tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84823895690127109542024-02-19T12:39:37.347+05:30Verma's PerspectiveCow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.comBlogger61125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-89714628034205953472012-01-19T08:37:00.000+05:302012-06-01T17:43:37.316+05:30Confessions of a Madhesi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Yours truly has been affected, both emotionally and ethically, with two cases this week.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Case 1: Most of the people who subscribe to daily newspapers were shocked while having their morning tea, reading of the arrest of Former Minister and current lawmaker Shyam Sundar Gupta (Longer power cut hours has made sure not many can watch Television). The reason was simple, somebody as powerful as a former minister getting nabbed in course of investigation of high-profile abduction case. This was certainly no storm in a teacup.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Case 2: Government decided to appoint Nagendra Jha as Director General of Survey Department. Not many have forgotten that the man in question is the same person who has been accused in past, of giving Rs 800,000 to the family of late Hindu Yuva Sangh leader Kashi Tiwari. That was no gift but an offer of payment to keep their mouth shut and not to drag then Land Reforms and Management Minister Prabhu Sah into Tiwari’s murder case. Minister Sah was the prime accused in the murder case. Now Mr. Jha is the same person, who, during his tenure as Chief District Officer of Parsa was held by the locals of Birgunj while using a stolen vehicle last year.</span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, if you look at it, both are separate incidents. But yours truly was reminded that both central figures in these cases shared a common trait. Both are ethnic Madhesis. Yeah, true. And so is Yours Truly. Bitter, eh! Does it hurt to be reminded as such? Yes, it does. After all, you feel that you’re being equated to wrongdoers. After all, I take pride in being an honest citizen of this country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="more-215" style="background-color: transparent; border-width: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></span>In defense of both the men, we must also agree that the cases against both have not been proven at the court of law and hence can’t charge them as guilty. But then we might also remember that Mr Jha had been using the stolen vehicle for some 9 months when the locals decided that enough is enough. Similarly, Mr Gupta, while in-charge of Ministry of Supplies was not popular for keeping things transparent.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But then, one has to look beyond the surface. Both the men have not made many Madhesis proud. Both have, at a level, shamed the community they came from. I would agree that people should be called innocent until they’re proven otherwise. But there’s life outside court, in the domain of public sphere. And these two will be quoted as examples of wrongdoers. And they cannot shrug off their ethnicity. To remember a friend’s quote, “They have given bad name to their community.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Ethnicity, especially that of Madhes has been hotly debated in the past few years. At this moment, one might remember the uprising in the southern plains before the Constituent Assembly elections. I have always been of the view that, the uprising was against the representatives that Madhes had had till then, as it was an expression of Center’s apathy to their plights. However, some smart (read: opportunist) politicians cashed it as a platform and the people of Madhes (or Terai, if you might like it) were deceived. Some fresh faces were added as representatives, but the true representation could not be established. The failure of the representatives that they’ve had – who speak one line in Kathmandu and exactly opposite line when they descend to the plains – have made sure that the real issues have been sidelined. Worse still, their doublespeak has antagonized a lot of people, apolitical people, who want Nepal to be a peaceful and fair place. It has created fears that the nation could disintegrate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">However, one should not read too much into disintegration issues, as it’s the social fiber that holds a country and not mere representatives at the top. The real worry here would be: How can true representation be established? One cannot deny that there is more to this strip of land than what we have seen. There are people who love the country as much as they love their ethnicity (which again has only been a lip service so far). And they should be given a chance. If not, people will one day do that, although the process could be far from comfortable for those sitting at the top now. It is time, perhaps to have a fresher crop to emerge. Madhes needs fresh representation, a changed approach. People with self-interest and greed will have to give way to newer leadership. A leadership, which leads with vision, and empathy towards the so called Non-Madhesi. For they know what apathy can do to an entire community.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">As far as some corrupt names from the community that crop up in everyday news, corrupt is corrupt and has no ethnicity except greed. Our country might be in transition, but a civilized society has no place for corruption, forget abduction. And civilized we aim to be.</span></div>
