India a country of 1 billion has been a perennial underdog at the international sporting arena. India’s abysmal record at the Olympics is the diamond in our crown of sporting shame. The reason is beautifully captured in the lines above. The problem is not the lack of talent but the lack of opportunity.

One organization is trying to challenge the status quo; Aata Odanata (Kannada for Sports and Bonding) is a Karnataka based non-governmental organization that aims to empower socio-economically challenged, yet talented and spirited youngsters through sports.

Their mission is to take sports to kids in rural schools, in city slums, in obscure orphanages. They believe kids with talent and a desire to excel but with no facilities, no funds and no mentoring. Kids who should be given that one chance.

Below is a chat with their director Sheetal, Founder & Director:

IAL: How does Aata Odanata plan to achieve your mission?
AO: We will work to identify and nurture talent through sponsored training and mentoring. We will collaborate with other NGOs to create sports opportunities for special kids. We hope to bring in recognized sportspersons and coaches to mentor and train the target talent pool.

Our Mission is to encourage under privileged children to learn and play different sports and to identify and support sporting talent.

IAL: Why do you think sports plays an important role in a child’s development?
AO: We at AO believe that sports is a powerful catalyst. Sports can help develop an individual mentally, physically, psychologically and socially. However, this is just the delightful benefit of AO’s main mission which is to marry talent and opportunity. We believe that providing the right opportunity will bring out the best in the kids whose talent remains undiscovered and undeveloped because of their circumstances.

IAL: How do you intend to use Olympic sports in your program? (Any Olympic sport including athletics is fine)
AO: We are not specifically promoting any particular sport at AO. We aim to help children broaden their horizons in the sporting disciplines of their choice. This will include sporting disciplines from Olympics as well. Convergence with the PT Usha school of athletics, with athletic coaches at the district and taluk level and exposure to competition at higher levels is already within the ambit of AO’s activities, leading to direct talent detection and development.

IAL: How does AO help the child who are part of the program?
AO: We aim to help as many children as possible to realise their dream in whatever way we can. We spot talent through local events, school competitions and point them in the direction of training or sponsor such training where required. Facilitating participation in the Sports Authority of India trials is an example.

IAL: How can readers of the post help you?
AO: The readers can help us in by donations. They can sponsor specific events/ sports or kids. Trophies, Event running costs, sports kits, or cost of training. They can help by connecting AO to coaches and ex-sportspersons. They can even join us as volunteers at our different events. They can come out to coach the kids at special camps if they have expertise in any sport.

Or they can just come and play with the kids, help them learn and watch them win.

“Be a sport. Become an AO Buddy Today”

More deatils on the their website or email them at aata.odanaata@gmail.com

After the match, in typical Indian fashion, Bhupathi apologized to the opponents for “being too hot” for them and I hope he didn’t mean it, because January has been a great month for India Tennis.

India has made its presence felt deep in 2nd week of the Australian Open. Yuki Bhambhri, lived up to his top seeded billing winning the boy’s singles title beating the German Alexandros-Ferdinandos Georgoudas 6-3 6-1 in the finals. The only set he lost was in the first round. To add to this success he reached the semifinals of the boy’s doubles competition.

Mahesh and Lander both had great good results in the men’s-doubles with Leander making it to the semis and Mahesh to the finals.

To add the success at the Australian Open, Somdev’s performance at the Chennai Open give us hope for 2009 and beyond.

We will rate every sport on a scale from -3 to 3. A positive score will indicate a step forward and a negative one will point to a regression. The absolute value will be a measure of the quantum.

So here we go sport by sport in alphabetical order:

ARCHERY

Positives:
Indian men won gold medal in the men’s recurve team event in the World Cup held in Antalya, Turkey.

Negatives:
The disappointment of the Olympics. A Lot was expected of the women’s team and of Dola Banerjee – the winner of the World Cup in 2007. But nobody delivered on the promise. We didn’t even contend for a medal. Another story of under achievement.

Verdict:
Archery has tantalized us with its medal winning potential for too long now. Time and again it promises a lot and then leaves Indian fans heartbroken. The sport has a decent talent identification program and generally the archers are provided with world class coaching and infrastructure and given sufficient international exposure. If only we could do something about their mental strength and nerves at the big events.

