Interview of India’s Top Pistol Shooter: Vijay Kumar

At 25 years of age Vijay Kumar is already carrying the tag of India’s top pistol shooter and he lived up to his expectation by winning 3 golds and 1 silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. This achievement was very impressive as he won a medal in all four pistol events he participated in. He then went on to win 2 bronze medals at the Asian Games 2010. Vijay has been consistently performing well at the international level and is a regular in world’s top 10 pistol shooters.
The Himachali lad arrived at the world stage when at the 2006 Commonwealth Games; he won the individual 25 metre rapid fire pistol competition as well as the pair’s competition in the same event. The same year, he won a bronze medal in the Asian Games. The next year, he finished second at the Asian Championship in 25 meter center-fire pistol. His biggest victory came at the 2009 ISSF World Cup Beijing in rapid fire pistol, where he won silver medal and missed gold by 0.1 points. He also won 4 golds and 1 silver medal at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships held in February, 2010. In 2007, Kumar received the Arjuna Award. He spoke at length to Babua Biswas about his career and future plans.

Click HERE to Read The Full Interview

Interview of India’s Spiderman – Subrata Paul

Paul, India’s last wall in the National Football team has risen from strength to strength over the time. His contribution for the Indian Football team has been immense right from his Under-23 days. Making a foray into the India Senior in 2007, ‘The Spiderman’ played an instrumental role in india’s Nehru Cup triumph and was even adjudge the best Goalkeeper.

Again in 2008 he played a pivotal role in India’s AFC Challenge Cup win, which booked them their first Asian Cup berth in 27 years. High on confidence, he once again along with his team mates under Bob Houghton, defended their Nehru Cup from the Syrians in 2009. His splendid performance in the AFC Asian Cup in Qatar earned him the title “Spiderman” when he thwart off S.Korea’s 16 shots on the goal. Chatting with Babua Biswas, he superbly thwart off all non football related question just the way he does it on the pitch.

Click HERE to Read Full Interview

Is Barcelona Ready to Face February's Challenge?

Following the 2-1 defeat against Arsenal, Barcelona Coach, Pep Guardiola would have by now recovered from the trauma to prepare the Blaugrana’s against Atletic Bilbao when the latter visits Camp Nou on Sunday.

February has been an intense month for Barcelona. First, they connected their 16th consecutive victory in La Liga, creating a new record in the Spanish League. However things started going awry for Guardiola's boys in their last two away matches’ against Sporting when they failed to collect three points and fell against Arsenal 2-1.

Barcelona still has a busy schedule ahead, as they will have to visit Valencia and Sevilla in the weeks to come while hosting Arsenal at Camp Nou. So is Barcelona ready to face February's challenge keeping in mind their disastrous campaign in February 2010. They failed against Atletico 2-1 and tied a Champions League game against Stuttgart 1-1, which the Blaugrana’s would not like to repeat this year. However those games were a turning point for Barcelona, as they pick up 29 of the next 30 possible points.

At the moment, Barcelona is walking through thin ice as a strong pillar of its defense is flaking. Coupled up with Maxwell's poor form in the last few games and Puyol's absence due to a knee injury has been one of the few constants in Barcelona's four defeats so far this season.

But there are also numerous positive things to rescue from the last games: David Villa and Pedro are in sensational form, not to mention Lio Messi. In the last few games, Andres Iniesta and Pedro have been far more independent, creating plenty of scoring opportunities on their own. French international defender Eric Abidal has also done an outstanding work, forming a strong partnership with Gerard Pique in the back line. He'll also be invaluable in the next clash against Arsenal as Pique misses the game due to disciplinary action.

A step should be walked at a time, and now Barcelona has to focus on Athletic, visiting the Camp Nou tonight.

A Look at Mourinho’s 9-Years Unbeaten Home Record

The flamboyant Real Madrid Coach Jose Mourinho has many records in his kitty. However the most unnoticed one but the greatest of all his records is his Nine years unbeaten record at home as a manager. To remind Mourinho of his last domestic home defeat, one needs to travel nine years back to February 23, 2002 when his FC Porto lost 3-2 to Beira Mar in the Portuguese Liga.