<br /></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-73158602271999198122012-01-17T08:33:00.000+05:302012-01-29T08:33:51.685+05:30A Cause to Worry?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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“Hello”</div>
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The word is enough to startle you, especially when it’s loud enough and you’re not expecting to meet anyone, walking through the capital’s streets. Your eyes are on the pavement that you’re walking and suddenly you lift your head. It was a stranger, not even remotely close to anyone I’ve seen or met.</div>
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In a matter of split second, I realized that he was not calling me, and had stopped another passer-by. But then, as I passed by, I happened to be close enough to hear what they were speaking.</div>
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“What? Have I gone nuts?” Thoughts raced across my head.</div>
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This is broad daylight, and this is no lonely alley. For God’s sake, this is pavement in front of Kathmandu Mall, opposite Tundikhel, and has public transport stand, where thousands of people and hundreds of vehicles stop. It is one of the busiest streets of Kathmandu during daytime.</div>
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But this was for real. The guy, with worn look but agile movement, was trying to convince another gentleman, perhaps in his Mid-20s, to buy porn.</div>
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“Nepali ho dai, ramro chha. Kati bideshi hernu hunchha,” he was saying. (Meaning: It is Nepali and is good. How much of foreign ones would you watch?)</div>
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The prospective buyer, who apparently was as shocked as yours truly was, shook his head in refusal and walked off. But yours truly was too shocked to move. Feet stuck in cement. How can this be? I turned back (by then had already passed both), tried to have a glance. This did not look like a joke. He meant business.</div>
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This is was not a shop, and there was no hush-hush conversation. He was speaking normally, as if selling socks or other clothing items, just like many others in this pavement do.</div>
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Million thoughts raced my mind till then. I also thought – “Why did he not ask me?” – just as I was trying to spot any police nearby. But I hardly would recognize one, even if I saw one. I was blank. Having made a few circles around him, I tried to take a picture with my mobile device. Not to show him in public, but to remind myself, if at all it was real.</div>
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I needed some time to cool down. Have a coffee. To reflect upon what was happening. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, walk that street. Children, young adults, women. He was trying to speak to almost everyone.</div>
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“Is it legal now?” I was thinking, answering to myself “Of course not”.</div>
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“Nobody stops it? Where are those, who talk of market regulation and raid on shops and eateries.” Of course, no answers…</div>
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Reminded me of a story I’d read in Nepali Times (English weekly) some time earlier, about how children are exposed to pornography at early age. Maybe last year. Maybe year before that. Luckily, I found it on the internet. It was in the issue #507 (18 – 24 JUNE 2010).</div>
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It reads:</div>
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[A ten-year-old student was throwing up, complaining of headaches, and refused to go to school for days. Unable to identify any physical causes for the child’s distress, his father (a child counselor) sat him down and asked him if anything out of the ordinary had happened. After much coaxing, the boy revealed that his computer teacher had shown him pornographic images online.]</div>
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The same story also quoted an NGO CWIN (Child Workers in Nepal) data saying 79 percent of young Internet users had seen offensive materials online, either accidently or intentionally. It also talked about parents not knowing what their children were viewing in the World Wide Web. It was an interesting story as it said 2 percent of the child respondents (1,430 children aged 12 to 18) said porn sites were among their favorites.</div>
