Wrestler Pooja clinches silver at Youth Olympics

Vijender's bronze at the Beijing Olympics got international fame for Bhiwani.
Now, Pooja Dhanda's silver in the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore has placed Hisar, another sleepy town in Haryana, on the world map.

The 16-year-old wrestler opened the country's account at the Games by defeating three opponents without conceding a point. Pooja eventually lost 1-3 to Baatarzorig Battsetseg of Mongolia in the final to settle for silver in the 60kg freestyle category.

“From Day One, I was confident Pooja will bring laurels for the country. Finally, the day has arrived,“ said coach, Subhash Chander Soni.

Before the Youth Olympics, Pooja had won silver at the Asian Cadet Championship in Thailand.

“After losing the final to a Japanese wrestler at the Asian meet, Pooja was disappointed and wanted to make up for the loss. Though I was expecting gold, a silver in a big tournament is no mean affair,“ Pooja's father, Ajmer Singh, told HT from Hisar.

Pooja's passion can be gauged from the fact that after clearing her Class X board exams in 2008 with an impressive 87.5%, she could have opted for Science or Commerce. Instead, she chose Arts. The reason was she wanted to devote more time to wrestling. In her Class XII board exams this year, Pooja scored 86.4%.

“My daughter has made me proud and I am waiting for the day when she will again grab a medal at the London Olympics,“ said her father.

But initially, Ajmer had his doubts. “When we used to stay in the village, I was also of the opinion that girls were not made for sports. But when we shifted to Hisar and I saw girls pursuing sports, my mindset changed,“ he said.

Pooja had also tried her hand at judo and won three international medals, including gold at the 2nd Youth Asian championship.

It was the success of Geetika Jhakhar, an Arjuna awardee, which got Pooja interested in wrestling.

“I want to wrestle like Geetika didi one day and earn fame like her,“ Pooja had told HT a year ago.

One hopes a beginning has been made.

No kissing please, we're Indians, ministry advises foreign visitors

A peck on the cheek while greeting a female acquaintance is "just not done" when you are in India. Sole exception: Only if the acquaintance is a model or a beauty queen. Tourists should, however, discuss politics. Most Indians love to talk politics and 'have an opinion on which they will not mind being contradicted'. But equally, visitors should avoid discussing religion.

These are advices a website set up by the Common-wealth Games Travel Office, incredibleairindiapackages.org, provides foreigners planning to visit India during the Games.

"This is an official website of the Ministry of Tourism and Air India, created especially for the Commonwealth Games," said Sunil Kundu, an official at the Common-wealth Games Travel Office.

Other tips on etiquette, the kind of food available, shopping and even toilets can also be found.

If tourists are unsure about the quality of food the website suggests they 'do not eat salads and stick to vegetarian food.

If shopping from a roadside stall, one should 'be prepared to bargain. Start by offering half the price and settle for 60 per cent.

"These guidelines are very stereotypical. How can you know if a model is ok with a peck on the cheek or that Indians do not mind being contradicted about politics?" said Olle Kitanda, a DU student from Kenya.

The site also advises tou-rists to utilise every chance to use the toilet in a good hotel, as roadside conveniences are usually unclean.

Four Indian Wrestlers part of Australian squad

Four Indian-origin wrestlers including Sandeep Kumar are part of Australian national squad, Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs M S Gill informed Rajya Sabha on Thursday.

Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Gill said Kumar obtained Australian citizenship and represented that country in the Beijing Olympics.

Besides Kumar, three wrestlers, including another sportsman with the same name as Sandeep Kumar, are in the Australian squad and may participate in the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October.

"Lot of people from various parts of India are migrating for economic reasons to Australia," he said and denied that any Indian wrestler who won Gold medal for the country in Moscow wrestling event in 2000 had migrated to Australia.

"The Wrestling Federation of India had not sent any team to Moscow for wrestling even during the year 2000," he said.

Govt staff turn M S Gill's chowkidars

Sports Authority of India (SAI) employees Raj Singh and Des Raj, both watchmen with the SAI Northern Centre, Chandigarh, have been working without a single holiday from July 1. They work 12-hour shifts without any overtime or weekly or compensatory offs - they even worked on Independence Day, a mandatory day off for government employees.

But which precise location do they work at?

Not at the SAI Northern Centre office. They come in to the office only once a week, to mark their attendance.

For the rest of the time, they get a salary of Rs 15,000 each a month (a total of Rs 30,000 of taxpayers' money) to watch over House No 507, Sector 33B, Chandigarh, a private residence.