Score:
0

ATHLETICS

Positives:
The Indians topped the medals tally in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha in February ahead of China and did well in the three Asian Grand Prix events in June.
The federation and the govt improved its act – there was a training-cum-competition trip of England before the Olympics and a few athletes were sent to train abroad.

Negatives:
A hugely disappointing Olympics where almost instead of going swifter, higher and stronger our athletes ended up being slower, lower and weaker. The selection criterion remains a joke with the authorities’ intent on inflating the size of the squad. The Olympics also signalled the end for our lone world class athlete – Anju Bobby George.

Doping and age violations became even more rampant at junior and sub-junior levels.

Verdict:
We are totally stuck in a time warp – happy to win medals at inconsequential events and send the largest contingent amongst the various sports to the Olympics. The consistency of our underperformance at the Olympics is extremely depressing. There isn’t a single athlete coming through the ranks who we can get excited about. This sport needs a major over haul.

Score:
-1

BADMINTON

Positives:
The super success of Saina Nehwal who is still a teenager. She missed an Olympic medal by a whisker and has improved by leaps and bounds since then.

Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand form a two man support system for all aspiring badminton players.

India has 4 players in the top 50 on the men’s side including Chetan Anand at 15.

Negatives:
The cancellation of national level tournaments, the passport fiascos and the haphazard arrangement of training camps.

Verdict:
We have the talent and we are making it count to some extent. But we could really do with more exposure and better support systems.

Score:
1.5

BOXING

Positives:
An Olympic medal and two near misses.

4 medals at the AIBA boxing World Cup.

World Championship Gold medals for Mary Kom (women) and Thakchom Singh (junior men).

A much better support system and hopefully things are getting even better – thanks to Bhiwani and the Mittal Trust.

Negatives:
In spite of all the glory and the surge in popularity of the boxers’ post the Olympics, things are back to normal – there was no reception for the World cup squad which came home with 4 medals

Verdict:
The talent was always there. Now we have started to believe in ourselves. The depth is also very good. The next Olympics could be even better.

Score:
2

HOCKEY

Positives:
KPS Gill was finally sacked.

The emergence of a talented drag flicker in Diwakar Ram.

A movie called Chak De which made some much needed attention to the sport.

Negatives:
We missed the Olympics.

We still have an ad-hoc committee and a caretaker coach.

Verdict:
We have reached a nadir. And we have stayed there. Full stop.

Score:
-3

SHOOTING

Positives:
Abhinav Bindra wins an Olympic gold.

Gagan Narang breaks two world records.

Ronjon Sodhi wins the World Cup and equals a world record.

Negatives:
Other then Bindra and Narang all the other shooters stunk at the Olympics.

The acute shortage of equipment, practise pellets, infrastructure and support systems continues.

Verdict:
The talent has always been there but in spite of an Olympic gold life has not changed for the shooters. Is Bindra merely an exception or do we have capability to produce more champions – the jury is still out on this.

Score:
1

TENNIS

Positives:
The emergence of Somdev Dev Varman. Barely six months after turning professional he is already India’s highest ranked player at world number 204.

Leander Paes’ becoming a vice president of Bengal Tennis. We shouldn’t read too much into this but it at least creates hope.

The emergence of Yuki Bhambhri. Another one who gives us hope for the future.

Negatives:
The open infighting in the Davis Cup team.

The dismal year for Sania Mirza. Also disappointing years for the other women’s players.

Failure to win a medal at the Olympics. It’s not the failure which stinks – it’s the fact that Paes and Bhupathi made every effort to not be well prepared.

Failure to make the World group in the Davis Cup once again.

The AITA at its worst. They announced the Indian Tennis League – which was modelled on the IPL but then totally forgot about it. They also picked up a fight with the guys running Apollo’s Mission Grand Slam 2018 program.

Verdict:
Tennis is extremely popular in the country - there are lots of enthusiastic kids playing it, parents are usually encouraging and there is no shortage of fans willing to cheer and corporates willing to fund the game. But hardly any good players are coming through. We have a big problem with our system and nobody seems to be doing anything about it.

