New Delhi, September 3, 2010: The Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010 Organising Committee with the support of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has made robust plans to ensure that Delhi 2010 Games are free from anti-doping rule violations. The programme enacted is a blend of deterrence, detection and education.

CGF, which will be the Anti-Doping Organisation during the Games, has constituted a nine-member Medical Commission chaired by Dr. M. Jegathesan of Malaysia. The other eight members come from different Commonwealth nations including the host city representative to supervise doping control activities in the Games.

The CGF has approved a test distribution plan of 1500 doping control tests, 250 blood tests, 150 EPO tests and 150 Pre-Competition tests — the highest ever in any Commonwealth Games. According to TDP, athlete selection will be done randomly from among medallists. Target testing will also be done.

The participating athletes from 71 CGAs shall be subjected to unannounced doping control tests, anytime and anywhere during the period of the Games. The CGF has enacted anti-doping standard for Delhi 2010 and will be applicable to all athletes including para athletes.

The doping control will be operational from September 23 to October 14, 2010.

The OC, through its Doping Control Division, has trained more than 450 Doping Control Officials (DCOs) for Delhi 2010. The selection and the training of these officials have been conducted in accordance with International Standards of WADA. They have been selected from many streams including doctors, sports medicine experts, physiotherapists and physical education professors.

State-of-the-art Doping Control Stations will be available at all competition venues. A Dope Centre has been set up at the Games Village while the Command Centre will be at the Games Headquarters. Each venue will have a dedicated Doping Control, Team with a Doping Control Venue Manager, DCOs, Chaperone Coordinators and Chaperones.

“The OC has left everlasting legacy to the sports arena by setting up doping control facilities at all competition venues and training venues at par with international standards,” said Dr. Munish Chander, Deputy Director General (Doping Control) of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee. “These facilities will be used solely for doping control purpose after the end of the Games. Proper doping control infrastructure will be in place with proper doping control equipment, training and education material and a trained workforce of doping control professionals.”

CGF has also nominated five international DCOs from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Oman, Kazakhstan and Singapore, who will work closely with NDCOs. In addition, WADA has also deployed a team of independent observers to oversee the arrangements and execution. They will come out with a report on doping control report at the end of the Games.

A three-member Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) Committee under the chairmanship of Prof. Ken Fitch of Australia has been set up by CGF to manage Games-time TUEs.

Doping Control Officials have been trained at par with international standards for testing enacted by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). They are certified to work as Doping Control Officers. The certification is valid for two years, after which they can undergo refresher training to continue their certification.

The Commonwealth Games was a great opportunity for the country to get World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accreditation for National Dope Testing Laboratory (NTDL), Delhi in August 2008. NDTL Delhi is one of the 34 labs around the globe and fully functional with able Scientists and update equipment to cater all requirements of Delhi 2010. It will be supported by 18 scientists from different WADA-accreditated laboratories.

The turnaround time for the urine sample results will be 24 to 48 hours. For blood tests it will be one to five days and for EPO tests it will be 72 hours to six days.

Samples will be transported from venues to the Doping Control Command Centre to NDTL everyday in two shipments by dedicated doping control staff in secured vehicles along with the required security personnel.

The agreement with NDTL MYAS for the analysis of doping control samples has been executed for the period of September 23 to October 14.

recently held in Patiala, to earn a coveted place in Indian team.

Logo for Athletics Federation of India

As the team for Athletics has now been announced by the AFI – Athletics
Federation of India , lets have a look at our performances in numbers
which gives us a decent picture of where we stand with respect to the
upcoming Common Wealth Games in Delhi.

To appreciate the numbers lets hold CWG Melbourne 2006 podium
finishing line as our reference point across twenty  events under the
banner of Track , Jump and Throw !

4 x 100 m Relay Finals for 2006 Commonwealth games

110m Hurdle Finals for 2006 Melbourne Games

The Track

Records Table

The Indian youth basketball team may have come back from the Singapore Youth Olympic Games (YOG) with a losing record, but gained valuable experience playing with youngsters from some of the top hoop countries in the world, as well as became part of a select few countries to play in FIBA’s new 3-on-3 form on an official world stage.

Four Indian youth players – Shyam Sunder (Chhattigarh), Sukhjeet (Delhi), Amit Kanarjee (Madhya Pradesh), and Kirti Goswami (Madhya Pradesh) – represented India in the basketball tournament at the YOG. The four youngsters were accompanied to Singapore by their coach Shanmugam Sridhar. The team finished 18th out of the 20 participants.

Each game in the tournament was set to be 15 minutes long, with three quick five minute periods. The first team to 33 or the team that is leading at the end of regulation time wins. It was a fast-paced affair since each possession was only allowed a 10-second shot clock and a shot could only be pulled up after at least two passes per possession.

“This competition was a great experience for these youngsters,” said Sridhar, “The YOG is a big competition. All the players performed well – we always managed to keep the games close in the first half before conceding heavily in the end. I think we would have performed better had we had taller players.”

India were pitted in a group with Puerto Rico, Greece, New Zealand, and Gold Medal winners Serbia. Although they lost all their group games, they fared well in the 17th-20th place playoffs, beating Panama and South Africa before losing to hosts Singapore in the finale. Another positive was that the team showed an improved performance after every result until their last game.

Kirti Goswami was the leading scorer of India, pitching in 47 points over the seven games, at an average of 6.71 ppg. Goswami also received third place in a shooting competition held at the YOG.

“The 3-on-3 format made for very quick games,” added Sridhar, “It especially helped in showcasing the talent’s of individual players.”