The Chandigarh estate office record lists the house owner as M S Gill, who is also India's Sports Minister.

Northern Centre's Deputy Director V S Chauhan admitted both watchmen were employed by the Centre, but refused to comment when asked why they were posted at Gill's private residence.

A SAI official however, told Hindustan Times they had received "verbal orders" to that effect.

"There's nothing in writing, but we've been told to make sure someone's there as the house is empty," said an official.

This correspondent, posing as a SAI official from Delhi, visited the house at 1 pm on Monday, when Raj Singh was on duty.

Asked whether he was taking proper care of the house, Singh said: "We have been coming daily to the Sports Minister's house from July 1, and haven't missed a single day. Des Raj has some personal work today and will not come for the night shift, so I will stay for an entire 24-hours."

But because this is not official overtime, Raj Singh will get no extra payment.

Gill could not be contacted by phone (either on his cell or at his office or residence) and did not respond to text messages.

Meanwhile there is a staff crunch at SAI's Northern Centre.

"We have to constantly work overtime as Raj Singh and Des Raj are away doing duty at Minister sahib's house," said one employee.

"Somehow we manage. But it's even tougher for both of them, with their 12-hour shifts. If Gill sahib wants his house guarded, why can't he hire a private security guard?"

Sunil Paul from Hillguard, a private security firm in Chandigarh, said a guard can be hired for about Rs 7,000 a month for an eight-hour shift.

Sachin's blood in a book @ $75,000

How much would you pay to own a piece of Sachin Tendulkar, literally?

At least 10 people are willing to fork out $75,000 (approx Rs 35.2 lakh) for a very limited edition of a book about him, the Tendulkar Opus, which will feature a page made from paper pulp that includes the master batsman's blood.

“The signature page will be mixed with Sachin's blood -mixed into the paper pulp, so it's a red resin. It is what it is -you will have Sachin's blood on the page,“ publisher Kraken Media's chief executive Karl Fowler is quoted as saying by the Guardian newspaper. “It's not everyone's cup of tea. But the key thing here is that Sachin Tendulkar, to millions of people, is a religious icon. And we thought how, in a publishing form, can you get as close to your god as possible?“ Fowler also confirmed 10 such special copies had already been pre-ordered and all proceeds from the sale of these books would go to Tendulkar's charitable foundation to help build a school in Mumbai.

The book, due to be published in February to coincide with the World Cup in India, will contain previously unpublished family photographs from Tendulkar's album. It weighs 37 kgs, comprises 852 pages and is edged in gold leaf.

To accommodate the tastes of those who aren't excited at the prospect of blood, even if it is Sachin's, and whose wallets don't fancy the hefty price tag, a “regular“ edition is available at $ 2,000 3,000 (Rs 94,000 1,41,000).

The publisher will print 1,000 such copies, and all will be signed by Tendulkar and include his DNA map, but not his actual blood.

Indian hockey teams may miss World Cup and Commonwealth Games

Read story.

Saina Nehwal wants 2 b world no.1

Hard work, determination and a little bit of narcissism that seems to be ace-badminton player Saina Nehwal's (above) success mantra. “More than playing badminton,“ she laughs, “I love winning and seeing my photos in the papers. That drove me to play more and more. Even today,

I love standing on the podium. Nothing else matters,“ says Saina, who's second only to World No 1 Yihan Wang.

Success, of course, comes at a price, but one that Saina is all too willing to pay. “You must have a good physique in this game. I have a strong body.
I cannot put on weight. So, I stopped eating oily food and ice creams. Only when I win do I treat myself and eat whatever I want,“ says Saina, in an interview to Verve magazine. And, doesn't she miss living life like regular girls her age? Hardly seems so.
“I do whatever I am told to do. So, people believe that Saina will always listen.
Basically, I am a nice person. I love the game so much that I want to spend time on the court. Even while growing up, I would love working hard. My body would hurt after workouts, but I loved the pain. I want to make myself so perfect that I will become World No 1.
That is my target,“ she signs off.

Add to that the support of loved ones and you've got a champ. “I tell my mother everything and try to share as much as possible with her,“ says Saina.
“My father is very emotional. When he comes to tournaments with me, he gets nervous. And so he watches me on television.“

PAISE ka khel / Rashtra mandal khel

Milgaye jo shera aur kalmadi
kari chori thodi thodi
Bas paisa ka naam na lena
I hate CONTROVERSIES

No caterer for Games?

The Commonwealth Games organisers' problem of finding a suitable caterer for its venues just got messed up some more. The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), one of the frontrunners for the catering contract, has just lost its rights to provide catering services on trains.