The controversial encounter, which was Mourinho’s last home defeat, saw Jorge Andrade and Deco picking up red card in the 25^th and 75th minute respectively which reduced them to nine men. Being down to 9 men, Mourinho struggled to organize his team. The visitors didn’t fail to capitalize on Porto’s weakness and eventually defeated them 3-2. It was a bitter day for Jose Mourinho which in fact marked his last domestic home defeat since then.

Since the Beira Mar defeat, Jose Mourinho has transformed into a master and commander of home battles. Porto, Chelsea, Internazionale and Real Madrid have all benefited from the Special One’s special touch on home soil. SportsKeeda presents you statistics of Mourinho’s unbreakable home record since February 2002.

Since then out of the 147 matches his clubs played under him as a manager, he won 122 and drew 25 matches scoring as many as 331 goals and allowing 87 goals.

Matches played: 147
Matches won: 122
Matches drawn: 25
Goals scored: 331
Goal allowed: 87

Mourinho’s Home Record at P-W-D-L

Porto: 38-36-2-0
Chelsea: 60-46-14-0
Inter: 38-29-9-0
Real Madrid: 11-11-0-0

Jose Mourinho now needs to guide Madrid to victory against Levante, Malaga, and Hercules to reach an unmatchable number of 150 home games without conceding a defeat. But whereas the Special One keeps receiving praises from other coaches and football pundits around the world, some people may look at his 9-years unbeaten home run with a sarcastic smile as they would ask the names of the referees behind Mourinho’s feat. Like any other top achievement in football, Jose Mourinho's record will keep provoking never-ending debates.

(Courtesy LiveSoccerTV)

Interview of Pradeep Singh, India’s only Professional Boxer

Just 22 years of age and he has already held both the Pan Asian Boxing Association (P.A.B.A.) and Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation (O.P.B.F.) middleweight titles. He also holds an enviable fight record of (15-2-1, 8 KOs). His O.P.B.F. middleweight title fight was broadcast live into millions of homes through Fox Sports and was considered to be the fight of the year. This victory propelled him to the top 15 World Professional Boxing Ranking.He is Pradeep Singh, better known as the “Indian Warrior” in professional boxing circles. Speaking to Babua Biswas from Australia, where he is single handedly keeping the Tricolor flying in Professional Boxing circle, he wishes more Indian boxers to join professional boxing.

Click HERE to Read The Full Interview

National Games: Women’s Football: Manipur thrash Tripura 24-0

Manipur eves once again proved their supremacy in women’s football when they thrash the controversy laden Tripura women’s team 24-0 in a Group "B" match of the 34th National Games at the JRD Tata Sports complex this morning.

Manipur, Runners-up in the last edition of the National Games in Assam, started with the word go and scored early in the second minute through P H Beena Devi. Manipur dominated the proceedings throughout the match and went on to score 24 Goals in the stipulated 80 minutes.

Beena Devi and S Reenaroy Devi scored six goals each while Mandakini Devi scored a hat-trick among other scorers. Manipur next face Assam at 8 AM on Feb. 16 and West Bengal at 2.30PM the following day.

Earlier on Monday, the women’s football had to be postponed after it came to light that Tripura, which arrived here on Sunday evening, is not affiliated to the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The Games organizing committee (GOC) officials huddled into a meeting to resolve the controversy but the fact is Tripura issue is to be resolved by higher authorities at the AIFF. However AIFF gave a green signal to Tripura in the larger interest of the spots.

Interview of Prof. Vijay Barse, Founder, Slum Soccer

A nonprofit organization conducting a nationwide football contest annually has so far witnessed participation from 7 different states for the last 3 years. The tournament organized by this organization serves as a supreme platform for showcasing young talents who would go on to represent India in the Homeless World Cup. Yes it is Slum Soccer that I am talking about, the Organization who took Indian kids to the Homeless World Cup (Football).
Slum soccer is an organization promoting development through the medium of football on a daily basis. ‘Providing them with a chance to play football will not only enhance their fitness but also skills like team-building, self-esteem, friendship, togetherness with the society, self-confidence and creativity’ believes founder of Slum Soccer, Prof.Vijay Barse. In a chat with Babua Biswas, he pour out his mind on what he has done and what he still wishes to do.