Score:
0

WEIGHTLIFTING

Positives:
Absolutely nothing.

Negatives:
Once a medal generating sport, women’s weightlifting slipped a little more in 2008, with our weightlifters falling a little further off the international pace.

The doping controversies.

The selection controversies.

Verdict:
We are going from bad to worse and to add to it are also doing it disgracefully and with shame.

Score:
-1.5

WRESTLING

Positives:
The bronze medal won by Sushil Kumar at the Olympics.

A decent performance at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The emergence of Indian stars in professional wrestling like the WWE – the likes of the Great Khali and Sanjoy Dutt. At least it motivates young kids to take up the sport.

As compared to the previous Olympics, Indian wrestlers were trianed by better foreign coaches and were given more international exposure.

Negatives:
We are not making the Olympic success count. Absolutely nothing has been done to take advantage of the increased interest in the sport.

Verdict:
The sport is extremely popular in certain pockets of the country and there is no shortage of talent. In fact the sport continues to prosper, in spite of govt and corporate apathy, because of its huge popularity in these regions. And now Sushil Kumar has shown all the budding wrestlers that we can be true world beaters. This is a great time to harness this surging potential and make Olympic medals a regular feature. Sadly the govt hasn’t awakened to this possibility. And for some reason the corporates also stay away. Why isn’t Sushil Kumar endorsing energy drinks and breakfast cereal?

Score:
1

Photo Courtesy: TOI

2-0
The score line in the final of the triangular series in Australia and in the home test series against the same opponents. Both were landmark moments for Indian cricket.

6.5-4.5
The victory margin for Vishwanathan Anand against Vladimir Kramnik in the World Championship Match –up in the classic format. The media might call this another world title for the Chess maestro but the real aficionado will tell you that this one mattered more than anything. Anand thus became only the second non-Russian to become world champion in the classic format.

18
The number of Olympics that India’s streak of playing in the hockey event of the quadrennial event lasted, before we suffered the ignominy of missing out in Beijing. And based on what’s happened after, there is a good chance that we could start a new streak – one of missing out.

4-1

The score line in the final of the AFC Challenge Cup as India humbled Tajikistan. For once, India’s football side had the entire nation glued to attention as they went on a rare winning run which culminated in the title triumph and qualification for the Asian Cup after 24 long years. Start making plans for 2011.

36 and 9
Like in 2008, Jeev Milkha Singh had won 4 tournaments in 2006 also. But 2008 saw Jeev become the first Indian to have a top ten finish in a major, when he finished 9th in the PGA Championship. The other highlight for Milkha Singh’s son was achieving a career-best world ranking of 36. Like the golfer, we have also started dreaming of winning a major.

10
This was the year-end world ranking of Saina Nehwal – India’s shining new hope in badminton. Saina
Has taken major strides this year – narrowly missed an Olympic medal, won the world juniors and made a semi-final appearance at the BWF World Masters. Prakash Padukone sees a future world number one in her and we don’t disagree with the great man

0 and 0
The number of Indian drivers in the Force India Formula One side and the number of points won by ‘India’s’ team in formula one. Not seeing an Indian in the driving seat was disappointing and therefore the zero points didn’t hurt so much.

83
The most brilliant cricket innings played by an Indian player in 2008. There have been far bigger ones but nothing comes close to Virender Sehwag’s effort in terms of sheer audacity and eventual impact on the outcome of the game. Indian cricket’s most memorable non-century innings ever.

204
The year-end rank of the new hope of Indian men’s tennis – Somdev Dev Varman. This young man has been a professional tennis player for only six months and is already our highest ranked singles player. He has all the game, the physique and the mind to make it big. And he also has the support of all Indian tennis fans.