The complete results were:

Boys Preliminary Group A

- India – Puerto Rico: 15-33
- India – Serbia: 19-33
- India – Greece: 20-33
- India – New Zealand: 12-17

Boys Round Robin 17-20

- India – Panama: 28-22
- India – South Africa: 27-11
- India – Singapore: 20-31

The Boys’ Gold was won by Serbia, who beat Croatia 22-9 in the Final.

Watch a video with highlights of India’s win over South Africa:

Finally a faint ray of hope for the Indian Football lovers. You now don’t have to stay hooked to a website to know the latest score of India. That’s what we did during India’s practice matches in Portugal. Though its quiet unlikely that a practice match would be telecast but still we want to see our hero’s in action.

However, for the friendly match against Thailand in Delhi’s Ambedkar Stadium on September 8, the match will be broadcast live by Zee Sports from 6.30PM. This will be the follow up match for India after playing Thailand in Bangkok on September 4.

Sadly, the match to be played tomorrow in Bangkok will not be broadcast live by any channels in India. Moreover, it’s still uncertain whether the following friendlies will be telecast live. But with the matches being held in India, chances are high that we see our heroes live action.

Confirming the news from Col. Mehta, (Asst. GS. Admin. & Media Dept.) AIFF, He said, “Zee Sports will broadcast live the New Delhi match, but the one in Thailand on September 4 will not be broadcast live by any channel in India.” On being asked about the remaining friendlies he said, “No decision is taken as yet; let them telecast the first match first”.

Such callousness and insensitivity from AIFF and Zee Sports (whatever their contract might be) is striping the chance of millions of football fans to see their idols in action. I even wonder what the DD Sports officials are doing. Instead of repeating the old Olympic Games or broadcasting cricket live simultaneously with other channels, why don’t they broadcast games like this, where there are no takers? This will help promote the sports also.

Alas, we can do nothing, but remain hooked to internet again for latest updates for tomorrows match. We will be watching the Sept 8 match live and pray that the other friendlies are also broadcast live.

Butt, Asif and Amir provisionally suspended pending outcome of independent tribunal hearing

Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief Executive: “Corruption will not be tolerated in our great sport”

The International Cricket Council has charged three Pakistan players with various offences under Article 2 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel relating to alleged irregular behavior during, and in relation to, the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord’s last month.

The three players, Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, have been officially notified of the offences they are alleged to have committed and have been provisionally suspended pending a decision on those charges.  In accordance with the provisions of the code, this means they are immediately barred from participating in all cricket and related activities until the case has been concluded.

The players have a right to contest this provisional suspension and a further opportunity to defend these charges at a full hearing before an independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal in accordance with Article 5 of the code. The players have 14 days from their receipt of the charge sheet to indicate their desire for a hearing.

Any player ultimately found to be guilty of committing an offence under the code would be subject to the sanctions described in Article 6 of the code. In this case, the alleged offences, if proved, would involve the imposition of a ban. There is also a possibility, at the discretion of the independent tribunal, that a fine would be imposed in addition to a ban.

ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat said: “We will not tolerate corruption in cricket – simple as that. We must be decisive with such matters and if proven, these offences carry serious penalties up to a life ban. The ICC will do everything possible to keep such conduct out of the game and we will stop at nothing to protect the sport’s integrity. While we believe the problem is not widespread, we must always be vigilant.

‘It is important, however, that we do not pre-judge the guilt of these three players. That is for the independent tribunal alone to decide.’

Details of the date and location of the tribunal hearing (as well as its composition) will be finalised in due course.

The ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel was updated and strengthened in 2009 with the unanimous support of ICC Members.

“This is my finest hour. But I am here because of so many people like my first captain (Bedi) and my champion guru (Gavaskar). I also thank my mother, wife and all my friends,” said an emotional Kapil Dev when he received the prestigious Indian Cricketer of the Century Award in 2002. The man had been India’s mightiest personality on the field and in his prime was one of the greatest all-rounders cricket had ever seen. He is the only cricketer in the world to have achieved the double of having scored 4000 Test runs and 400 wickets.

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj

But Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj, the easy and unsophisticated man from Haryana, was never a measure of statistics. The ‘Hariyana Hurricane’ played to win, to excel, to dominate, making him arguably the most potent match-winner of India. His unfussy approach was his strength, his speciality, his USP.

In his first Test against Pakistan at Faisalabad, Pakistan batsmen found it difficult to deal with the pace and bounce that Kapil Dev generated. Suddenly, India, never known for its fast bowlers, had found a new sensation and Kapil soon established himself as the spearhead of the Indian new-ball attack. The pacy outswinger was his most powerful weapon that regularly claimed wickets and the foresight that he would go on to become one of the leading wicket-takers in the world was never in doubt. Like his bowling, his batting was assertive and authoritative. In his second series as an international player, Kapil Dev scored 126 off only 124 deliveries against the mighty West Indies in January 1979.

Apart from his outswingers, he also added the inswinging yorker to his repertoire

He rose to level of a national hero in the 1979-80 home series against arch-rivals Pakistan. The 20-year old played stellar knocks of 84 and 98 in the two innings of the Madras Test (now Chennai), alongside bowling figures of 4/90 and 7/56. When India toured Australia in 1980-81, Kapil stepped on to the field with the help of pain-killing injections and won the match for India with figures of 16.4–4–28–5.

