Graphic courtesy The Tribune

his is a narrative of the human rights violations and sexual exploitation of women in Indian sports. Will the Union Sports Ministry show some leadership and take action against the lecherous, perverted officials listed below?

National Sports Federations Heads

• Per an article by Dr. P. S. M. Chandran of the Sports Authority of India (SAI), back in 2000, the president of a National Sports Federation (NSF) had planted a manager, who was in no way connected with sports, and whose job was to smuggle girls out of the stadium after the last light and take them to the room of the president who was camping close by.

  Even now, 10 years later, that person continues as president of the same federation and also serves as the chairman of its selection committee. To this day, he pitches his tent near the training camps when the women's selection trials are scheduled.

• Dr. Chandran also recalled an incident from 1993: "I was staying at the residential wing of New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with my five-year-old son. One night around 12 am, the security guard knocked at my door. He was accompanied by a girl in a tracksuit, who he said was looking for Mr. Rana (name changed), the secretary of a NSF. He was to select the women's team for an important international meet, and was staying at the stadium. A few days after that midnight tryst, I saw the girl at the stadium wearing India colours and boarding the team bus for the airport.

• Per an article by journalist M. S. Unnikrishnan in The Tribune, there are also sexual offenders among the Sports Authority of India's (SAI) Teams Wing, as they have the power to make or mar the career of a woman athlete. One such official, who once was part of the SAI Teams Wing once, now heads a prominent sports federation, and openly flouts government guidelines.

Archery

• In May 2010, a group of archers alleged that coach Gugin Chang Mai molested young women trainees.

Athletics

• This is a true account by an athlete who struggled with her coach's advances. It wrecked her balance, broke her spirit and destroyed her career.

  I took to athletics when I was 8. I was handpicked by my coach at a local stadium, where I used to run every evening. I went very quickly from being just another kid at the camp to a champion, winning at the school, inter-school , state and national level. I loved every day, every moment of my training.

  Around the time I was 13 or 14, I would see a friend, who was also in the camp, being sexually abused by our coach daily. About a year later, my friend quit the camp, unable to take the exploitation any longer.

  I was next in line. My friend was a top athlete and I was the next best in the camp. So, all of the coach's attention was now transferred to me. The pressure was on me on-and-off the field. Everything was leading towards the situation I saw my friend in not so long ago. It got to a point where I couldn't be alone with my coach any longer.

  At 16, I walked out of the camp. It was a few days after I won the silver medal in the Senior Nationals. And just like that, my world was taken away from me.

  The body heals, but there's no cure for a broken spirit. People in power should know that there are certain lines that cannot be crossed. I paid for it with my dream. No other girl should be made to do that.

• Former international athlete Reeth Abraham said, "Such incidents have been happening since the 1980s, and mostly with girls in team sports. It takes a lot of courage for a girl to openly speak of such incidents. I only wish the girls get bolder and stand up for themselves," she said.

Boxing

• In February 2010, boxer Suman Rawat accused her coach Jagat Singh of attempting to rape her.

• A woman boxer in Hyderabad commits suicide last year leaving behind a note saying she was being harassed by her male coach.

Cricket

• In 2009, two women cricketers of Andhra Pradesh charged Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) secretary, V. Chamundeshwar Nath, of demanding sexual favours from them to pick them for the team. He was summarily sacked by the ACA, and the Andhra Pradesh government appointed a senior police official to probe the allegations.

• Woman cricketer Anjali Pendharkar, who represented India from 1981 to 1986, says, "Sexual harassment does definitely exist. A coach may call a girl to his room ostensibly to discuss, 'team strategy', yet when he keeps calling the same girl, you know that something is very shady. Also, when the girls commute in the team bus, there are these unwelcome nudges sometimes from the male support staff."

• During a national camp for women cricketers in Delhi, a player confessed to an official that she carried condoms in her kit bag, as she never knew when she had to oblige an official of the cricket body to get into the Indian squad.

Hockey

• In November 2008, goalkeeper coach Aloysius Edwards sexually harassed junior women goalkeeper Navneet Kaur at the national camp for the Jr. Women's Asia Cup at Lucknow. According to Navneet, Edwards questioned her character, made vulgar remarks, and commented on her figure.

  Brave Navneet lost her temper and asked Edwards to "behave" and "shut up". Navneet's father, Harbhajan Singh, filed a Civil Writ Petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, seeking a probe into the incident by the Union Sports Ministry. Under pressure, coach Aloysius Edwards was thrown out of the camp. However, in a punitive action, the women's federation did not include Navneet in the squad for the subsequent Jr. Asia Cup.

• In July 2010, 31 players have backed a complaint made by a member of the team against coach M. K. Kaushik, accusing him of sexual harassment. This case got lot of prime coverage in the print and television media, bringing out into the open the sexual exploitation that exists in Indian sports.

• A few years ago, Indian women's hockey was controlled by a male official like an autocrat. The sick pervert was notorious for his ways with the women players, women coaches and women officials. It used to be said that the "women had to come under him to get on top of hockey." This official suffered a debilitating paralytic stroke, after which women hockey players breathed a sigh of relief..

Mountaineering

• United Kingdom-based top mountaineer Sharavati Prabhu says, "Sexual harassment happens everywhere, including mountaineering, but a majority of cases are covered up. Women mountaineers were forced to oblige the officials to move up in their careers."

Swimming

• Olympian Nisha Millet recalled an incident during the 1999 National Games in Manipur when an Indian Olympic Association (IOA) official literally asked her to use his bedroom.

