.
Gradually a number of clubs like East Bengal, Mohammedan Sporting, Dempo, Churchill Brothers, Salgaocar proliferated all over the country leading to the formation of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) in 1937. AIFF is interestingly one of the founder members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 1954. League football was being played in Calcutta long before Real Madrid or the world governing body Fifa even existed.
The 1951 to 1962 decade was the golden age for Indian football as the country put up a commendable show in a number of international competitions. India won the gold medals in the 1951 and 1962 Asian Games at New Delhi and Jakarta respectively. It also won the bronze medal title in the 1970 Bangkok Asiad. In the 1956 Melbourne Olympics India became the first Asian nation to reach the semifinals of an Olympic football event defeating Australia 4-2 in the quarterfinal. Much to my astonishment, India also qualified for the 1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil when all of their opponents withdrew from the competition. However India refused to participate in the event as FIFA required all the players to wear football boots whereas the Indian players were used to play barefoot. India has also hosted the 2001 Millennium Super Cup, but were knocked out in the group stage following defeats by Iceland and Uruguay.
Recently, in August 2007, the Indian team won the Nehru Cup for the first time in its history beating Syria 1-0. In August 2008, India defeated Tajikistan 4-1 to lift the AFC Challenge Cup and in turn qualified for the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. Other recent successes have been limited to the South Asian Football Federation Cup and the LG Cup in Vietnam in 2002.
Football is very popular in the states of Goa, Kerala, Manipur, West Bengal, Mizoram and Sikkim. Most of the popular football clubs of India are based among these states. Bengal leads the states in the Santosh Trophy, a state-level tournament, with 29 wins. Although football is second only behind cricket in popularity in India, it is marred by lack of grass-roots infrastructure, negligible training & sheer neglect. The sport is in the doldrums in both standards and patronage. Recently many programs have been started to boost football in India.
I-League is one such initiative. It is the top tier league in the Indian football league system. It was started by AIFF in 2007-08. Following a AFC review of the I-League's progress, the champions of the I-League would be awarded a spot in the prestigious AFC Champions League club championships in 2009.
Bharti Enterprises will start a world-class football academy, to be named 'Bharti-AIFF Academy' with an investment of more than 100 crores, to be set-up either in Haryana or Goa. It will initially take around 100 youngsters in four age group categories of 8-11, 11-13, 13-15 and 15-18, will have all the western club style facilities including multiple grounds, basic training, coaching and medical facilities. The youngsters will be selected under a massive talent hunt programme throughout the country to find out budding talent via scientific means.
Recently, Brazil has signed an agreement with India that would formalise a scheme to train Indian footballers and coaches.
We see kids playing football in the street with no shoes everywhere in this country but there's no development at youth level. That, and coach education, are reasons why we are not as advanced as we should be. We have 28 states but only a few are doing anything with any success to develop youth. If only they could catch players at a young age because India definitely has a lot of talent. India's youth coaching set-up is haphazard. Today football is nominally under the control of the All India Football Federation, and its president Priya Ranjan DasMunshi, a committee-based body funded by FIFA. But national youth football is traditionally controlled by a different body - the Sports Authority of India - which gets no money from FIFA. It is difficult to implement a successful youth development programme here because the people who run football are politicians, not professionals. There are people in Indian football who are secretary or treasurer of different state associations who have been there for 40 years. So for them holding onto power is the main issue. Improving the game is never the issue. So we need a set up for professionalism. Indian football never had a set up of that kind. Football should be managed by the chief executives of marketing or training. This is professionalism.
Presently, India in football is like Brazil in cricket. Lets hope it turns around.
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