The World Cup in 1983 was most certainly the phase that would remain in the minds of an Indian cricket fan forever. Kapil Dev almost single-handedly won the Prudential World Cup Trophy thanks to his decisive leadership and outstanding bursts of feats that infected the team with a positive vibe and ended up creating history. A whirlwind innings of an unbeaten 175 off 138 balls against Zimbabwe when the India was once suffering at 17/5 was perhaps the biggest testimony to his match-winning abilities.

In the 1987 World Cup, India lost by one run against Australia in a game that was decided in Australia’s favour because of good sportsmanship by Kapil Dev. Australia had scored 268 in their innings, but Kapil intervened to confess that a six had been wrongly signalled as a boundary, and the correction meant the score increased by two to 270. India fell one short at 269.

Kapil Dev continued to be the lead pace bowler for India throughout his career. He found the going tough in the one-dayers initially, but it was only a matter of time that he dominated in both arenas. In his latter years, Kapil was very useful as a pinch-hitter lower down the order. As an all-rounder, his batting and bowling accomplishments were both among the elites of the leading batsmen and bowlers in the world, but it was arguably his bowling that he was better valued for, helped by his feat of 434 Test wickets, the highest in the world for 5 years.

In a land of cricketers coming from metropolitan cities and cosmopolitan cultures, Kapil Dev was the only one of his time to be hailing from the interiors of the country, representing the ‘masses’. His ‘no-fear no-fuss’ persona spoke of it, and it was one thing Indian cricketers were never known for. Nor was India known for producing world class fast bowlers, or world class all-rounders. Kapil was one of a kind, a true superstar. A GOD of cricket.

In a continuation of the first part where I talked of Manchester United, Barcelona, Liverpool, Arsenal and Real Madrid as among the greatest ever; now we move out of Spain and England to other arenas such as Italy, Netherlands and Germany.

AC Milan

AC Milan

Established in 1899, AC Milan is one of the most successful clubs in Seria A and enjoys worldwide support since yesteryears. Ac Milan has won 17 Seria A titles while they finished as Runners up 15 times, in their 111 year long career in Italy. They have been displaced of the first tier just two times.

AC Milan have a stupendous record in Europe and International games. They hold the record for the most number of international titles (18) with Boca Juniors. The club has 7 Champions League titles.

Inter Milan and AC Milan share a rich rivalry, historicall AC Milan had supporters from the working class and trade unionists whereas Inter had a wealthier group of supporters. This brewed up the rivalry.

Interestingly, the home stadium San Siro is named after players who played for both Inter Milan and AC Milan. The stadium is the biggest in Italy and is shared by both the clubs.

Internazionale

Internazionale

Internazionale are the current champions of Italy with 18 titles and hold the distinction of never being relegated of the Serie A. The club was established in 1908.

Internazionale have won only 3 Champions LEague titles but their record in Italy is outstanding. Also called Inter, they enjoy support worldwide and have been a uprising force in this decade. Inter suffered a bad patch in the last 15 years of the century. The 1990′s is the only decade when Inter failed to win a title in Seria A.

Hellenio Herrera has the longest and most successful record for Inter as Manager. In only a small time, Jose Mourinho became the second most revered manager in their history when he won the treble last season.

Among club leggends are Giacinto Faccheti, Estaban Cambiasso and Luis Figo.

Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich

Germany’s heart-throb and most succeful club which enjoys worldwide support deserves to be among the top of the world. Bayer have won 22 Bundes Liga titles and 15 DFB Liga-Pokal titles.

Munich are also a successful club in Europe with 4 titles and finishing as runners up an equal number of times.

Bayern Munich is in fact a club that entertains other sports as well but it is known for the football it has produced over the years. Situated at Allianz Arena the club has played before at Olympic Stadium for 33 years.

Franz Beckenbauer is a club icon for Munich.

Muller, Sepp Maier, Oliver Kahn and Michael Ballack have been some other greats in the history of the club.

Ajax

Ajax

When it comes to Silverware Ajax come to mind. The only team to have won the European treble as well as have the distinction to keep the European Cup, Ajax have done it all. Along with Feyenoord and PSV, Ajax forms the triumvirs of which it is the leader.

In 1996 Ajax moved to the Amsterdam Arena before which it played its home games at De Meer Stadion.

Ajax have won an amazing 29 Eredivise Titles and 18 KNVB Cups. Ajax have had a great history of managers in Johan Cruyff, Louis VAn Gaal and Mortin Olsen.

The club is famous for its history of creating young players. Many greats have emerged from the club’s youth team such as Johan Cryuff, Edwin Van Der Sar and Dennis Bergkamp. Many current day dutch nationals were in their youth Ajax players.

The club has a Jewish connection and exults in its imposed Jewish identity sometimes with chants of “Jews, Jews” in the stadium.

Boca Juniors and Santos

These two South American clubs are known for having distinguished records in their name.

Boca Juniors share with AC Milan the distinction of most international titles (18) whereas Santos have scored the most number of goals by a team in footballing history. These records are coherent with the style of play both these teams adopt which is full of flair and attacking brilliance.

Pele played his major first degree football at Santos whereas Boca Juniors was the home of Maradona for 41 games. This is an additional achievement considering the clubs have created two legends of the game.

Others:  Clubs like Juventus, PSV, Feyenoord are competent to be on this list.

“Look, I’m a coach, I’m not Harry Potter, he is magical, but in reality there is no magic. Magic is fiction and football is real.” – Jose Mourinho .

Unlike the “reel” world , sports has unearthed real hero’s and real villain’s.  Step aside hero’s ,  hello villains -   one  crime wonders like Hansie Cronje , Tonya Harding , Pete Rose and others who play consistent hide and seek  from sheer controversy.

Vote for who think is the baddest of them all !