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It would be interesting for most adults my age that during our growing up years, we heard of so many stories of dingy rooms in some areas of Kathmandu showing pornographic movies. Those days, it was talked in the hush-hush tones. Those were early 90s. Move over 20<sup style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">th</sup> century, this is second decade of 21<sup style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; bottom: 1ex; font-size: 10px; height: 0px; line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; vertical-align: baseline;">st</sup> century and whatever you thought of as clandestine is ready to be hurled down your throat. That too, with a lot of noise…</div>
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Thankfully, yours truly realized, he doesn’t have children. If he had, he would be worried… Very Very worried…</div>
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</div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-2071822603782824662012-01-07T10:08:00.000+05:302012-01-07T10:24:06.508+05:30New Year, New Hopes…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cBI_biIPZmTPFnqAWWKJWM4JSJOKI4fQJ1etPvUrzwBqdor_nHVZlnj_xq5cFBIRGxXLndukcWyfkyX5M44IDdhzPv-T1dyizO5dVnkpe_GugSqc-RiBgWWuueMOaarybevr-y3Rc3U/s1600/team+practice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2cBI_biIPZmTPFnqAWWKJWM4JSJOKI4fQJ1etPvUrzwBqdor_nHVZlnj_xq5cFBIRGxXLndukcWyfkyX5M44IDdhzPv-T1dyizO5dVnkpe_GugSqc-RiBgWWuueMOaarybevr-y3Rc3U/s400/team+practice.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The New Year
has begun for sports sector in slightly unconventional way. Right on the second
day of the brand new year, we saw an exchange of blows on a football pitch. Yes,
don't be surprised… A football pitch. If you witnessed the players in that
exchange, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the players had one drink too
many, while bidding adieu to the past year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Some went on
to call it undesirable, while some chose to ignore it. Correct me if I am
wrong, but there is no place for violence in sports. I've never ever been able
to understand if there could be 'desire' for such a thing. It has to be
condemned in the strongest of words, and actions. If your children want to be a
football player in future and if they saw it, tell them this is exactly what
they should avoid on a pitch, and off the pitch too. Hopefully, it was a
one-off incident and we don't see it replicated in future. Five red cards in a
match involving top teams cannot be a matter of pride for any.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A few days before
footballers – along with them their clubs and their governing authority –
shamed 'the beautiful game' in a beautiful city called Pokhara, some cricketers
were trying to showcase their talent.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nepal's
cricket coach, Pubudu Dassanayake was on his mission to find new talent. He
has, in a few months that he's taken charge of the team, said that Nepal needs
more players playing at the highest level. He witnessed some players at the
camps held in Pokhara and Bhairahawa.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"From
what I saw at the camps, the players look very promising," Dassanayake
says. "The good thing is, some of them have raw talent, which can be
developed." Now he wants to bring these players to the capital next week
and have a separate camp for some of these players selected from the camp.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This could,
perhaps be the shot-in-the-arm that Nepali cricket has been looking for. Having
raw, promising talent being groomed at a camp will effectively increase the
player pool for national selection. There is hardly any better sight in cricket
than a raw fast bowler running in and bowling at full throttle or a young
batsman cutting or pulling short balls with a gay abandon, without paying any
respect to their opponents.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It should be
noted here that Pubudu acquired a speed gun – machine that measures speed of
the ball – when his wife was coming to Nepal from Canada. Now this doesn't only
showcase his commitment to Nepali cricket, but also tells us that we will be
able to know exactly what speed our bowlers bowl at. We don't have to talk
about the relative speed of our bowlers anymore. The speed gun was used in
these camps.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"The
fastest bowler I found was clocking 75 miles an hour. And he was a raw
talent," Dassanayake says, "With a fitness regimen in place, he should
be able to bowl at 80 mph."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This means
we could now have bowlers bowling at a lively pace, pushing the opposition on
the backfoot, early on.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Interestingly,
some players that were in the national scheme at some point, Akash Gupta, Antim
Thapa and Dipesh Khatri have also been respotted for future. Akash, despite
being a free flowing batsman, had been fed up of the system and had removed
himself from reckoning. Now that these players have a chance to be back,
there's every possibility that more talents would be positive towards cricket.
At the same time, those players who think national team is their birthright,
may be shaken to perform. It's always good to have healthy competition within
the pool.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Plans are to
have a separate bowlers' camp and a tournament involving 50 best players of