Click HERE to Read The Full Interview

Badminton Association of India (BAI) Should Start an Indian Badminton League, says India International Shuttler Arun Vishnu

A young dynamic Shuttler from Calicut in Kerela, ARUN VISHNU has been performing consistently at the National level. He was also part of the Indian Badminton contingent in the Guangzhou Asian Games, 2010.
Ranked No. 1 in the National Level, he intends to improve his ranking in the international level too. But it’s the lack of sponsorship which hinders his prospect.
In an interview to Babua Biswas, he opens up his mind on various issues related to the game he plays – BADMINTON.

Click HERE to Read The Full Interview

East Bengal Refuses to Release Robin Singh and Nirmal Chhetri for Pre-Olympic Qualifier Camp

The All India Football Federation on Thursday announced a list of 24 probable’s list for a six day training camp in Pune. The list has host of Indian Arrows player including East Bengal's rising star Robin Singh and his defender teammate Nirmal Chhetri.

However East Bengal refused to release these players citing that they are an integral part of the team’s scheme of things and their absence will hinder the Clubs prospect in the on-going I-League. East Bengal will also play AFC Cup tournament alongside the I-League in due course of time.

Issuing a public statement on their decision to disallow the players from joining the national team camp, East Bengal’s Football Secretary Mr Santosh Bhattacharya said, “We are at a very crucial stage of the season where we have to play I-League matches alongside the AFC Cup tournament. Both the competitions are important to us as there is a matter of pride in it. So it is impossible for us to allow any of our footballers to join the national camp”.

Arindam Bhattacharya, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Viva Kerala Forward CS Sabeeth have also been included among the 24 list of probables. The final team will comprise of 18 members squad which will be announce after the six days training camp.

In my personal opinion, East Bengal should release the players as they are being called for national duty and national interest should come over anything. Let’s wait to see what the club finally does.

List of 24 Probables
Arindam Bhattacharya, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Jagroop Singh, Abhisek Das, R.Vishal Kumar, Raju Gaekawad, Nirmal Chettri, Deepak Devrani, Lalrozama Fenai, Mohanraj, Jibon Singh, Shilton D Silva, Jewel Raja Sheikh, Ongnam Milan Singh, Subodh Kumar, Lalrin Dika, Jeje Lalpekhlua, Malsawm Fela, Robin Singh, C.S.Sabeeth, Inderpreet Singh, Jagtar Singh, Bikramjit Singh & Manandeep.

Prime Minister and Vice President Not to Attend the 34th National Games Opening Ceremony

The 34th National Games in Jharkhand starting Saturday suffered another jolt when Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conveyed their inability to attend the Opening ceremony. Jharkhand Governor M.O.H.Farook is now likely to inaugurate the Games.

Earlier, President Patil, who was personally invited by CM Arjun Munda also conveyed her inability to grace the occasion due to prior commitments. Sports Minister Ajay Maken will be present for the opening ceremony. The tainted Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman, Suresh Kalmadi, who already is in Jharkand will be present in his capacity as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) chief.

If reports are to be believed, Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ajay Maken has asked the organisers to make his sitting arrangements far away from IOA president Suresh Kalmadi, who was sacked as the chairman of the CWG OC by the ministry on charges of corruption.

The buzz in the government is that, even PM Manmohan Singh prefers to stay out of the opening ceremony due to the presence of “Suresh Corrupted Kalmadi”. However the Jharkhand Government is still making an effort to ensure the presence of the Prime Minister for the February 26, closing ceremony.

The opening ceremony also will not see either Priyanka Chopra or Kareena Kapoor performing. Insteed it will be the hot and sizzling Amisha Patel and Sameera Reddy who will lure the audience. Star singer Sukwinder Singh will entice the audience with his scintillating voice while Big Boss winner Sweta Tiwari will anchor the event.