  "I was sharing a room with a woman journalist at a hotel when the IOA official came up to me and said: 'Why don't you take my room keys? It is much bigger and even has a bigger TV'. I was much younger then but I was bold enough to tell him to go away. Speaking against the coach or an official can literally put an end to a sportswoman's career. There were several instances where national coach K. V. Sharma used to threaten us that we would never swim again if we complained to the press against him," said Nisha.

Tennis

• In 1993, budding tennis player Ruchika Girhotra committed suicide, three years after being molested by the then Haryana Lawn Tennis Association president, and Haryana director-general of police S. P. S. Rathore.

Water Polo

• Former captain of the Maharashtra women's water polo team, Shirin Merchant say, "I have little doubt that sexual harassment exists in water polo. When at competition or at camps, we women would feel uncomfortable wearing swimsuits when certain male coaches were present. Also, some players from the boys team would warn us about certain coaches and officials."

Weightlifting

• In July 2010, Olympic bronze medallist Karnam Malleswari accused weightlifting coach Ramesh Malhotra of targeting junior women lifters for sexual favours. Malleswari said, "Sexual harassment definitely exists in weightlifting, and it's not just the coaches, but also the federation officials."

  Acting swiftly, the Weightlifting Federation of India immediately suspended Malhotra. He was working with women weightlifters for the Delhi Commonwealth Games at the time of his suspension.

Wrestling

• Wrestler Sonika Kalliraman says she's been the victim of sexual advances as well as money extortion. "The president of the Wrestling Federation of India told me that I will never pick you. He wanted Rs. 50,000 from me. I am not scared of anybody, which is why I never gave in," says Sonika

Action Points for the Sports Ministry

Unless the sexual predators are handed out exemplary punishment, sportswomen will continue to be a soft target for perverted officials and coaches. Accordingly, the following action points are recommended for the Union Sports Ministry.

• National Sports Federation office bearers cannot do double duty as members of the selection committee.

• 50% of the elected office bearers of the National Sports Federations should be women. Such a reservation is necessary to safeguard the interest of female athletes.

• The Ministry should create a central authority, with jurisdiction over all National Sports Federations, to deal with allegations of sexual harassment. These cases can't be decided under the Vishaka Guidelines alone, since a sports trainee is not an employee, and in many cases is still a minor.

• The Ministry should formulate a Code of Conduct, which should be signed off by any national team coach, assistant coach or selection committee member at the time of appointment.

• The Ministry should take away the Arjuna Puraskar, Dronacharya Puraskar, or any other Government of India award given to a coach or official, who is later convicted of sexual harassment. To being with, strip away M. K. Kaushik's Dronacharya Puraskar, that was awarded to him in 2002.

• For women's sports teams, the chief coach should be a woman, either Indian or foreign, and the selection committee should be an all-women committee.

• Justice delayed is justice denied. Make it a law that written sexual harassment complaints sent to the Sports Ministry must be acted upon in 15 days. In the case of T. Ranjitha vs. M. K. Kaushik, the Sports Ministry took no action till the letter was released to the television and news media.
  
  

asavaraja fulfills every stereotype of a dirty old man. Short. Flabby. Bald. Moustached. Hard Drinker. Lavish Spender. Patroniser of Prostitutes.

Indian women's hockey team videographer Basavaraja's world, and that of his family (wife and 2 children) came crumbling down on July 16, when Hockey India received an email from a 'Hockey Sudhaar Singh'. The email contained 5 photographs of Basavaraja with a prostitute, taken during the Indian team's tour of China in March/April of this year.

The email went on to say:

"Our team has two videographers. One is Mr Basavraj who is basically a photographer employed with Sports Authority of India, Bangalore. He only knows how to record matches and has zero knowledge of computers. The other videographer Ms. H. Nalini is a software professional. Nalini is the main requirement of the Indian team for video analysis. Yet, Kaushik takes Basavraj with the team for any foreign tour, the reason being Basavraj bribes Kaushik by buying him drinks on tours abroad and paying for his shopping. The team has the technology, but it is not being utilised as coach Kaushik is more concerned about personal gratification. Kaushik made false allegations on Nalini to justify his choice of Basavraj. The whole team is upset with this."

Within hours of the email, photographs of the naked Basavaraja with a prostitute were flashed on all the television news channels in India, and in city newspapers.

The fallout was swift. Hockey India sacked Basavraja with immediate effect as the Indian women's hockey team's videographer. Sports Authority of India (SAI), Basavaraja's employers, faxed him his suspension order and ordered a probe into the matter.

B. Padmavati, 52, the unfortunate wife of the Basavaraja, who has been married to him for the past 22 years, was unaware of the incident till her sister called her up and told her the news.

A bank official and mother of two, Padmavati admitted she had seen the photographs. "The controversy has shaken my personal life. It will have severe consequences on my children's future, who are still pursuing their studies. The incident has spoiled the family's image to such an extent that it can never be restored," she sobbed.

Ramesh Parameswaran, former assistant coach of the Indian men's hockey team for around a decade, said: "Basavaraja was basically a still photographer employed by the SAI to take pictures of players for visa purposes. He had no other role to play. How does an ordinary photographer get promoted to a videographer and then a video analyst attached to the Indian team with absolutely no hockey background? Obviously, there is more to it than meets the eye."