1)  Marcelo Rios

El Chino is the only male player in the open era to have held the World No. 1 ranking despite never winning a Grand Slam singles tournament.  However, his success on court is  annulled by numerous off court incidents which have gone a  long way in jeopardizing his career.

He ran over his physical trainer, Manuel Astorga (who he later fired) with his jeep in a confusing incident.  Then, he was arrested in Rome in 2001 after he punched a taxi driver in the nose and then had a fight with the policemen arresting him. In a bizzare incident in 2003, while training for a Davis Cup tie with Ecuador, he allegedly urinated on some men in  La Serena bar’s bathroom and was later expelled from his hotel after being accused of swimming nude.

His “good “ manners were reportedly on show as he  told Monica Seles to move her “fat ass” while on a lunch queue. He was disqualified from the 2000 Mercedes-Benz Cup for saying “fuck you” to the chair umpire. To top it all, he fired his coach Larry Stefanki shortly after he became World No. 1, claiming that he wanted to go in a different direction. The only trophy he ended up winning consistently was the Prix Citron ‘award’  for being the most disagreeable player on tour..Ouch!..Crash Landing!

2)  Ron Artest

Ron Artest is one of the NBA’s  most underachieving defender with only the one Defensive Player of the year award in 2004, given his unquestionable talent.

Seemingly inspired by AC/DC’s Highway to Hell, his un-channeled aggression outside the court has severely hurt him and left his fans wondering what might have been.

First admitting to drinking during his stint with the Chicago Bulls early in his career. Then getting suspended for three games in 2003 for destroying a television camera at Madison Square Garden, and for four games for a confrontation with Miami Heat coach Pat Riley in the same year. That was followed by a suspension for two games in the 2004–05 season by Pacers coach Rick Carlisle for  allegedly asking for a month off because he was tired from promoting an R&B album for the group Allure on his production label.

The final nail in the coffin was his involvement in the infamous Pacers-Pistons brawl in 2004. He  jumped over a table and entered the stands where he began hitting a fan he believed to have thrown a  drink at him during the game. He returned to the basketball court where he was confronted by Pistons’ fans that he fought with as well. He was subsequently slapped with a 73 game ban by the NBA. Ron Con Art’i’st  seems to have resurrected from the dead, enjoying a title winning season with the Lakers in 2010.

3) Mark Vermeulen

Mark Vermeulen was the subject of disciplinary problems right from his early playing days and faced the axe during the tour to England in 2003 for persistent misconduct. Then in 2004, he suffered a skull fracture after a nasty one from Irfan Pathan caught him cold during the ODI series in Australia. He returned in 2006 after a successful surgery, donning the colors of Werneth in the Lancashire Leagues.

After being rebuked by a section of the crowd, he did the unthinkable by throwing a cricket ball back at them (narrowly missing a child). He followed this by threatening a spectator with a spike marking the boundary and then fought his own teammates. He was implicated and suspended from English cricket for 1 year. However, the worst was yet to come.

Upon return to Zimbabwe, he set fire to the buildings of the national cricket academy, destroying the pavilion, administrative building and changing rooms.  A branded arsonist, he faced 25 years in prison with hard labor. Eighteen months after the crime he was cleared at trial on grounds of his psychiatric problems.  He made his comeback in 2009 in the One Day International Series against Bangladesh.  Arson’s young gun!

4) Shane Warne

Shane Warne’s glittering career never ceases to spin a tale. It was February 2003 when he tested positive for a banned diuretic which forced him out of the upcoming World Cup. He was charged with match fixing allegations and slapped with a fine after his involvement with “John the Bookmaker”.

His smoking habits both on and off the field has sparked off remarkable controversy in sporting circles . In 2000, he was stripped of the Australian vice-captaincy after pursuing a British nurse with erotic text messages. Old Habits are hard to break and he was in the limelight again standing in his underwear with a pair of 25-year-old models. His efforts to reconcile with his wife were put to rest after accidentally sending a text message meant for another woman to her phone ..One for the tabloids!

5) Joey Barton

The first goal in the Newcastle – Aston Villa match a couple of weeks ago showcased the tremendous skill and talent of this combative midfielder.

Unfortunately for him, the “self destruct “button is pressed once too often for anybody’s liking.

He stubbed out a cigar onto the eyes of reserve team player Jamie Tandy during a Manchester City Christmas party in 2004. The following summer saw him assault a 15-year-old Everton fan during a pre-season tour of Thailand.  His next victim, well his own teammate Ousmane Dabo who was suffered  injuries to his head in a brawl, including a suspected detached retina. He finally saw the insides of the cell after another assault on a night out in Liverpool in 2008, the judge subjecting him  to six months in prison since the offence was committed whilst he was on bail for two prior offences. He’s had his fair share of battles with alcohol. Other noteworthy incidents include the “Pants down” and the “Nazi salute“ episodes.

6) George Best

A reflection of his footballing skills are well defined by the saying: “Maradona good; Pelé better; George Best!”.

Unfortunately, a contrasting image in his off – the field affairs.  A low point came in 1981 when he stole money from an unknown lady’s purse to fund a few drinks .

That was followed by a reckless incident in 1984 when he received a three-month prison sentence for drunk driving, assaulting a police officer and failing to answer bail. In 2002 , he had a successful liver transplant but that didn’t stop him from wetting his beak  as he was convicted for drunk driving yet again a couple of years later. Ultimately, he lost his life his battle with alcohol and life.  Whilst he was alive, he believed in living life king size . Some of his legendary quotes included “I spent 90% of my money on women and drink. The rest I wasted” , “ They say I slept with seven Miss Worlds but I didn’t. It was only four. I didn’t turn up for the other three”!