Nepal sometime later this month, followed by a trip to India for the team to
play with local teams. Now it's up to Cricket Association to see it as a cost,
or an investment.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whatever be
the case, yours truly sees it as new hopes emerging in the New Year. The year,
when we are to play in T20 World Cup Qualifiers…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">(PS: The write-up
appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu
Post, on 7th January, 2012)</span></span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-35192846248145126162011-12-31T18:22:00.000+05:302012-01-02T10:04:24.150+05:30Have a start, got to score…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZlP1k3a6sEhZE6I06Rye0rO0kX78wbCo-8GzsmoDwn3s8vbk2ZUc7UKCn97dEbaE0tJ14CgB0b567D4wr7H6bkRX7PELMdeWtX0g0LFsAEXp9JGu3ymbVcO-I_x-bQv40bNxk8W-Tn4/s1600/Nepal-National-Football-Team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNZlP1k3a6sEhZE6I06Rye0rO0kX78wbCo-8GzsmoDwn3s8vbk2ZUc7UKCn97dEbaE0tJ14CgB0b567D4wr7H6bkRX7PELMdeWtX0g0LFsAEXp9JGu3ymbVcO-I_x-bQv40bNxk8W-Tn4/s400/Nepal-National-Football-Team.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">End of the year is always a time for stock taking. What we
achieved in the year; Where we failed; How much could have been done and How
much is left.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But it's also a time to think, what we could do more. As a
year ends, another one begins. That's the beauty of time. That's the beauty of
sport. After every year, another one has to follow. After every match, despite
failures, another is always in waiting. Life goes on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But some years leave their mark. Some delible, some
indelible. Nepali sport saw a few of those. Both of the popular team sport,
Football and Cricket, saw changes. Both sport got new coaches, foreign bred,
tested. Graham Roberts in Football and Pubudu Dassanayake in Cricket. Both
aggressive in their own styles. Both deserving respect because of their past
deeds. And if initial performances – especially the mindset of players – are
anything to go by, both look capable enough to take their respective teams to
another level.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Coaches come and go. Their contribution is judged with
performance of their team, as long as they stay. But one thing that has long
term effect on the sport is its infrastructure. And that, thankfully, is likely
to change with the beginning of football's National League.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) could not have chosen a
better time for the league, as it falls, right at the end of one year and start
of another. This could be the best transition in football that we have seen
yet. It has been long that centralized structure of football has been
criticized in Nepal and rightly so. The game's structure has hardly given much
to the players from out of the valley to ply their trade. Since the leagues,
for years, have been played only among clubs of the capital, it has made the
players from countryside toil harder to make the cut. Likewise, the fan base of
the game has also dwindled. This has been seen several times in Dashrath
stadium, which has had to host close to hundred matches a year. Apart from
matches where some big clubs play, spectators have refused to come to the stadium.
One visit to Dharan, where Budha Subba Gold Cup is held, and Pokhara, where
Sahara Cup is held, is good enough to show you how much football is loved
outside capital. The fan base is there, and unless they see their teams playing
at the biggest stage possible at the national level, European football will
take them away from Nepali football.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although ANFA hails it as the first ever National League,
football pundits would remember that such similar tourneys were held in 1998
and 1999. In these two editions, four clubs from mofussil played with the
biggest clubs in Nepal. Valley
Sporting from Pokhara and Munal Club from Jhapa had participated in 1998. In
1999, The Boys Group from Dharan and another club from Rupandehi participated
in 1999. The Police Club took the title on both occasions, but if you ask
players from these four clubs about the best experience they've had on football
field, they'd tell you these tourneys meant a lot for them. They played with
who's who of Nepali football, and after the matches, they came back richer in
experience, skill and temperament. Everyone associated with the sport will tell
you, there's nothing like playing at the highest level. No matter how much
drills you have, it's nothing compared to match practice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Mitra Milan Club of Dharan and Sangam from Pokhara have the
potential to change the game forever in Nepal. If they play hard, which
football lovers would want them to, they might register a strong case in favor
of matches being played out of Kathmandu more often. There could be a strong
case of having home and away matches right now, but at least this is a start.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This would be a very good opportunity for football fans in
Pokhara and Butwal to enjoy nation's best footballers showcasing their skills.