To a few of his colleagues at SAI Centre South, the scandal hasn't come as a surprise. They said Basavaraja was in the habit of lavish spending. Basavaraja joined SAI Centre in Bangalore in 1992 as a photographer. But with the centre becoming the hockey hub - almost all national camps used to be held in the Karnataka capital - he started accompanying the teams abroad.

One of his colleagues said that there were occasions when Basavaraja had spent his own money in order to travel overseas with the Indian team, after his expenditures were not cleared by the government.

"We used to think it was because of his passion for the game that he wanted to travel with the Indian women's team. Now we know why," he said.

ormer India captain and Arjuna Puraskar winner, Helen Mary Innocent, who quit hockey in her prime at the age of 30 in 2006, said the following:

"There were 16-year-old girls around, and you can imagine what those players must have felt when they encountered coach M. K. Kaushik and manager Anurita Saini sleeping together on the same berth during one of our train journeys. They also used to spend long hours locked in the hotel room. I myself have seen Kaushik sir in a compromising position.

Saini used to sit for drinks and have fun with the coaching staff. Saini would often times come drunk to the team meetings. It used to get very awkward for us.

At the 2005 Santiago Junior Women's World Cup in Chile, a girl got injured and the members of the team kept looking for Saini for help, but she was not there in her room. Left with no option, they called up Kaushik's room, and they could hear the voice of Saini in the background.

I complained to the Indian Women's Hockey Federation (IWHF) about coach Kaushik and manager Anurita Saini after coming back from the 2006 Madrid Women's World Cup. No one in the federation supported me then. They thought I was blaming Kaushik and Saini because I was removed from captaincy.

On the next overseas tour, when a selector accompanied the team, she complained about the same things to the Sports Ministry as well as the IWHF. Only then did they remove Saini, but kept Kaushik. After Saini was sacked, since there were no women staffers, Kaushik sir tried his luck with the players. Kaushik started harassing the girls, and that's when things got ugly.

I am not at all surprised with all that has happened. I am glad that the issue has finally come to light and the girls have thrown him out of the team. I quit the national team because of Kaushik sir's behaviour and all this nonsense, which was rampant during my playing days.

We have suffered a lot under Kaushik. He has misbehaved with my teammates many times. I pray that justice is served to the girl who was his victim this time. While he is a great coach, he is also a characterless guy."

Former India captain Sanggai Chanu confirmed Helen Mary's allegations. Chanu said junior players approached the senior team members after catching Kaushik and the lady manager in a compromising position during the 2005 Junior Women's World Cup in Santiago, Chile. The senior players later confronted Kaushik in 2006 and made it clear that such behaviour was not appropriate. Subsequent to this, both Chanu and Helen Mary were dropped for the 2006 Asian Games.

Another India player, Rosalind Ralte said, "We had seen how Kaushik conducted himself in the last few years, during camps and overseas tours. Kaushik's brazen affair with team manager Anurita Saini, and how he went ahead despite us catching him in compromising position, showed that he was insensitive and reckless. So when Ranjita came to us crying in the month of March that Kaushik was sexually harassing her, there was no reason to disbelieve her."

Anurita Saini, who was assistant to chief coach Kaushik till 2006, said, "It is very embarrassing for me and my family. Do the players know the meaning of having an affair with someone? Why are they defaming me now, after I left the team four years ago?"

What is the relevance to hockey of this alleged adulterous affair between a coach and a manager?

When these unprofessional relationships become part of the dynamics of an overseas tour, it vitiates the team atmosphere completely. Players often fare poorly because their morale is down with all the off-field going-ons.

For the record, India finished 11th of 16 in the 2005 Junior Women's World Cup in Santiago (Chile), which is when the Kaushik-Anurita adulterous affair allegedly started, and 11th of 12 in the 2006 Women's World Cup in Madrid (Spain), which was when the Kaushik-Anurita adulterous affair allegedly ended.

31 signatories to the letter that exposed the sexual harassment of coach M. K. Kaushik

his could be the most important letter in the history of Indian women's sports. An anonymous letter sent to the Union Sports Ministry on June 11, and a follow up 4-page handwritten letter sent to Hockey India on July 20 (signed by 31 Indian women hockey players) read as follows:

Respected Sir,

I am a Hockey lover. I want to bring to your kind notice some of the worst things that are happening in the Indian women's hockey team.

There is a videographer Mr. Basavaraja. Whenever the team goes abroad for exposure tours, Mr. Kaushik will take him because Basavaraja arranges prostitutes for Kaushik in the star hotels abroad.

I am attaching some photographs taken in bedrooms during the China and Canada exposure tour of the team. For every tour, Basavaraja pays Rs. 30,000/ to Mr. Kaushik, along with drink bottles and gifts.

There is a video analyst Ms. Nalini assigned to the team. However, because that person will not provide the things Kaushik wants, he does not take the video analyst on tour. Because Basavaraja provides girls to his room in hotels abroad, Kaushik will take him only.

There is one more person Dr. Rajan Kukreja. He does not have qualification in psychology or mind training. His duties are to instruct the girls to listen to Kaushik.

There are many worst things that are happening. One example I will give is Th. Ranjitha from North East, who was member of the Junior Indian women's hockey team for the World Cup. He called her to his room during nighttime, but she did not agree. After the Jr. World Cup, she has not been selected for any tournaments. So I am hereby requesting you to kindly save Indian women's hockey.

Some photographs are attached herewith ..................