7) O J Simpson

O J Simpson is a retired American football player, football broadcaster, spokesman, actor and well..  Suspected Criminal!

His most “in”famous trial was that of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in June 1994.

Up to 100,000,000 people watched as a “low-speed chase” of OJ’s  white Ford Bronco was telecasted live across America after he failed to report to the police. After numerous court case deliberations which followed, he was cleared of all charges amidst sheer controversy. In September 2007, Simpson and his affiliates entered a room at the Palace Station hotel-casino and took sports memorabilia at gunpoint and he was charged with multiple felony counts. Simpson was sentenced to a total of 33 years in prison with the possibility of parole in about 9 years.

8  ) Mike Tyson

A record of 50 wins in 58 fights (with an enviable 44 KO’s) speaks a lot for the self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet“.

True to his word, he played villain in one of the most controversial moments in sports history by taking out a piece of opponent Holyfield’s ear in their famed battle of The Sound and The Fury.

He was convicted  for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington, Miss Black Rhode Island  and jailed for 3 years.  A further stint in his home away from home continued after assaulting two motorists after a traffic accident. He pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine and driving under the influence in 2006 .  His legal trouble forced him to file for bankruptcy. He now makes guest appearances in series and movies looking to live the good life!

P. S :  Sex is not a crime (at least I hope so!) and hence the likes of Tiger Woods and John Terry escape the list!

The 32nd Federation Cup, India’s version of the FA Cup, will be played from September 21 to October 2 across three venues. Unlike in the last few years the Federation Cup’s final round will not be held as a one venue as a 16 team league-cum-knockout tournament. This time around the four groups of four teams each have been divided to be held at three venues – Cuttack, Ludhiana and Vasco, Goa. Orissa’s Cuttack will host two of the group plus also the semifinals and the final.

The qualifiers will be held from September 14 to 18 in Silchar, Assam and Mapusa, Goa. And one team from each qualifying group will make it into the tournament proper, where they would face the I-League sides.

In Group A defending champions East Bengal Club take on Air India, Pune FC and HAL in Cuttack. Group B will be played at the Tilak Maidan in Vasco and it would see Churchill Brothers, Chirag United, Viva Kerala and the qualifier from Group B in action. In Group C JCT has home advantage in Ludhiana as they face I-League champions Dempo SC, ONGC and the India Junior XI; while Group D would also be played in Cuttack where Mohun Bagan take on Salgaocar SC, Mumbai FC and the qualifier from Group A.

The semifinals will be played on September 29 and 30, while the grand finale has been fixed for October 2. These three matches to decide the eventual champions will be held at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack.

The Qualifiers

Group A
Venue: Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium, Silchar (Assam)
15-Sep-10: Oil India Limited – Mohammedan Sporting Club (Match 1)
16-Sep-10: NISA, Manipur – Shillong Lajong FC (Match 2)
18-Sep-10: Winner Match 1 – Winner Match 2

Group B
Venue: Duler Ground, Mapusa (Goa)
14-Sep-10: Vasco SC – Sesa Football Academy (Match 1)
15-Sep-10: Sporting Clube de Goa – Malabar United FC (Match 2)
17-Sep-10: Winner Match 1 – Winner Match 2

Quarterfinal League

Group A
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack (Orissa)

21-Sep-10: East Bengal Club – Air India
21-Sep-10: Pune FC – HAL
23-Sep-10: Air India – Pune FC
23-Sep-10: HAL – East Bengal Club
25-Sep-10: East Bengal Club – Pune FC
25-Sep-10: HAL – Air India

Group B
Venue: Tilak Maidan, Vasco (Goa)

21-Sep-10: Qualifier Group B – Chirag United SC
21-Sep-10: Churchill Brothers SC – Viva Kerala
23-Sep-10: Viva Kerala – Chirag United SC
23-Sep-10: Qualifier Group B – Churchill Brothers SC
25-Sep-10: Viva Kerala – Qualifier Group B
25-Sep-10: Chirag United SC – Churchill Brothers SC

Group C
Venue: Guru Nanak Stadium, Ludhiana (Punjab)

21-Sep-10: Dempo SC – ONGC
21-Sep-10: JCT – India XI
23-Sep-10: India XI – Dempo SC
23-Sep-10: ONGC – JCT
25-Sep-10: India XI – ONGC
25-Sep-10: JCT – Dempo SC

Group D
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack (Orissa)

22-Sep-10: Mohun Bagan AC – Qualifier Group A
22-Sep-10: Salgaocar SC – Mumbai FC
24-Sep-10: Qualifier Group A – Salgaocar SC
24-Sep-10: Mumbai FC – Mohun Bagan AC
26-Sep-10: Salgaocar SC – Mohun Bagan AC
26-Sep-10: Qualifier Group A – Mumbai FC

Semifinals
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack (Orissa)
29-Sep-10: Winner Group A – Winner Group B
30-Sep-10: Winner Group C – Winner Group D

Final
Venue: Barabati Stadium, Cuttack (Orissa)
02-Oct-10: Winner SF 1 – Winner SF 2

Michael Llodra At The 2007 US Open

The Has!

Ha! Ha! Ha!

Serve and volley? Ha!Ha! Ha! Serve and volley is dead!

Net play? Ha!Ha!Ha!

Are you nuts?

A woman coach? Amelie Mauresmo? Ha! Ha! Ha! You must be crazy!