It should, but doesn't happen very often in Nepal. So fans, as the New Year
begins, go to the stadia not only to enjoy matches, but to make sure you put up
a strong case that there are venues outside capital for football in Nepal.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The league is being organized outside the valley, since
capital's venues are being readied for AFC Challenge Cup. Hopefully, ANFA
organizes more such tourneys outside, even when the stadia in the capital are
in good shape.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">If that happens, we
know for sure, Nepali sport will be happy in the coming years.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 115%;">(This post, unlike other posts on Sports by yours truly, did not appear in anywhere and is exclusive on Verma's Perspective)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Pic courtesy: </span>cricketfootball.com</span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-71425448084324286662011-12-29T10:06:00.001+05:302011-12-29T11:00:53.417+05:30Poem? You must be kidding!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Yours truly had never ever attempted a poem, let alone write one. The idea was simple: You should not ruin something you respect. And never ever try to malign the field. Never ever, for a moment, I could see myself up to it. It was sacrosanct, beyond touch, beyond reach.<br />
At the age when you start thinking more about receding hairline than the lines of verse, there has been an attempt. This is a naive, silly attempt and should not be mistaken as anything serious. Whether yours truly tries any further, should not be an issue of speculation. The idea is: Enjoy it, if you can...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsLkM7T_5LZQZvC4K-8u_gg7i6L8bZdYHK6mmnpYBk9JC_mMVYbB2xWr6wW5ehowJqvPQ2QqBHvOJzg8rRO15Jb18LMEM1kYLLvZ_AnbYMVjR3W9F3IBGgB5kptnXamIbS0jYHWMAltM/s1600/lonely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirsLkM7T_5LZQZvC4K-8u_gg7i6L8bZdYHK6mmnpYBk9JC_mMVYbB2xWr6wW5ehowJqvPQ2QqBHvOJzg8rRO15Jb18LMEM1kYLLvZ_AnbYMVjR3W9F3IBGgB5kptnXamIbS0jYHWMAltM/s400/lonely.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;"><b>धड्कन</b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;">अपने</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">धड्कन</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">को</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">सुना</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">है</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">आजकल</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> ?</span></div>
</span>
<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: -webkit-auto;">घडी</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;">सी</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">, </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Mangal, serif;">टिक</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">-</span></span><span style="font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;">टिक</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">...</span></div>
</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); line-height: 115%; text-align: -webkit-auto;">मेकानाइज्ड</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">सा</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">, </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">नन</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">-</span><span style="line-height: 115%;">स्टप</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">सा...</span></div>
</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); line-height: 115%; text-align: -webkit-auto;">कभी</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">न</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">खतम</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">होने</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">वाली</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">, </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">बोरिङ</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">सी</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">धुन</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">कि</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">तरह...</span></div>
</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); line-height: 115%; text-align: -webkit-auto;">लेकिन</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">अब,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">दो</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">टिक</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">टिक</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">के</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">बीच</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">का</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">वक्त...</span></div>
</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); line-height: 115%; text-align: -webkit-auto;">लम्बा</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">होने</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">लगा</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">है...</span></div>
</span><br />
<div style="color: #222222; font-family: Mangal, serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); line-height: 115%; text-align: -webkit-auto;">इन्तजार,</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">अब</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">मुश्किल</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">हो</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">चला</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">है</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">(for my babe)</span></div>
</div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-53566516208442424972011-12-24T06:44:00.000+05:302011-12-24T08:06:43.618+05:30If everything goes well…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf-QcNXM1AhjSJr2fFnMAI213-ntxAe0Mfh7SC59OL2KGwXLOvzX9tK34KHiX-waSODqZnRKTq5_gg_pa2ZRABtvpCFVyGBw81AGwC5bQBt3zH1XI54Kizl488Z7wFPXl3QZPuMUTXSM/s1600/Can+Prez+12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHf-QcNXM1AhjSJr2fFnMAI213-ntxAe0Mfh7SC59OL2KGwXLOvzX9tK34KHiX-waSODqZnRKTq5_gg_pa2ZRABtvpCFVyGBw81AGwC5bQBt3zH1XI54Kizl488Z7wFPXl3QZPuMUTXSM/s400/Can+Prez+12.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"If everything goes according to the plan, we might
qualify for the World Cup," said Nepal's cricket coach Pubudu Dassanayake,
in a conversation to yours truly recently, before he was to present his 3-month
plan to Nepal's cricket leaders.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The point that the Sri Lankan born coach means well for
Cricket Nepal could be denied here. For the line is an optimist one. But the
catch, for many, would be the big 'if' present there. Many would say: If
everything went according to the plan, we would have played previous world cup.
For around a decade ago, we were 'readying' ourselves to become the next big
thing in Asian Cricket.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact is, not many things went according to the plan. It
was not us, but Afghanistan, that rode that 'elite' bus, becoming the next ODI
team. For there was no plan, on our side. So there was no following it. Promises
were made. But the promises made were not translated into plans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But now, Cricket Nepal has a coach, who's not just followed
player's manuals, but has gone through modern coach's manual too. And a modern
day coach plans and helps players execute them. It's a regimen he has to lives
through. It's a talk that he has to walk. It's a routine that he has to follow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Incidentally, Dassanayake's plans coincide with the historic
change in Nepal's cricket. Historic change being the first ever election in
Cricket Association of Nepal. The historic change being a non-cricketer coming
to lead cricket.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And this event itself needs some reflection, ahead of scrutinizing
whether the plans will be executed or not. The sports journalists are like any
other journalists, except that they're not cynical. We might be skeptic, but
cynicism eludes us. At worst, we still believe in guarded optimism. No wonder
yours truly has taken pride in saying, "Sports page is the one that
records achievements. The front page is full of failures."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
To reuse the phrase, 'If everything goes according to the
plan', Cricket Nepal will now be led by Tanka Angbuhang for four more years.