Sir, our women hockey players are really talented and the Indian team can be amongst the best in the world. But the politics being played by the coach is ruining the team. M. K. Kaushik is using his reputation to hide his wrong-doings; he is misusing his position as the chief coach.

Kaushik lacks the quality of tactical play that is required to compete at the elite level. He is psychologically unfit. His interest lies in gossiping about girls and manipulating the team for personal benefits.

Mr Kaushik asks for sexual favours from the junior girls and passes lewd comments by calling them to his room on the pretext of 'game meeting'. The girls, all coming from poor and humble backgrounds, are too scared to speak against the coach.

A couple of years back the coach also had adulterous relations with the then lady manager Mrs. Anurita Saini. They together spoiled the whole atmosphere of the camp. The camp became a means for their illicit deeds.

I will wait 2 or 3 days for your action, after which I will release this to the press. My intention is not to blame any single person, because I know that the whole bloody system is corrupt. Videographer Mr. Basavaraja will also tell everything if he gets remanded to police custody.

Thank you very much.
Hockey lover

Hockey India appointed 4 persons - all men - to investigate the sexual harrassment case - Olympians Ajit Pal Singh and Zafar Iqbal, Hockey India media manager Anupam Ghulati and Rajeev Mehta.

Zafar Iqbal immediately showed his bias by stating, "Coach Kaushik has been attached with the Indian women's team since 1991, and no complaint had come earlier. He also played hockey with us and we know him. The player's allegations are very dicey."

Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh and Manipur sports minister N. Biren Singh sent letters to the Union sports minister, seeking stringent punishment for coach Kaushik, and steps to ensure the players were not harassed in any form. Thokchom Ranjitha of Manipur was the player who had come out openly against Kaushik.

Hockey Manipur lodged a complaint with the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW). In a strongly-worded letter to Sports Minister M. S. Gill, DCW Chairperson Barkha Singh said complaints of such nature would have a highly demoralising effect on the country's sportswomen.

DCW also expressed its unhappiness at Hockey India setting up an all-male panel to look into sexual harassment allegations against Kaushik, which was in violation of Supreme Court guidelines in setting up Sexual Harassment Committees. Hockey India then went on to add Hockey Delhi member Ms. Sudarshan Pathak to the enquiry panel.

The National Commission of Women (NCW) took suo moto cognisance of the incident after reports indicated that players had been sexually harassed. NCW chairperson Girija Vyas said, "I'm shocked. We have asked the sports ministry and the hockey federation for an action taken report."

Brinda Karat, member of Politbureau of Communist Party of India, told Rediff.com, "A First Information Report (FIR) should be filed against coach Kaushik, as unwanted sexual advances towards a woman is a criminal offence. What has happened is extremely unfortunate. Such cases will deter upcoming sportswomen from participating in sports. It is good that Kaushik has resigned, but we demand that disciplinary action should be taken against him."

Mrs. Smriti Irani, President of BJP Mahila Morcha, told Rediff.com, "Molestation of women is worse than any other offence.I think the law needs to be more strict so that a clear message is sent to those who are in charge of women's teams in particular to behave or else face action. Very few women come forward to take part in sports, and when the coach in whom they place their trust breaches that trust, the coach needs to be punished."

Reinstated Indian Hockey Federation president K. P. S. Gill told Rediff.com: "This is a criminal case under section 354 of IPC (outraging the modesty of a woman), and a FIR should be filed against coach Kaushik as per the Supreme Court of India order, which defined what constitutes sexual harassment. Let the investigating police agency find out the truth and file a report. I am shocked by the disclosures. This is the job of the police and let them investigate the matter."

Faced with unrelenting pressure and media scrutiny from all sides, Kaushik submitted his resignation to interim Hockey India president Vidya Stokes. Kaushik will no longer coach the Indian women's hockey team for the 3 important events in 2010 - Women's World Cup in Argentina (September), Commonwealth Games in Delhi (October) and the Asian Games in China (November).

hockchom Ranjitha Devi said the following about coach M. K. Kaushik

"One day during the camp in Bhopal, Kaushik sir called me to his room and asked me whether I have had sex. I was quiet for a while, then he said it's good to have sex. I told my seniors that Kaushik sir spoke to me in a disgusting manner.

Kaushik sir used to have 1-on-1 meetings with everybody for 10-15 minutes, but with me he used to always take 1 hour. He used to repeatedly say that I am beautiful. Can I talk to you whenever I feel like? This kind of conversation used to take place very often.

One night during our tour to China and Japan, Kaushik sir called me to his room and started talking about my game. Soon he started saying that I was pretty, and I stay in Mumbai alone, and that I must be having a lot of fun. He even said that he was available 24 hours for me. He did not say it once or twice, he repeated it at least 5 times, and that too, pointing at the bed."

India captain Sanggai Chanu stated that Kaushik had a huge ego problem. Said Chanu, "When world-renowned coach Ric Charlesworth came over, we were keen to get his inputs on our game. Kaushik did all he could to stop us from getting near Ric. He was insecure. Kaushik would regularly remove senior girls from the team because they would raise their voice against him. That's why he removed three senior girls (goalkeeper Helen Mary, full-back Suman Bala, forward Sanggai Chanu) from the Indian team. Kaushik preferred to take juniors because they were more submissive."

Another former player from Haryana, who now lives abroad, said that Kaushik frequently made vulgar remarks about players. "We got to know from others he made inappropriate remarks about physique. But we couldn't do much as senior federation officials were protecting him. Besides, we were afraid we would not be picked again if we spoke up."