These are the kinds of barbs , taunts, scorn and scathing attack you would imagine that Michaël Llodra endured when he decided to seek coaching from his compatriot Mauresmo.

Changing your game plan is never easy. Remolding and remodeling it is even harder, especially late in your career. The trick lies in not changing a lot of stuff, just a few things.

Llodra works some magic

Llodra is no spring chicken. The 30-year-old has been around for eleven long years. He turned pro in 1999.

But on his day at the US Open, he left the Wimbledon finalist, Tomas Berdych frozen in his tracks.

Pete Sampras fleshed out the serve and volley approach to impel his way to fourteen Grand Slam titles.

But since then its been a massacre of this archetype at the rackets of the back court specialists. Their ability to strike the ball clean and hard from the back of the court make the adventurous think twice before embarking on the ‘serve and glide into the court’ art form Sampras patented.

But for three straight sets on Wednesday, the 1st of September, 2010, Michaël Llodra illumined that if you put on your thinking cap you can make the most powerful opponent seem positively flat-footed.

Llodra’s gambit – sticking to his strengths – paid off big time!

Berdych had no comeback to Llodra’s artistry and court craft. His inability to decode the Frenchman’s wiles had him packing his bags way too early in the tournament.

Tomas had this to say about the match: “We played three times, four times from the baseline, that’s it.I had no chance to play my tennis. That’s just well done for him.”

Llodra won sixty serve and volley points. This was out of a total of 101 points won. A remarkable sixty percent. Net approaches won = 48 of 75 = 64 percent. He was rapacious and predatory at the net.

Volleying it out

Serve and volley is an offensive ploy; slugging it out from the baseline is essentially defensive.

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the aggressive quad dance provided you can execute it well.

You curve the ball into the body to cramp your foe or spit it wide so that your opponent has to stretch to get to the ball. You follow up the serve by moving into the half-court and wait for the floated ball. The return is ruthlessly dispatched to the nether regions of the court or killed at the net with a deftly executed drop shot.

It is a perfect ruse to allow you some rest and recuperation in between games. Grinding away at long rallies is more suited to the younger, fitter players; it is hard on the knees for the older guns.Besides, there’s nothing like the sheer exhilaration and joy of being able to kill off your opponent’s shot at glory from mid-court or at the net.

Shortening the points also frustrates your opponent.

The only real counter attack your opponent can effect is to try for the low percentage passing shots on either side or try to drop the ball at your feet. Lobbing is for the truly venturesome.

Closing in on the mid-court lacing reduces the angles and allows one to take the ball early. This simultaneously cuts down your adversary’s reaction time.

But it has to be executed to perfection else you could be left stranded at the net watching the green spheroid whiz past. Playing doubles is a surefire  way to improve your game on the half-court.

Sinking a titan

Llodra is a doubles specialist.And his game plan mid-court was near flawless in its execution.

It helped that the Tomas Berdych who showed up was not the Wimbledon buccaneer but his older inconsistent walking dead man shadow.

The Frenchman’s serve and volley game seeks to emulate his idol  - that elegant Swede, Stefan Edberg. Is it any wonder that he berged, submerged and bagged a Berdych? A Tomas Berdych to go , please!

Llodra may well be shown the door in the second round when he takes on Victor Hanescu but for one magical afternoon, he showed how attack is often less taxing than defense and even more ethereal.

Good luck seldom comes in pairs but bad things never walk alone.

A famous Chinese proverb meaning misery loves company. Well for now, we’ll not be discussing about the miseries but the achievements of some renowned sporting pairs of all times….

Leander Paes with Mahesh Bhupathi

Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati (Tennis, India)

In 1999, the doubles team of Paes and Bhupati reached  the finals of all four Grand Slams (French Open, Wimbledon, Australian Open and US Open), which made them the first pair in the history of the game to achieve this feat. They even won the French Open and the Wimbledon the same year, thus becoming the first Indian pair to win a doubles event at a Grand Slam event. The duo won the French open in 2001 and a gold medal in 2002 and 2006 Asian games. The Indian pair went on to be ranked No.1 in the world. The duo shared a wonderful chemistry and were hugely successful on the international circuit. The pair went on to be nicknamed “Indian Express”.

Sonny Ramadhin and Alfred Louis Valentine

Sonny Ramadhin and  Alfred Louis Valentine (Cricket, West Indies)

The West Indies spinners Ramadhin and Valentine tricked the English batsmen and led West Indies to their first Test and series victory on English soil at Manchester in 1950. They took a total of nine wickets at the cost of 165 runs which led to their victory. Late Lord Kitchener gave birth to a calypso, “These little pals of mine; Ramadhin and valentine”, due to their extraordinary performance on the field. Their long, productive partnership in the 1950s cemented their place as the spin legends of West Indies.

The William sisters

Serena Williams and Venus Williams (Tennis, US)

The doubles team of the William sisters has 12 Grand Slam titles to its kitty. The titles include four Australian open titles, four Wimbledon titles, two US Open Championships and two French Open Championships. When Serena and Venus team up, the sisters play to win. They are ranked among the best players in tennis world. The pair was entitled “Doubles Team of the year” in 2000. The sisters have even been a subject of a reality show, “Venus and Serena for real”, which followed them on and off the court.

Randy Moss with Tom Brady

Randy Moss and Tom Brady (American Football, US): Patriots

The duo of Brady- Moss combined for a record 23 touchdown passes in the regular season, including seven of 35 yards or more in  2007, which was the greatest fantasy combo ever.They have been paired in several matches for the patriots, against the jets and in most of them they were victorious due to their amazing partnership. The duo was even termed as the NFL’s “Most Prolific Combination”. The patriots are hard to be forgotten!!

Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax

Don Drysdale and sandy Koufax (Baseball, US): Dodgers

There have been many one-two pitching combination’s that led their team to the pennant and World Championship, but few, if any had greater seasons together than Koufax and Drysdale in 1965. Koufax won three Cy Young awards and an MVP trophy and Drysdale picked up a Cy Young of his own. The Dodgers won three pennants, two World Series and are considered as some of the highest earning players of all times.

Jim kelly and Andre Reed

Jim Kelly and Andre Reed (American Football, US): Buffalo Bills

Kelly’s primary “go-to” wide receiver with Bills, Andre Reed ranks among the NFL’s all-time leaders in several categories. Kelly and Reed connected for 65 TD’s during their career together trailing only the tandems of Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison (112), Steve Young and Jerry Rice (85), and Dan Marino and Mark Clayton (79) for touchdowns by an NFL Quaterback/Receiver tandem. Reed caught more of Kelly’s touchdown passes than any other player in the league.

Stephen Larkham and George Gregan

Stephen Larkham and George Gregan (Rugby, Australia)

The duo of Gregan and Larkham has made most international appearances in the sport’s history for a half-back partnership. With a combined 235 caps and two World cup winners’ medals to their name, not to mention more experience than one could shake a very large stick at, Australian greats Larkham and Gregan have done it all. When both retired in 2007 World cup, not only were they two most–capped wallabies, but they played more than any other scrum-half/fly-half combination , with 79 appearances together. In 2007 at Bruce Stadium, a new stand was unveiled as the “Gregan- Larkham Stand” in honor  of both the players and their contribution to the team.

Magic Johnson and kareem Abdul-jabbar

Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Basketball, US); Lakers

The two have combined to make an astounding eight NBA Finals appearances in 10 seasons, winning five Championships in the process. In 1979, the Lakers acquired 1^st overall draft pick Earvin “Magic” Johnson. The trade and draft paved the way for a second Abdul-Jabbar dynasty as the Lakers went on to become the most dominant team of the 1980s. With Abdul-Jabbar providing the sky hook and Johnson providing the dazzling passes, this tandem ranks as one of the most exciting in sport’s history.

Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes

Karch Kiraly and Kent Steffes (Beach Volleyball, US)

Karch Kirlay’s partner for more than half of his career wins was Kent Steffes, who paired with Kirlay in 1996 to win gold in the inaugural beach volleyball competition of the Olympic Games. They teamed for the second-most pro beach titles (76 to 114 for Sinjin Smith/ randy Stoklos)and form the winningest pro beach team in history in terms of earnings ($ 2,900,112). In 1995 Steffes alongwith Kiraly appeared in an episode of the popular TV series “Baywatch”.

Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe

Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe (Hockey,US): Detroit Red Wings

The two Hall of Fame wingers played on the same line (along with center Sid Abel), and Lindsay was first-team All-NHL eight times and Howe 12 times. They were collectively known as “The Production Line”, both for their scoring and as an allusion to Detroit auto factories. Both led the league in scoring — Howe six times — and were also legendary tough guys. Lindsay, in fact, ranked in the top five in penalty minutes several times. So they would score on you — and then likely punch you in the face.

The transfer season of 2010 looked boring even when there were only a few days left to be over. All the transfers those took place were either known to be going to happen much earlier pr were no that important. In this article I am going to write about 5 transfers those were came as a surprise even to the keenest followers of the beautiful games. Obviously I have no interest in the transfers of David Villa, Angel di Maria, James Milner or Mesut Oezil. We knew these were coming and they just happened.

5. Zlatan Ibrahimovic to AC Milan:

There were certain problems with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in Barcelona. He didn’t fit in the team. He just could not go along with the philosophy of the squad. And when David Villa signed for Barcelona, Zlatan’s playing time seemed to be limited with Iniesta and Pedro joining Messi and Villa in the front three. But everyday we heard about Ibrahimovic’s pledge to fight for his place in the squad by his talent. It seemed Barcelona also wanted to keep him as he played in almost all the pre-season matches. And why this transfer was more of a shock was because the recipient club in the deal was AC Milan. Who had just signed Kevin Prince Boateng on loan from Genoa after just he signed there. Nobody thought Ac Milan, who could not buy the rights of KP Boateng from the debt-ridden Portsmouth side could make such a big buy. But then, people misjudged Adriano Galliani’s negotiation powers. He concluded a deal with Barcelona, who now looked desperate to sell because of not-so-good player-coach relationship was revealed, where the player will go on loan this year and Milan will buy his rights at the end of it for 24 m euros which will be paid in installments. Its not only the parties involved in the deal, the nature of the deal was also surprising and shocking, to say the least.

4. Robinho to AC Milan:

To speak the truth the relationship of Robinho with Manchester City was much worse than that of Ibrahimovic with Barcelona. It was almost sure that Robinho was to go out of the blue part Manchester. But where? Back to Santos? Galatasaraay? Fenerbache? Nobody thought of a move to Milan. So when Robinho said he won’t go to Turkey and his move in Europe will only be to Italy or Spain, everybody laughed. Even when, after signing of Ibrahimovic, reports came of Milan going for Robinho, it was presumed to be another baseless rumour. But may be just to show the world that they can spend some money in the transfer market, AC Milan did buy Robinho from Manchester City on the penultimate day of the transfer season to add to the strikeforce that already had Ronaldinho, Pato and Ibrahimovic.