2
The number of gold medals won by India at the World Junior Chess Championships. India thus became the first country to win both the boys and girls titles. Dronavalli Harika and Abhijeet Gupta reflect the growing power of Indian chess –Vishy is the king and there are pretenders galore

2500000
The total prize money in dollars at the Emaar MGF Indian Masters – the first European Tour sanctioned event to be played in India. Having this tournament in India was clearly a sign of India’s growing stature in golf

4
The number of Indian players in the top-50 of men’s badminton. Led by world no 15 Chetan Anand and nurtured by Padukone and Pullela Gopichand, India has a decent program in place and a steady stream of good players coming through. I always wonder, why, in spite of all this, badminton has not become a darling of the sponsors, the fans and the media.

4 and 4
The number of World titles won by women’s boxer MC Mary Kom and the number of medals won by the men at the first AIBA World Cup. After years of promise, the medals have finally started to come. The recruitment of a South African physio and a Cuban coach has played no small part. It’s imperative that we make the most of this momentum

3
The number of sports federations headed by Suresh Kalmadi – Athletics, Olympics and now Hockey. He is also in charge of the Delhi Commonwealth Games which are in serious danger of being moved to a new location owing to the glaring delays in meeting project timelines. I will say nothing about his performance though.

2
The rank of India’s richest sports fan on the Forbes billionaire list. Lakshmi Mittal and his son-in-law Amit Bhatia have proven to be true sports fans – they were moved by India’s sporting plight and decided to make a meaningful contribution. The Mittal’s Champions Trust was born - it intends to support and fund talented sportspersons and potential Olympic medal winners to enable them to access the best specialists in the world, so that they can compete with the best in the world on a level playing field. With a list of beneficiaries that includes Saina Nehwal, Abhinav Bindra, Akhil Kumar and Joshna Chinnappa, they are already making a difference.

115000000
The number of dollars paid by Mukesh Ambani to own the Mumbai franchise of the IPL – clearly a measure of the hype and possible potential of the league. The IPL lived up to all the hype and unleashed a creature which could change most of the paradigms of the game of cricket.

6-1
The score by which Pankaj Advani beat eight time World Champion Geet Sethi in the final of the IBSF World Billiards Championships. This was in true sense a passing of the baton, from a legend of the green baize to one capable of being a true successor.

147+47
Ronjon Sodhi’s world-record equalling score which also made him the first Indian shooter to win a gold medal in the double trap event at the World Cup. It was unfortunate that this brilliant shooter could not find an Olympic berth. Sodhi along with Bindra and Gagan Narang are the stars of Indian shooting in 2008.

Most of the time we have had burly defenders like Jagdev Singh giving the ball an all-mighty thwack. But converting penalty corners is not just about power. It’s also about precision and control. Jugraj Singh was the first Indian who seemed to have that as well. Sadly, he had a horrific accident and that was the end of his international career.

Later guys like Len Aiyappa, Dilip Tirkey and Sandeep Singh have tried to don the mantle of India’s penalty corner ace. Sadly, none of them have really managed to ace the task at hand.

It is also important to note the major rule change that has affected the way penalty corners have been attempted in the last decade. Players can now hit a rising shot and there is no restriction on the height attained by the ball in its flight towards goal. This has led to the innovative new style of hitting a corner called the ‘Drag-flick’. This has further increased the value of the penalty corner, provided, you have a good drag-flicker. For those who don’t, like India, the new style has created a bigger disadvantage.

For a once proud hockey nation which has touched its nadir by failing to qualify for the Olympics, this is too much of an Achilles heel. Thankfully, help is on the way in the form of junior team captain Diwakar Ram. He was the star of the show in the Asia Cup held earlier this year, where he ended as top –scorer with nine goals. And now he has added to his growing reputation by leading the junior team to a series win over world champions Argentina and that too away in Buenos Aires. The difference between the two sides was India’s victory in the first game where Diwakar got a hat trick.

We have unearthed a rare gem and now the onus is on the Indian hockey authorities to groom and nurture him. He has the correct basic drag-flick technique and regular training stints with the renowned penalty-corner coach Toon Siepman would do him a world of good. Opposition coaches are continuously studying your hitting technique and Diwakar will need all the guidance to hone his craft and be more deceptive. He will also need to add strength and stamina and that will require physical conditioning, nutrition regulation and strength and fitness training.