Sunil Chhetri Signs for Chirag United

Indian national team striker Sunil Chhetri is confirmed to join Chirag United for the remaining period of the ongoing I-League after he was released by US club Kansas City earlier this month.

“Yes, we have sign Sunil Chhetri for the remaining part of the season and we are waiting for his International Transfer Certificate (ITC). He will play as soon as he receives his ITC,” a top Chirag official confirms.

Chhetri was the only player in the national squad who was not signed by any I-League club as he was thinking of a stint with a another foreign club. A move to A-League side Perth Glory was also repeated. But with transfer window in most the nation closed, Chhetri eventually was sign by Chirag after beating Bhaichung’s United Sikkim.

Chirag plays Indian Arrows today at Tau Devi Lal stadium in Gurgaon, but Chhetri is unlikely to play as his ITC will be cleared only by today. With eighteen points from thirteen matches, the Kolkata side is placed seventh in the I-League table.

Rounding of the transfer deadline day in style, Subrata Bhattacharya’s side also completed the signing of their Asian recruit Choi Young IL of S.Korea who formerly played for FC Seoul and FC Hyundai Mipo.

Al-Hilal FC Riyadh - Asia’s Club of the 1st Decade

Al-Hilal FC Riyadh, Asia’s Club of the 20th Century, is now also Asia’s Club of the 1st Decade of the 21st Century. Placed at No. 3 till the year 2009, subsequent to FK Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and Al-Ittihad Club Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), The Saudi Club manages to topple the ranking, thanks to the early elimination of Pakhtakor FK Tashkent and Al-Ittihad Jeddah from the national Cups of their respective countries and from the AFC Champions League in 2010.

At the end of 2010, Al-Hilal FC Riyadh was comfortably placed at the top with 8130 points, 58 points clear of the Uzbek Club who left the Al-Ittihad Club Jeddah 200 points behind at 7775. Following these Middle East Clubs are clubs from the Far East, FC Gamba Osaka (Japan), Kashima Antlers FC (Japan), Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma FC (S.Korea), Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC (S.Korea).

Till 2009, FK Pakhtakor Tashkent (Uzbekistan) was 21 points clear of the Saudi clubs Al-Ittihad Club Jeddah and Al-Hilal Riyadh. The three are followed at some distance by the Japanese and South Korean top clubs FC Gamba Osaka, Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma FC, Kashima Antlers FC (Ibaraki) as well as FM Sepahan Isfahan (Iran), Al-Ain SCC (UAE), and Suwon Samsung Bluewings FC (Republic of Korea), all of which were 31 points within each other.

Because of the mentioned low point differences in the last year of the 1st Decade, there were additional changes of position among the "Top 10" and even extremely much in the total Asian club ranking. Among the "Top 10" are two clubs each from Saudi Arabia, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Surprisingly, the disband Mahindra United FC was the top ranked club from India placed at 39 followed by East Bengal at rank 50. Seven ranks below them were their arch rival Mohun Bagan at 57 while two more clubs from India- Churchill Brothers and Dempo Sports Club featured in the top 100.

Mary Kom Still Waits for NOC to Represent Jharkhand in the National Games

Uncertainty still looms large over Mary Kom’s desire to represent Jharkhand in the 34th National Games as the Manipur Police Department is yet to give her the No Objection Certificate.

The five times world boxing champion along with her Coach met the DGP today but could not finalized anything. “Yes I met the DGP today but could not finalized anything. However the DGP told me that he will try to give the NOC, but with just a day to go, I am not very sure whether it will be possible” said the Mother of twins.

Her chance of participating in the National Games is bleak owing to the fact that she had applied the NOC on February 3 which still should not be pending, had the concern authority were willing to let her represent Jharkhand. Moreover, time is running out with just one day remaining for the mega event to begin.

Speaking over phone from Pune, Magnificent Mary said with disappointment, “I think I won’t be able to participate in the National Games this time as I am yet to get the NOC from the chief of Manipur police. I don’t why they are taking so long to give me the NOC.”