Dronacharya awardee hockey coach Baldev Singh, who has groomed many star players like skipper Surinder Kaur, Mamta Kharab and Rani Rampal, said that he was aware about the alleged misbehaviour of Kaushik. Said Baldev:

"I had received complaints from the girls stating that Kaushik has completely changed. He uses abusive language and his behaviour is strange. He even threatened captain Surinder Kaur and star forward Jasjeet Kaur to exclude their names from Commonwealth Games 2010 team.

Goalkeeper Jasdeep Kaur, one of the top in Asia, was kept out of the squad despite attending the camp. She was the best Asian player. Sandeep Kaur was shown the door two months back without any explanation. Suman Bala and Helen Mary's careers were destroyed by Kaushik. Now 2002 Commonwealth Games golden girl Mamta Kharab is suffering.

Girls did not want to attend national camps. Kaushik used to call them alone in the room which they never liked. But the girls were very well prepared this time and the whole team was united against him."

Almost every sportswoman at the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, expressed shock over the sexual harassment case in hockey that has hit the headlines. "It was the only topic of conversation the day the news broke. We were glad the issue got so much attention and that immediate action was taken. There should be even more stringent punishment for such sexual harassment offences," said the women at the Patiala sports institute.

Photograph courtesy HamburgMasters.de

he 16th BDO Hamburg Masters 4-nation hockey tournament was held at the Ulhenhoster HC in Hamburg from July 2 - July 4. Two European teams (Germany, Netherlands) and two Asian teams (India, Japan) took part in the tournament.

The Hamburg Masters and the subsequent European tour was part of the Indian team's preparations for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October, and the Asian Games in China in November.

India took a gamble by resting established players like Shivendra Singh and Arjun Halappa, and inducting a large number of youngsters for the tournament. The idea badly misfired - India did not win a single match, and finished 4th and last in the tournament.

India conceded the tying goal to Japan 40 seconds before the end of the match. Similarly, India conceded a goal to Germany 50 seconds before the end of the match.

India's match results were as follows:

Date	Score	Goal Scorers (IND)
July 2	Netherlands 6 - India 3	Dhananjay Mahadik (18 m, PC) Sandeep Singh (43 m, PC) Ravipal Singh (52 m)
July 3	Germany 5 - India 3	Sandeep Singh (7 m, PS) Rajpal Singh (15 m) Dharamveer Singh (41 m)
July 4	India 4 - Japan 4	Mohammad Amir Khan (6 m) Danish Mujtaba (16 m) Sandeep Singh (55 m, PC) Bharat Chikkara (57 m)

The final standings were as follows: 1 - Germany, 2 - Japan, 3 - Netherlands, 4 - India. Christopher Zeller of Germany was the top-scorer of the tournament.

India has played in the Hamburg Masters 5 times so far, finishing last in 1996, last in 1997, last in 1998, last in 2010, and first in 2003 (under captain Dhanraj Pillai).

The Indian team for the Hamburg Masters 4-nation tournament was as follows:

Goalkeepers: Parattu Ravindra Sreejesh, Bharat Chettri

Others: Amir Khan, Mandeep Antil, Danish Mujataba, Sarvanjeet Singh, Rajpal Singh (captain), Tushar Khandekar, Gurbaj Singh, Prabodh Tirkey, Vikas Vishnu Pillai, Bharat Chikkara, Sardara Singh, Dhananjay Mahadik, Ravipal Singh, Dharamveer Singh, Ajitesh Roy, Hari Prasad, Birendra Lakra Jr., Rupinder Singh

Officials: Jose Brasa (chief coach), Harendra Singh (coach), Clarence Lobo (manager)

India-France joint team photograph, courtesy Fédération Française de Hockey

he Indian hockey team went on a 3-country tour of Europe (Belgium, France, Netherlands) after the Hamburg Masters 4-nation tournament. India's match results were as follows:

Country	Date	Venue	Result	Goal Scorers - India
Belgium	July 13	Temse	India 3 - Belgium 3	Sandeep Singh (26, 28 m), both PCs Vikas Vishnu Pillai (58 m)
	July 15	Antwerp	India 3 - Belgium 2	Sandeep Singh (26, 67 m), both PCs Rajpal Singh (39 m)
	July 16	Brussels	India 6 - Belgium 0	Sandeep Singh (18m-PC, 70m-PS) Danish Mujtaba (29 m) Dhananjay Mahadik (44 m), PC Tushar Khandkar (45 m) Sarvanjeet Singh (63 m)
France	July 18	Paris	India 4 - France 3	Tushar Khandkar (5 m) Sandeep Singh (12, 65 m), both PCs Rajpal Singh (69 m)
	July 19	Paris	India 6 - France 0	Sandeep Singh (12, 37, 47 m), all PCs Rajpal Singh (39 m) Amir Khan (55 m) Hari Prasad (58 m)
	July 21	Paris	India 2 - France 2	Sandeep Singh (46 m), PC Rajpal Singh (65 m)
Netherlands	July 24	Amsterdam	India 1 - Netherlands 1	Sandeep Singh (4 m), PC
	July 25	Amsterdam	Netherlands 1 - India 0

Sandeep Singh was the top scorer for India on the European Tour with a total of 16 goals scored in the Hamburg Masters, and in the test series vs. Belgium, France and Netherlands. In an admirable display of consistency and reliability, Sandeep Singh scored at least one goal for India in 10 of the 11 matches played by India.