Fast bowling was a sore issue in Indian cricket before Kapil Dev arrived. Diwakar Ram could do the same for penalty corners in Indian hockey.

I don’t remember ever. And don’t count the charity games they play in.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is hardly any money in amateur boxing. The AIBA Boxing World Cup was a rare event that offered prize money. Our bronze-medal winning boxers won 2,500 USD each – peanuts compared to most other sports.

But, in spite of the meagre amount, boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar, decided to distribute a share of their prize money to the coaching staff comprising - Sandhu, Bisht, Ramanand and C Kuttappa. “We will give $500 to each of them as these people matter the most. They wipe our blood and sweat and put in the effort to prepare us for the toughest in the world. They are the unsung heroes,” said Akhil.

Now you decide, who is richer – cricketers or boxers?

This article was originally posted here.

(AFP PHOTO / JACQUES DEMARTHON)

Earlier in the tournament, Saina had won 2 of her 3 round-robin matches to become the second player in her group to qualify for the semifinals. While she lost her first group match against World No. 2 and No. 2 seed Tine Rasmussen (DEN) 21-18 21-14 on Thursday, Saina did not let the early disappointment affect her in the group matches on Friday. She beat World No. 7 and No. 4 seed Hongyan Pi (FRA) in straight games 21-18 21-13 and later edged out local favourite and World No. 11 / No. 6 seed Mew Choo Wong in a thrilling contest 21-10 17-21 21-16.

Yuki started the year with a bang: making a semi-final appearance at the Australian Open Boys’ Singles where he lost to eventual junior champion Bernard Tomic.. However, he was not able to build on the early momentum in the other Grand Slams. He lost in the first round of the French Open Boys’ Singles and Wimbledon Boys’ Singles. He made it to the second round of U.S. Open Boys’ Singles losing to his doubles partner Filip Krajinovic.

Success eluded Yuki in the doubles format too. He played in three Junior Grand Slam Doubles tournaments partnering with Karunuday Singh at the Australian Open Boys’ Doubles losing in the first round, Ilija Vujic at the French Open Boys’ Doubles losing in the second round, and Filip Krajinovic at the U.S. Open Boys’ Doubles losing in the first round.

Yuki finally got back to form at the Junior Davis Cup in Mexico in September, where he led India to the semifinals. The tournament was a turning point for the lad. He then went on to win a Grade A ITF tournament, Osaka Mayor’s Cup in Japan (Oct 6 to Oct 12), and followed it up by winning the Asia/Oceania Championships in Indonesia (Oct 28 to Nov 2). He then got back into action earlier this month at the Eddie Herr Cup (Dec 1 to Dec 7) where he lose to the eventual champion, Alex Domijan, in the semifinals. And capped the season by making history as the first Indian winner of the prestigious Orange Bowl (Dec 7 to Dec 14) at the young age of 16. Orange Bowl is the biggest ITF juniors event after the Slams.

Yuki, who trains at the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy (NBTA) in Florida, will now cease to be a Junior (except for the Grand Slams). He has been promoted in the NBTA and will now be playing with the Top 100 guys. Also, he has received a qualifying wild card for the Sony Ericsson Open, an ATP Masters Series Event, to be played March 2009.

Rising up through the ATP Rankings is an altogether different ball-game and our best wishes are with Yuki.

India v. Argentina

Match 1, December 8, 2008: India 3 Argentina 2
A hat-trick by Indian captain and birthday boy Diwakar Ram helped India beat Argentina 3-2 in the opening hockey test. After surviving some early bursts from Argentina in the first half, India worked themselves into great rhythm. Diwakar converted 2 penalty corners (9″ and 19″) to take India to a 2-0 lead at the break. India maintained their control over the game in the second half as Argentina conceded another penalty corner in the 55th minute which the Indian skipper put clinically in the roof of the net. A few lapses in defence allowed Argentina to score two goals in quick succession in the 64th and 67th minutes through Alan Andino and Agustin Mazzilli. India, however, held out until the final minutes as Argentina went all out in the hunt for an equaliser.