While the Boxing Federation of India has already given green signal to Mary Kom regarding her wish to play for Jharkhand, the All India Police Control Board has recommended her to seek NOC from her employer ''Manipur police''.

“Nothing is in my hand as I am working under the Department and it’s their call. If they give me the NOC, I will take the first flight to Ranchi”.

Mary Kom is not being able to represent her home state Manipur, as L.Sarita Devi, who also fights in the 51KG category automatically qualifies for the slot, after winning the National Boxing Championship held just after the Asian Games, which Mary Kom skipped.

Al Jazeera Sport Bags Broadcast Rights for 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup

FIFA announced the extension of its broadcast rights agreement with Al Jazeera Sport for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia and the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar. The agreement came few weeks after announcing the hosts for the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cup. Al Jazeera Sport, which covers 23 territories and countries along the Middle East and Northern part of Africa, for the first time bagged the license in 2009 to broadcast the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The Qatar based TV channel, which covers cable, satellite, terrestrial, mobile and broadband internet transmission, will also broadcast the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. And with this extension, the channel can now tailor its programming over three consecutive FIFA World Cups. “Al Jazeera Sport has committed to unprecedented presence and production levels from the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil onwards, including free TV coverage as agreed between the two parties and in line with FIFA distribution policies”, reports the Official FIFA Website.

Moreover, Al Jazeera Sport has made a commitment to FIFA that the matches of the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be widely accessible for football fans across the Middle East and North Africa.

“Al Jazeera Sport more than proved its commitment to delivering high-calibre coverage to football fans during the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. FIFA’s aim is to make the World Cup as accessible to as many people around the world as possible – and for this we thankfully have an immensely strong partner in Al Jazeera Sport for the Middle East and North Africa,” said Jérôme Valcke, FIFA Secretary General to fifa.com.

Also speaking about the development was Nasser Al Khelaifi, General Manager of Al Jazeera Sport, who said, “We are very excited about this deal as it is great news for football fans throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa who will now be guaranteed the very best programming of the world’s most followed sports event”.
The territories covered by this agreement are: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, Yemen and the territory of Palestine.

April 2011, Month of ‘El Clasico’

April 2011 might see the two Spanish giant Barcelona and Real Madrid facing each other up to four times in just 15 days, hence April could be known as the ‘Month of El Clasico’. Considering the Copa del Rey, La Liga and Champions League, football fans across the world might witness the arch rival play four big matches against each other.

With Barcelona already through to the next round after defeating Almeria 5-0 last month and Real Madrid just one game away in the Copa del Rey, it is quite possible that they will be meeting for the Copa del Rey final on April 20. Prior to that, they will be meeting for their schedule La Liga clash on April 17, 2011 at Santiago Bernabeu.

The two Spanish Giants are also likely to meet each other in the Champions league, provided Barcelona wins against Arsenal and Real Madrid wins against Lyon in the knock out stage. If both the teams succeed, quarterfinals would be the first stage of the Champions League in which two teams from the same country could face each other. The quarter finals will take place on April 5/6 and April 12/13.

Even if the two teams do not play each other in the Quarter Final, there could still be a Champions 'Clasico' in the semi finals if both teams succeed in quarters which will take place on April 26/27 and May 3/4.

However this is an assumption made with the hope that both the teams continues to win their respective matches. It now remains to be seen how the two teams handle pressure in such severe circumstances if they at all meet. Can Barcelona repeat their 5-0 win at Camp Nou or can Real Madrid turn over the table?

Five Asian Countries to Compete in 2012 Futsal World Cup in Thailand

Five Asian Countries shall qualify to participate in the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 in Thailand. The decision to involve five Asian Countries for the 2012 Futsal World Cup came in a FIFA Executive Committee meeting in October 2010, which decided to increase the number of participating nation from twenty to twenty four.

According to the AFC Official Website, The confederation has sent a letter to its entire member association that five teams including the host Thailand shall be able to represent the Continent in the FIFA Futsal World Cup 2012 in Thailand.

If Thailand finishes within the top four, the next team will automatically qualify for the mega indoor football event.