The Indian team for the European tour was as follows:

Goalkeepers: Parattu Ravindra Sreejesh, Bharat Chettri

Others: Amir Khan, Mandeep Antil, Danish Mujataba, Sarvanjeet Singh, Rajpal Singh (captain), Tushar Khandekar, Gurbaj Singh, Prabodh Tirkey, Vikas Vishnu Pillai, Bharat Chikkara, Sardara Singh, Dhananjay Mahadik, Ravipal Singh, Dharamveer Singh, Ajitesh Roy, Hari Prasad, Birendra Lakra Jr., Rupinder Singh

Officials: Jose Brasa (chief coach), Harendra Singh (coach), Clarence Lobo (manager)

he 63rd Senior National Hockey Championship for the Rangaswami Cup was held at the historic Aishbagh Stadium in Bhopal from July 4 - July 18. This was the 4th time that Bhopal was hosting the nationals - 1950, 1962 and 1975 and now 2010.

The senior nationals were last held back in 2006. It is to the credit of the Khel Evam Yuva Kalyan Vibhag (Directorate of Sports and Youth Welfare), Government of Madhya Pradesh, who took the initiative to revive the national championships, under the aegis of the Indian Hockey Federation.

Rival body Hockey India warned its affiliated units, players, officials and umpires not to participate in the national championship. This threat notwithstanding, a total of 30 teams from all over India participated in the nationals, with the host state Madhya Pradesh alone contributing 4 teams - Madhya Bharat, Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal and Madhya Pradesh State Hockey Academy (MPSHA).

The teams were divided into 8 pools, with the top team from each pool qualifying for the quarterfinals. The 8 quarter-finalists were Chandigadh, Delhi, Hariyana, MPSHA, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, and Steel Authority of India (SAIL).

Mumbai and Hariyana reached the final of the championship, with the following match results:

Stage	Date	Mumbai	Date	Hariyana
Pool	July 5	beat Chattisgadh 7-0	July 8	beat Madhya Bharat 4-1
	July 8	beat Bhopal 3-2	July 9	beat Andhra Pradesh 10-1
	July 9	beat Manipur 4-1	July 11	beat Karnataka 3-1
Quarters	July 13	beat Punjab 4-2	July 14	beat SAIL 3-0
Semis	July 16	beat Chandigadh 3-0	July 16	beat Tamil Nadu 2-1

In the final of the national hockey championship held on July 18 under floodlights, three-times champion Mumbai beat Hariyana 3-2 to win their 4th national title. Alden D'Souza, who scored a brace for Mumbai in the final, won the Man of the Match award for the final.

In an earlier playoff match, Tamil Nadu edged past Chandigadh 3-2 to finish 3rd. The match also saw Olympian Adam Sinclair being banned for the next edition of the nationals, after Adam scuffled with officials and linesmen before the start of the match.

The following tournament awards were presented, by the Madhya Pradesh Sports & Youth Welfare Minister:

• Player of the Tournament - Gursev Singh (Mumbai)
• Forward of the Tournament: Vikas Choudhary (MPSHA)
• Defender of the Tournament: Roshan Kaisham (Mumbai)
• Midfielder of the Tournament: Gurusev Singh (Mumbai)
• Goalkeeper of the Tournament: Sudhir Dikshit (Mumbai)
• Most Promising Team: Madhya Pradesh State Men's Hockey Academy

Note that 2 other tournaments/tours were going on at the same time of the 2010 national hockey championship - the senior national team was on a tour of Europe, while the Murugappa Gold Cup was being held in Chennai towards the end of the nationals.

Photograph by M. Vedhan, courtesy The Hindu

he 86th MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament was held at the Mayor Radhakrishnana Stadium in Chennai, from July 15 to July 25.

10 teams were divided into two pools of 5 for the preliminary league stage, with the two top finishers advancing to the semi-finals.

ONGC and Indian Oil reached the final of the tournament, with the following match results:

Stage	Date	ONGC	Date	Indian Oil
Pool	July 15	beat Karnataka XI 4-2	July 16	beat Southern Railway 4-0
	July 18	beat Sthal Sena (Army) 4-1	July 19	beat Punjab National Bank 6-3
	July 19	vs. Namdhari XI 3-2	July 20	beat India Jrs. 3-0
	July 21	lost to Indian Railways 1-2	July 22	beat Bharat Petroleum 5-1
Semis	July 24	beat Punjab National Bank 3-2	July 24	beat Indian Railways 4-2

In the final of the Murugappa Gold Cup held on July 25, ONGC beat Indian Oil 2-1 to win its first ever victory in a major all-India tournament. Divakar Ram (PC) and Bikas Toppo scored for ONGC, while Prabhjyot Singh scored Indian Oil's only goal.

The following tournament awards were presented:

• Player of the Final - Bikas Toppo (ONGC)
• Player of the Tournament - Deepak Thakur (Indian Oil)
• Midfielder of the Tournament - Preetinder Singh (ONGC)
• Goalkeeper of the Tournament - Jasbeer Singh (Punjab National Bank)

Prize money of Rs. 2.5 lakhs was awarded to the winner, with the runner-up getting Rs. 1.5 lakhs. Doordarshan Sports telecast the final live on July 25.

A photography contest was also organised as part of this year's tournament, capturing images of game action and crowd reactions. Contestants were judged in three categories - Amateur, Professional or Student. The first prize for the winner was Rs. 45,000.