Match 2, December 10, 2008: India 1 Argentina 1
India dictated play but several squandered chances later the match ended in a draw with a goal each. India scored first through a solo by right winger Mandip Antil in the 44th minute while Argentina equalised in the 61st minute when Santiago Montelli successfully converted a penalty stroke.

Match 3, December 12, 2008: India 2 Argentina 2
India led by a solitary goal (32″ Mandip Antil) at half-time as they squandered a string of penalty corners and attacks. Gaps in India’s mid-field allowed Argentina to work their way into India’s 23-meter area with short bursts of acceleration and in the process scored two quick goals (64″ & 67″ Guido Barreiros) off penalty corners. The match seemed to have been out of India’s reach thereafter. However, a last-minute equaliser from winger Pramod Kumar saved the day for India.

Match 4, December 14, 2008: India 4 Argentina 4
India drew first blood as Danish Mujtaba scored in the seventh minute of the game, latching on to a rebound from Diwakar Ram’s trademark low drag-flick. However, Argentina immediately went into the offensive from their left flank to score three goals (13″ Lucas Colombo, 18″ & 28″ Juan Cruz Agulleiro) to lead 3-1 at half-time. But India came back strongly in the second half to put on an exhibition of great maneuvers. Not only did they wipe off the goal deficit but went into a 4-3 lead with a brace from the Indian captain Diwakar Ram (39″ & 59″) and another goal from Jay Karan (61″). However, Argentina were lucky to win a penalty corner just before the whistle and managed to equalise with a few seconds remaining.

India v. Holland

Match 1, December 13, 2008: India 3 Holland 2
India commanded proceedings in the first half with dominant midfield play and ball possession. Goals from Diwakar Ram (17″) and Mandip Antil (24″) put India 2-0 at the break. Holland were hopeful of coming back as they scored off a penalty corner in the 43rd minute reducing the margin. However, another dragflick from Diwakar Ram in the 51st minute gave India a 3-1 lead and put the match beyond Holland’s reach. A consolation goal came for Holland eventually as India gave away a soft penalty corner in the final minute.

Sadly, there was major dejection in store. It started with Jitender Kumar getting soundly beaten by Laffita Hernandez of Cuba. Then there was a heart-break moment as Akhil Kumar lost out on a count back after tying 4-4 against another Cuban, Alarcon Leon. In Beijing, Akhil had been on the right side of a tight call but sadly it was his opponent who heaved a sigh of relief in Moscow. Anthresh Lakra fought hard but went down 3-6 to Torriente Idel making it 3 out 3 for Cuba against India. And the worst was yet to come. It came when Dinesh Kumar was battered into submission and was forced to throw in the towel, bringing an ignominious end to the Indian campaign. The watershed moment would have to wait for another day.

Now a day later, after the dust has settled, we can take stock of the situation. Dinesh Kumar beat Abdelhafid Benchabla, the guy who beat him at Beijing and went onto clinch bronze. That is a big gain – one step forward for him. Jitender and Anthresh have won bronze but they did not have to beat a top boxer to do that – hence don’t have much other than the bronze medal to take home from this event.

Akhil Kumar’s drawn duel against a world –class Cuban is the biggest gain. Alarcon Leon showed his class by winning his final bout 10-1. It is the first time that an Indian boxer has gone toe-to-toe, punch for punch against a top Cuban. Fighting against them is as much a challenge mentally as it is a test of skill and power. This will give Indian boxers the confidence that they have it in them to take on the very best. As for Akhil, it will be a small step towards the goal he has set for himself – gold at London 2012.

This tournament has also thrown some light on what India needs to do in boxing now. It has clearly established that boxing is India’s biggest medal hope at the next Olympics and also that the talent pool is also larger – as compared to badminton, wrestling and shooting. It has conclusively proved that the increase in exposure trips and the hiring of a physio have paid off big time. And therefore more good work needs to be done in that direction – starting with an increase in world-class support staff and training infrastructure. It has also shown us that we still have a long way to go before we can start beating the Cubans and the Russians. We need to start setting the bar higher. Bronze medals are good but let’s not get too carried away by it. Let’s start aiming and preparing for the watershed moment.