The 7th edition of the tournament, will be held in Asia for the second time after Chinese Taipei hosted in 2004, so far has seen only two nations winning the tournament. Record Five times FIFA World Cup Champions Brazil holds a record four time win even in this format of the game. Spain being only the other nation who has won the tournament twice. No other nation has been able to lift the cup till date.
The tournament in Thailand will be played over four indoor stadiums with a maximum capacity of 15000 spectators between fall and winter 2012.

Can the Indian Women Football Team Qualify for 2012 London Olympic?

Tough road lies ahead for the Indian Women Football team to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic. The qualification for the Asian Countries, which begins on March 8, 2012, will have three rounds spread over till the month of September. The two best teams, determined after three rounds of qualification will represent the Continent in the mega sporting event.

Twelve teams including India will participate in the first round of qualification which kicks off on Women’s Day, March 8 and winds up on March 27. The 12 teams have been divided into three groups but not with four teams each. Group A comprises of five countries which include Thailand, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar while Group B consists only three teams comprising India, Uzbekistan and Bangladesh. Group C has four countries comprising Bahrain, Iran, Palestine and Jordan after Qatar withdrew from the run up.

Group A will play their matches in Chinese Taipei (Kaohsiung City) while Bangladesh (Dhaka) will host the Group B games. Jordan (Zerqa City) will play host to the Group C encounters.

Round 2 of the qualification, which takes place in between June 3 to 12, will include the top 2 teams from Group A and C and the winner of Group B. These five teams will play in a one round league format and the winner of this round will ultimately join the elite clubs of Japan, China, DPR Korea, Korea Republic and Australia. These five countries qualify in the final round with a direct bye after their top five finished in the Beijing Olympic Games 2008.

The final round of competition will be played in a one round league format among the six countries and the two best teams will have the onus to bear the Asian flag in London 2012. Host for the second and final round will be selected from the participating nations.

India, clubbed with Bangladesh and Uzbekistan has a good chance of qualifying for the second round. However with just one team to progress to the third round, India has a slim chance as they will have to lock horns with the two best teams from Group A and C. However, football being an unpredictable game, it remains to be seen what the Ronibala Chanu lead team can come up with.
Wishing the Indian Women a very good luck.

Interview of Arata Izumi

”After a tough training session, I would eat a small meal a day and then be sleepless over where was I headed. All I did was to stare at the ball and visualize all I went through to live my dream, my dream to play national league football. I wished myself luck and told myself, I WILL! And I did.”
“Today, I still sit and stare at the ball, visualize myself playing in Indian colours.
I wish myself luck and tell myself, I WILL!! And I will.”

This is how Japan born Pune FC player ARATA IZUMI draws his inspiration.
Beginning his Journey from the Land of Rising Sun and landing up in India, Neelkanth (His Indian name) after marrying Shweta, cemented his Indian connection and express his desire to don the Indian Jersey someday. With this though, he took some time off from his busy schedule to chat with Babua Biswas.

Click HERE to Read The Full Interview

Bob Houghton Is an Institution by Himself, says Gouramangi Singh

Moirangthem Gouramangi Singh has lots to smile in recent years. Adjudge the ‘AIFF Best Player of the Year 2010’ this lanky defender from Manipur has been a key component of the Indian Football Team, who won the Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 and also the AFC Challenge Cup, which booked them their ticket to the just concluded Asian Cup in Doha. With his cool and composed defending, he has performed consistently during the years and is an important composition in Coach Bob Houghton’s scheme of things.

With a mission to provide a platform to talented young footballer back home in his strife-torn state of Manipur, the 25 year old is leaving no stone un-turn to make his dream come true. Playing hard to win the I-League for his club “Churchill Brothers”, he spoke at length to Babua Biswas, where he tackled questions at ease just the way he does it on the field.

Cllick HERE to Read Full Interview

Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken announces coaching centre in Imphal

New Delhi: Sports Minister Ajay Maken on Friday announced setting up of a coaching centre in Imphal, while sanctioning a football academy to Dimapur in Nagaland during a workshop on 'Youth and Sports development in North-Eastern region' here.