South Korea vs. Japan in the Asian Women's Champions Trophy

he inaugural Asian Women's Champions Trophy was held in the southern port city of Busan, South Korea, from July 27 to 31. The top 4 women's teams of Asia participated - China, South Korea, Japan and India..

This was the first tournament for the Indian women's team after the hockey sex scandal. The players threatened to boycott the Champions Trophy if Kaushik was not removed.

The Union Sports Ministry arranged for an urgent meeting with the players. Ministry officials visited the players at their hotel in R. K. Puram and spoke to the players individually.

The players finally agreed to go ahead with the tour after the officials assured them that Kaushik would be dropped as coach of the team, and that the ministry would look into their allegations of sexual harassment.

Hockey India sent Vasu Thapliyal as the replacement coach, and Madhu Yadav as the manager, but the girls weren't happy.

"We have told them that we do not want Vasu Thapliyal and Madhu Yadav as part of the team," said a player. "Thapliyal is just a waste as coach. He has been with the team since 2003, but we have not seen any benefit from his coaching. Madhu Yadav's unhealthy comments has only served to ruin the morale of the team."

In another controversy in the runup to the tournament, player Asuntha Lakra was first selected for the team, and then the day before the Indian team was to fly out, was unceremoniously dropped in favour of Sunila Preity Kiro.

Now back to the tournament. India lost all their league matches in the Asian Women's Champions Trophy, but won the playoff against world nos. 3 ranked China to finish 3rd. South Korea beat Japan 2-1 to win the tournament.

India's match results were as follows:

Date	Matchup	Goal Scorers (India)
July 27	Japan 3 - India 2	Sunila Preity Kiro (4 m) Saba Anjum (15 m)
July 28	China 6 - India 1	Deepika Thakur
July 30	South Korea 5 - India 3	Saba Anjum (24 m), PC Rani Ramphal (55 m) Subhadra Pradhan (67 m), PC
July 31	India 2 - China 1	Saba Anjum (24 m) Surinder Kaur (63 m), PC

Japan's Sakiyo Asano was named the Goalkeeper of the Tournament, while China's Wang Mengyu was the Top Goal Scorer of the Tournament.

The Indian team for the Asian Women's Champions Trophy was as follows:

Surinder Kaur (captain), Deepika Murthy, Etimarpu Rajani, Binita Toppo, Subhadra Pradhan, Joydeep Kaur Saggu, Ritu Rani, Mukta Prava Barla, Monika Badran, Kirandeep Kaur, Deepika Thakur, Saba Anjum, Rani Rampal, Jasjeet Kaur Handa, Thockchom Chanchan Devi, Poonam Rani, Yendala Saundarya, Sunila Preity Kiro, Yogeeta Bali

Manager - Madhu Yadav, Coach - Vasu Thapliyal, Assistant Coach - Mohammad Khalid Modi

Photograph courtesy India Today

he Photograph of the Month for August 2010 is a rare occurence in Indian media - a triple negative of a non-cricket, non-foreign, non-male sportsperson making it to the cover of an Indian magazine. The magazine is India Today, and the sportswoman is badminton champion Saina Nehwal, and the issue is dated July 12, 2010.

Saina's achievements in 2010 are as follows:

• World #2 ranking (as of August 1)
• Winner of the Indian Open Grand Prix Gold (Delhi), June 13
• Winner of the Singapore Open Super Series (Singapore), June 20
• Winner of the Indonesian Open Super Series (Jakarta), June 27
• Awarded Padma Shri by the Government of India (January)
• Awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the Government of India (announced July 30)

India Today, a general news magazine, has done a cover story on Saina Nehwal, while Sportstar, a sports-only magazine out of Chennai, has not put Saina on the cover. In 7 months of Sportstar magazine covers in 2010 (Jan 1 - Jul 31), Sportstar had the following cover stories:

• Male Cricketers - 15 (Jan 7,21,28, Feb 18,25, Mar 4,11,18, Apr 1,15,22,29, May 6,20, Jul 29)
• Non-Cricket, Foreign Male Sportspersons - 14 (Jan 14, Feb 4,11, Mar 25, Apr 8, May 13, Jun 3,10,17,24, Jul 1,8,15,22)
• Non-Cricket, Non-Foreign, Male Sportspersons - 1 (May 27, Visvanathan Anand)
• Non-Cricket, Non-Foreign, Non-Male Sportspersons - 0 (Zero)

Saina Nehwal's training regimen is as shown below, 6 days a week:

• Wake up at 5:30 am, reach Pullela Gopichand's Academy at 6:15 am
• 23 weight training exercises, 2 hours a day, every day
• 70 minutes running on the treadmill every day for stamina
• 1 hour of Swimming, twice a week
• Yoga, Meditation and Aerobics twice a week
• 4 hours a day - court practice, training sessions and video analysis
• Return home at 7:15 pm, after a gruelling 12-hour work day

What else does she need to do, for Sportstar to do a cover story on a Non-Cricket, Non-Foreign, Non-Male Sportsperson called Saina Nehwal?

Mahindra Stadium - Mumbai Hockey Association - Churchgate

s per a previous agreement, Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) is funding the laying of a new artificial turf at the neighbouring Mumbai Hockey Association (MHA) by replacing the existing, worn-out surface.

MCA's joint secretary and former India test opener Lalchand Rajput said, "As per the managing committee's decision, MCA would fund the laying of the new artificial turf as well as floodlights at the MHA."