Indian Railways in its newly formed catering policy has just stripped IRCTC of all rights to serve food on moving trains, even though the experience in providing food to a mass based clientele on trains formed the basis of the corporation's claims to the Games catering contract.

The corporation would now sell food only at food plazas at select stations, the policy dictates, and its current resources towards catering will be curtailed.

Officials at the Organising Committee (OC) are in doubts about the corporation's capability to cater at the venues.

"How can we trust a company's capability when its own parent organisation doesn't trust it with this job?" a senior OC official said on condition of anonymity.

While IRCTC refused to speak on its proposal for catering for the Games, sources said it has already gone ahead and hired infrastructure such as space in Delhi and deputed some officials after "strong signals" from the OC that it could bag the contract.

"We serve one million meals a day (in the railway network and elsewhere), so how can our capability as a caterer be in doubts?" asked a senior IRCTC official.

Earlier this year, after failing to find any suitable vendor for catering, the OC was in talks with IRCTC to serve packaged food at all venues, but in the last moment that deal fell apart.

Mayookha pulls off the unthinkable

From the time she started to jump in 2002, Mayookha Johney dreamt of bettering Anju Bobby George's long jump record. Though she had given it a thought, Mayookha hadn't in her wildest dreams thought she would break Anju's not so often spoken about national record in triple jump. Call it a quirk of fate or a reflection on her talent, Mayookha entered an event she had not participated in the whole season. Yet, she won gold with a hop-skip and jump of 13.68m during the National Inter-State Athletics meet on Friday. "This is the first time I tried my luck in triple jump this season," said the lanky athlete from Kerala after bettering Anju's 13.67m record set at Hyderabad in 2002. Kulwinder Kaur of Punjab won silver with 13.42m while Prajusha won the bronze with a leap of 13.28m.

"The conditions were perfect," said Mayookha. "I could have jumped 13.70m. Anyway, I have now qualified for the Commonwealth Games as well."

Mayookha had won the long jump gold at the Asian All Star event in Delhi recently and is looking to break the long jump national record soon. She has paced the season well and is targetting the Commonwealth Games to peak. "That (long jump record) should come soon. All I need to do is focus on my training," said the 22-year-old. "Hopefully, during the Games I shall be able to better Anju's record," she said with a smile.

Dimri scorches track

If Mayookha could afford to smile, Pankaj Dimri had every reason to laugh. He might not have broken the three-decade-old 800m national record set by Sriram Singh, but ran the fastest 800m since the legendary athlete's effort at the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal.

Dimri also set the meet record at 1:46.26s. The man from Uttaranchal felt he ran one of the best races of his life. "I am happy with my effort and happier still to qualify for the Commonwealth Games," he said. The qualification mark was set at 1:47.50s. Though he thought the CWG would be tough, he felt he had a good chance at the Asian Games if he maintained his current form.

IHF is the official body, Govt tells FIH

Read story here.

Medals last thing on minds of Indian shooters in CWG

View story here.

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Australians worried about preparedness

Ever since the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has made its probe report public, revealing improprieties and poor quality execution of 15 Commonwealth Games (CWG) projects, it's been flooded with unusual calls. Foreigners, especially from Australia, have been calling up the commission to find out whether it would be safe to visit India for the Commonwealth Games.

"Every day we are getting desperate calls from foreigners. Many Australians have called up to enquire whether the quality of the construction work is substandard. They seemed concerned and wanted to know whether it would be safe to visit India," a CVC official said, wishing to remain anonymous.

"We have been telling them they need not worry at all since the problem is not as big as it is made out to be," the official added.

However, this is not to be mistaken as calls from the Australian government or athletes from that country.

The CVC inquiries into burgeoning allegations of corruption in Commonwealth Games projects have raised an alarm in India, with the government expressing serious concern over the poor quality work at various sites.

But the vigilance commission has maintained that inspections were carried out by its chief technical examiner's wing in a routine manner and it was not the final investigation report.

Leaking Games stadium

The inauguration of the new-built weightlifting auditorium at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex proved to be damp squib as steady monsoon showers exposed the inadequacies of the venue that will host the October 3-14 Commonwealth Games.

Two months left to CWG and see the world class stadium :-)



Well by looking all this pictures.... one song is coming to my mind....


Tip Tip barsaa paani, paani ne stadium ki watt lagaayi,

watt lagi kuch aise sab ko Suresh Kalmadi ki yaad aayi,

ab bechare Suresh kalmadi kiss be blame dale,

M.S Gill/ Shiela dixit ab tum hi batao sajan main kya karu......