Addressing the issue of lack of quality coaches in various sporting disciplines in the North-East, Maken said the Imphal coaching institute would be catering to the needs of the North-Eastern states.

Emphasising that Imphal would be the fourth coaching institute in the country after Patiala, Kolkata and Bangalore, the new sports minister said, "Looking at the problems of scarcity of coaches in the North-Eastern region, we have decided to set up a coaching centre in Imphal, which will particularly cater to the requirements of this region."

Maken also decided to sanction a football academy to Nagaland in view of the poor infrastructure for sports in the North-Eastern states.

Assuring that the other states of the region would also be alloted academies over the course of time, he said, "this is just the beginning."

The workshop saw ministers from all the north-eastern states -- Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoran, Tripura and Nagaland -- sharing their concerns and discussing problems to the growth of sports in the region.

Lack of infrastructure and quality coaches, the geographical limitations of the states, lack of co-ordination between the SAI (Sports Authority of India) and the State Sports bodies, lack of modern equipment etc, were some issues highlighted by these officials.

Maken said there is a need to draw up a specialized programme for the skill development and employment of youth, keeping in mind the special requirements of the people of this area.

"North-Eastern region is a powerhouse in sports. During Commonwealth Games and Asian Games we saw a number of sportspersons from the North-Eastern region bagging medals for the country and making us proud. We need them to come out in larger numbers. Sports can also help in generating more employments as well.”

"There is a need for each state to identify their set of skill development programmes that is best suited to them separately and also identify those youngsters who could be trained," said Maken.

People in the age group of 15 to 35 constitute about 40 per cent of the country's total population and 43 per cent of the youth are in the North-Eastern region and Maken said it was imperative to provide opportunities and skill development programmes for them.

Giving details of the scheme, Maken said apart from the North Eastern states, the country would be divided into three other parts for the programme -- Jammu and Kashmir, Tribals areas and the rest of the country.

Elaborating that the North-Eastern states and Tribal areas need more attention than the rest of the country, Maken said the projects, in collaboration with FICCI, were started with the North Eastern region while the Naxal-infested tribal areas will be taken up next in March-April.

"We have to draw up new schemes for the youth as some of the schemes have become outdated. These are specific programmes and tailor-made for each region. The focus will be skill development and employment through sports," he explained.

(A PTI Report)

The Real Indian Dream

I Will Play As Long As I Can Serve the Country: Renedy Singh.

An idol for every aspiring footballer of Manipur, an epitome of hard work and determination and a passionate lover of the game Football. This man’s dream to make it big in life drove him from a small sleepy town of Manipur to walk his way up from TATA Football Academy to East Bengal (Read Clubs) to the National team. Yes it is POTSANGBAM RENEDY SINGH, India,s very own dead ball specialist best remembered for his curling free kicks.
Touted as one of the best mid-fielders to have ever played for India, he is riding high on his superb performance in the Asian Cup. On this note, he spoke at length to BABUA BISWAS about his life, career, experience in the Asian Cup and football in particular.

Click HERE to Read The Full Interview

Final Competition of Coca Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy in Kolkata from Feb. 14.

The Coca Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy 2010-11 Final Competition will be held in West Bengal from February 14 – 24, 2011 announced the AIFF website. The Championship will be played over two stadiums in the vicinity of Kolkata at Barasat Stadium and Khardah Stadium.

The Sixteen teams who have made it to the final round of the 33rd Sub-Junior National Football Championship for Coca Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy 2010-11 will be divided into four groups.

Defending champions Jharkhand, Tamil-Nadu, Chandigarh and Maharastra are clubbed in Group A while Goa, Orissa, Tripura and Kerala are drawn in Group B. Group C comprises of four time champions Mizoram, Bihar, Punjab and last year’s runners up Karnataka while the host and a record thirteen times champion West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh are clustered in Group D.

The Group league matches will be held from February 14 to 19, while both the Semi-finals will be held on February 21. The grand finale will be played on February 24.

Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, organized under the aegis of AIFF received a boost in 2009 when Coca-Cola turned up as a sponsor of the event. It is a grass root level football initiative to discover budding football talent in the country and prepare a strong team for the under-14 Indian Football team which competes at the Asian Championships. This premier Trophy was set up in 1977 and is played all over the country in 400 districts involving 6,000 young players.

AFC Asked FIFA to Change Confederation Cup Dates

The Asian Football Confederation yesterday asked FIFA to change the proposed date for the Confederation Cup slated to be held in Brazil from 16–30 June 2013 as it clash with Asian Confederation’s 2014 World Cup Qualifier.

June 18, 2013, has earlier been declared by FIFA as an Official Match Date and so it has already been applied to respective Competition Calendars of different Confederations including AFC. The match to be played on June 18, 2013 is a crucial fourth round match and is a home stretch for teams looking to book their places in the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals.

“We request the FIFA Confederations Cup – Brazil 2013 to be scheduled in another period of time that does not clash with the FIFA Official Match Dates already confirmed by FIFA and applied to respective Competition Calendars of different Confederations including AFC,” AFC wrote in a letter to FIFA according to their official Website.

Confederation Cup which earlier was not considered very importance is gaining prominence and is hosted by the country supposed to host the World Cup a year before they actually host the World Cup. It was seen more as a check-up of the infrastructure of the host country than an important football event. But things have now changed drastically and having a team well prepared for the Confederations Cup 2013 is a large step towards having the team prepared to win the World Cup 2014.

Eight teams in all will participate in the Confederation Cup which will include the host country Brazil and World Cup Champion Spain. The remaining six teams, who will represent their respective continents, will be the Champions of their respective Continental Cup. So far Japan has booked their place being the Champions of the Asia while remaining five continents are yet to play their continental championship.

Suranjoy Out, Mary Kom Uncertain About National Games Participation

With barely two weeks to go for the 34th National Games to commence in Jharkhand, Five times World Boxing Champion, Mary Kom is still uncertain about her participation in the nation’s biggest multi-sporting event while Asian Boxing Champion Suranjoy Singh has ruled himself out from the event due to injury.

Training in Pune, The Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist ruled himself out as he is not fully fit to participate. Speaking after the evening training hours Choota Tyson said, “I am not fully fit to participate in the National Games as I am nursing some injury and I don’t want to risk it. I am training hard to regain my fitness but it will take time”.


Mary Kom who expressed her desire to represent Jharkhand is still uncertain about her participation as she is still yet to get an NOC from Manipur Police, where she works as an Inspector. Very pleased about Kom’s desire is the Jharkhand Boxing Association as it will ensure their medal prospect and will be a morale booster for the state team.

Speaking from Pune, where she is also training in the national camp, the Manipur based pugilist said, “Yes I want to represent Jharkhand but is still waiting for the NOC from Manipur Police.” On being asked why she is not representing Manipur she said, “I would be glad to represent Manipur but Sarita Devi has already qualified for the 51kg weight category from Manipur”.

Costing her the chance to represent Manipur was due to her non-participation in the National Boxing Championship held in Kerela just after the Asian Games where she won the Bronze, fighting in a new weight category-51Kg. The Golden Girl of Manipur hesitantly explained saying “I did not participate in the National Championship where my state mate Sarita Devi won the 51Kg category. So, Manipur Boxing Association had booked this as a quota for Sarita without any further trail selection.”

On being asked what if she is not granted the NOC. With a long pause and then with heavy heart, The Queen of The Ring said, “I will not be able to participate in the National Games. National game is a very big event, I would just like to participate whoever I may represent but if don’t get the NOC I will have to sit out. There is nothing I can do”.

Meanwhile a close associate of Mary Kom, who refused to be named, said from Manipur “Mary Kom is even thinking to skip the National Games as it will become very controversial if she represents other state other than Manipur. It will be better for her if she trains hard and remain focused for the next year London Olympic.”

However, the biggest looser with Suranjoy being out and Mary Kom still uncertain about her participation are their fans who eagerly awaits them to take the ring and the worst sufferer is Manipur who lost two sure shot Gold Medal.