New Delhi-based Jubilee Sports Technology is installing the turf. The sprinklers, made in Germany, have already been installed; the entire turf would be watered in a maximum of 15 minutes. The lifespan of the turf is expected to be a minimum of 10 years, before it would need replacement. The MHA also plans to start work for the new club house, which will also include gym and the dressing rooms.

Rajput said, "The exact cost would be known once the measurement of the field is done. MCA will fund the entire cost, which is being quoted to be somewhere between Rs. 1.5 crores to Rs. 3 crores."

Though he did not elaborate, it's a known fact that MHA has given away a portion of its land towards the north end to MCA to complete the revamp of the Wankhede Stadium, as it prepares to host the 2011 World Cup matches, including the final.

MHA spokesman Joaquim Carvalho said, "This is the 75th year of the MHA, and we want to ensure that we deliver all that has been promised. We are sure that the new turf and floodlights will boost the sport of hockey in Mumbai."

MHA officials expect the new artificial turf and floodlights ready for use latest by December this year. The Bombay Gold Cup could be the first tournament to be held on the new turf.

Photograph by Ady Kerry, courtesy England Hockey Board

he Samsung Women's Champions Trophy Hockey, held in Nottingham, England, from July 10 to July 18, was shown live on all continents except Africa.

All the 6 nations that participated in the Women's Champions Trophy - Argentina, China, England, Germany, Netherlands and New Zealand - received live coverage of their respective country's matches.

Continent	TV Network	Telecast Region	Matches Shown
Asia	Astro Supersport	Malaysia, Indonesia	Finals Live
	CCTV 5	China	All of China's matches Live
	Starhub	Singapore	All matches Live
	TEN Sports	Indian Subcontinent	Finals Live
Europe	NOS	Netherlands	Selected matches Live, Daily Highlights
	Sport1	Netherlands	All matches Live, on Pay per View
	Sport Digital	Germany	All of Germany's matches Live, other matches Tape Delayed
	Zee TV	United Kingdom	All of England's matches Live
North America	Cricket Plus	USA	Finals Live
Oceania	Fox Sports	Australia	All matches, either Live or Tape Delayed
	Sky Sports	New Zealand	All matches Live
South America	ESPN Sur	Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay	All Argentina matches, as well as Final Live

The International Hockey Federation (FIH) has also partnered with Laola1.tv to offer live streaming of all matches for 3 FIH tournaments - Samsung Women's Champions Trophy (July), ABN AMRO Men's Champions Trophy (August) and BDO Women's World Cup (September).

The streaming on Laola1.tv was available in all countries except Netherlands.

he August 2010 Visitor of the Month is R. Dominic Gerad (Jerry), who wrote the following to BharatiyaHockey.org:

I am an ardent hockey fan. I am also a trainee and nephew of well known hockey coach, A. Claudius of Coimbatore district, who passed away recently on 2nd June, 2010.

Mr. Claudius was nicknamed "Father of Coimbatore Hockey". In 1965, he was coached at National Institute of Sports, Patiala, by the all-time great Wizard of Indian hockey, Major Dhyan Chand. He was instrumental in producing many stalwarts in Coimbatore hockey. One Mr. Shanmugham, the present director of AIKI Logistics, was nicknamed then as "Prithipal Singh of the South".

Kindly publish the news about Mr. Claudius's demise in your website. Long Live Hockey.

Statistics by B. G. Joshi

he tournament records of the 12 countries participating in the Women's World Cup, being held from August 30 - September 12, 2010 in Rosario, Argentina, are given below:

POOL A

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	APPEARANCES	P	W	L	D	GF	GA	BEST FINISH
1	Netherlands	11	76	62	6	8	208	49	6 Golds (1974, 78, 83, 86, 90, 2006)
4	Germany	11	77	46	23	8	177	89	2 Golds (1976, 81)
5	Australia	8	58	37	12	9	146	60	2 Golds (1994, 98)
8	Japan	5	36	12	14	10	42	52	5th (2006)
9	New Zealand	5	37	13	18	6	63	62	4th (1986)
13	India	5	33	7	23	3	37	64	4th (1974)

POOL B

WORLD RANK	COUNTRY	APPEARANCES	P	W	L	D	GF	GA	BEST FINISH
2	Argentina	11	77	42	22	13	139	85	1 Gold (2002)
3	China	5	37	13	20	4	45	62	1 Bronze (2002)
6	England	7	51	22	16	13	84	71	4th (1990)
7	Spain	9	64	21	33	10	75	122	4th (2006)
11	South Korea	5	37	21	10	6	92	48	1 Bronze (1986)
12	South Africa	3	23	5	13	5	32	50	7th (1998)

Netherlands is the most dominant country in the Women's World Cup. They have won 6 gold medals in the 11 Women's World Cups held so far. Netherlands has the highest win percentage in the Women's World Cup, winning 62 of its 76 matches (82% success rate). Netherlands has scored a total of 208 goals, the maximum goals scored by any country in the Women's World Cup.

At Nos. 13, India is the lowest ranked country in the 2010 Women's World Cup. India also has the lowest win percentage among the teams participating in the Women's World Cup, having won only 7 of their 33 matches (a measly 21% success rate).

Among individual accomplishments, Susanne Schmidt Brundert (Germany) played as a goalkeeper in the 1981 (Buenos Aires) and 1983 (Kuala Lumpur) Women's World Cups, winning the gold in 1981.

Susanne later played as a forward in the 1986 Women's World Cup in Amsterdam, and won the silver medal. She also scored a hat trick vs. Canada in the semi-final.