3. Ricardo Carvalho to Real Madrid:

Real Madrid at a time seemed ti be focussed on getting Brazilian right back Maicon from Inter Milan despite all theefforts of Inter to keep him. But during all this Real Madrid silently strengthened the heart of their defence by reuniting Mourinho with one of his disciple in two of last three clubs, Ricardo Carvalho. This was surprising because Real Madrid signed a player and nobody even have an idea that this was going to happen. The newspapers of Madrid, AS and Marca, who linked all the players who signed for Real Madrid and all those who did not with Real, were also left clueless about this transfer.

2. Alexandre Hleb to Birmingham City:

Some people claim that Barcelona spoiled a talented player like Hleb, while others claim that Hleb did not have the quality to play in the Barca style. But both these categories of people agreed that Hleb would be leaving Nou Camp before the transfer season ended. It was thought that he might be made a makeweight in the Fabregas deal if it did take place or in the Mascherano deal. There were interests from Tottenham Hostpur and Benfica come the last week.

However, in a surprising move Hleb moved to Birmingham City in a loan deal with an option to buy at the end of it.

1. Rafael Van Der Vaart to Tottenham Hotspur:

The spurs fans were getting restless with coach Harry Redknapp and the management speaking about a lot of playersand signing only William Gallas. When it seemed like Harry Redknapp was going to keep faith in the team he had last season with the transfer season almost getting over, Tottenham made a late late bid on Rafael Van der Vaart of Real Madrid with just two hours remaining before the transfer window closed. The Dutch world cup finalists, who always said that he wanted to fight for his place in the star-studded Real Madrid squad, finally took the step out and the deal was completed with just 5 minutes to go. After an anxious wait for a day when the Premier League did a check up on whether the deal was completed in time, spurs rejoiced making one of the best signings in the season given that the player cost them only 8 million pounds.

Some of the other transfers also command a mention in this article, most importantly the loan deal of Manchester City player Craig Bellamy to Championship side Cardiff city and Kevin-Prince Boateng’s signing for two Serie A clubs, Genoa and AC Milan, on the same day. Some late dramas made this transfer season interesting after a dull two months to begin with. This time it was not about big money moves, but mostly about players deciding to take a step down to feel the importance of their talents. The new season now surely attract more attention especially in the EPL with certain influx of talents in not-the-top-of-the-table teams.

The 32nd Federation Cup, India’s version of the FA Cup, will begin on the 14th of this month with eight teams taking part in the qualifiers for the Federation Cup proper. The eight teams are the two I-League relegated Sporting Clube de Goa and Shillong Lajong FC plus six teams from the 2nd Division I-League. The eight teams have been divided into two groups of four teams each and only the winners will move on into the next round. The venue for Group A will be Silchar in Assam, while the Group B matches will be played at the Duler Ground in Mapusa, Goa.

But the qualifying format will not see all four teams playing each other, but the qualifiers will be a direct knockout contest with two semifinals and then a final game which will decide which side will qualify from Group A and B.

The winner from each group will qualify for the quarterfinal round which is also set to be played under a new format with the four groups of four teams set to be played across four venues rather then a 16 team one venue event. The quarterfinal round is scheduled to kick-off on September 21. The likely venues are Ludhiana, Silchar, Goa and Cuttack. Only the group toppers will qualify for the semifinals and one of the above venues will then also host the semifinals and the big final. The AIFF is at the moment said to be preferring Cuttack as the hosts of the big final.

The Qualifiers

Group A
Venue: Satindra Mohan Dev Stadium, Silchar (Assam)
15-Sep-10: Oil India Limited – Mohammedan Sporting Club (Match 1)
16-Sep-10: NISA, Manipur – Shillong Lajong FC (Match 2)
18-Sep-10: Winner Match 1 – Winner Match 2

Group B
Venue: Duler Ground, Mapusa (Goa)
14-Sep-10: Vasco SC – Sesa Football Academy (Match 1)
15-Sep-10: Sporting Clube de Goa – Malabar United FC (Match 2)
17-Sep-10: Winner Match 1 – Winner Match 2

The European football governing body UEFA has decided to ban the Vuvuzela from all matches organised by them. This means no Vuvuzela’s will be allowed at venues for the 2012 European Championship qualifiers, the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League. And fans turning-up with a Vuvuzela will have to hand the plastic trumpet in before entering the venue.

And the reason behind this move? UEFA is banning the Vuvuzela to protect as they call it “Europe’s football culture”. And rightly so! European football atmosphere is about chanting, singing, emotions on the stands which reach the players and it is a two way interaction. At the World Cup initially the Vuvuzela’s were so loud that watching matches even on the television was a pain for the ears, while players said that they couldn’t communicate with each other on the pitch.

UEFA said about the move, “UEFA has informed its 53 member associations that it has taken the move for reasons related to Europe’s football culture and tradition, saying that the atmosphere at matches would be changed by the sound of the Vuvuzela.

The World Cup was characterised by the Vuvuzela’s widespread and permanent use in the stands. In the specific context of South Africa, the Vuvuzela adds a touch of local flavour and folklore, but UEFA feels that the instrument’s widespread use would not be appropriate in Europe, where a continuous loud background noise would be emphasised.”

It is surely a step in the right direction. Some clubs like Borussia Dortmund have already banned Vuvuzela’s from their stadiums, the 2012 London Olympics will not allow Vuvuzela’s to enter any venues, while organisers of sports events and music festivals from the planet have done the same. The Vuvuzela hopefully will remain only in our minds as one of the bad nuances of an otherwise great atmospheric 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Here an older post from me during the 2010 FIFA World Cup about Vuvuzela – a curse?