President of CAN has already told media about 'his' plans, which he expects to
carry out during his tenure. And the plans include, National Cricket Academy as
well as development of cricket infrastructure across the country, among several
others. These are noble plans, even if we were to say they're not new. Oft
repeated, they've just not been put into proper implementation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The point here would not be contesting the plans, but the
manner in which the first ever election at CAN happened. If you ask Pawan
Agrawal, the Presidential candidate who withdrew at the last moment, he'd tell
you, "I withdrew, but I would continue working for cricket." He might
also tell you, the cricketers will get a chance to lead CAN, when the next
election comes, or if the present committee fails.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the insiders will tell you, what kind of people went to
convince Agrawal to withdraw his candidacy. How some other big names were
sidelined, prior to the election. Here, we would not even go to the extent of
talking about the venue chosen for election. Some would see a plan there, but that's
not the point.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the start, which obviously has not send good
signals, Angbuhang has some credentials that can help. At 30 odd years, he's
young and comes from a regimented background not much different from modern day
cricketer's drills. He's got an organization that could back him to the core.
Not having cricketing background could also help at times, as he would be free
of bias that comes from representing certain regions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
He has plans, he says, which obviously is a good start. But
then, he has to realize, not everything goes according to the plan. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If everything went according to the plan, Sachin Tendulkar
would have become a decent medium pacer (Given his height and the fact that, at
young age, he registered himself to a fast bowling academy).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And if everything went according to plan, Angbuhang would
have become Sports Minister and not CAN President (Given the background he has).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
About Dassanayake's plans? Well, we'd definitely know in 3
months whether they work or not!</div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
(PS: The write-up
appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu
Post, on 24th December, 2011)</span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-22271340162627553592011-12-20T09:29:00.000+05:302011-12-20T09:29:30.672+05:30The Will to Win<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn0ONgEAeWCRkOoqS09YVvyZTCDkmM_PvtF1G2dFGoPbxsy-tGmSIpL-xB1ey9hSDImDnv-Yp7Tjr6MhSJz-y_c1kpSoSgpPSZiVlSvbriiRAX1mg3vXV11_dZcRaNinOkBr4RA00fi4/s1600/The+will+to+win.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidn0ONgEAeWCRkOoqS09YVvyZTCDkmM_PvtF1G2dFGoPbxsy-tGmSIpL-xB1ey9hSDImDnv-Yp7Tjr6MhSJz-y_c1kpSoSgpPSZiVlSvbriiRAX1mg3vXV11_dZcRaNinOkBr4RA00fi4/s400/The+will+to+win.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Perhaps the adage exemplifies how sports changed in the
latter half of the 20th century.
Attributed to UCLA coach Henry Russell Sanders and/or American
football coach Vince Lombardi, the saying exemplifies how professionally sports
began to be taken post 1950s. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There was a clear shift from the Olympic spirit from then
on, which preached us that 'The most important thing is not to win but to take
part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the
struggle '. While the Olympic spirit gave us a 'chance to celebrate our shared
humanity', Sanders and Lombardi taught us how to be 'winners'.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This line made the marketers (read mega brands) crazy, and
the players; along with them the administrators, and also the fans, the
enthusiasts. Players, for their wins, needed more money, administrators needed more
money to sell the sport to mega brands, and mega brands wanted to collect all
the money from the fans. The fans, paying more than ever now, wanted result of
their payment in the form of wins and were desperate for that. And the cycle
continued. The only problem was it happened mostly in the nations that were
ahead of us, in terms of development.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As we lay behind in development, so were our sports administrators.
They found an excuse for their lethargy, saying 'at least we are participating'.
We took the bait, we felt that's true. We knew we deserved better, but we were
ready to wait… eternally.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But now, with the turn of the century and reach of media,
thing are no more same. Tiger Woods' failing marriage is watched as eagerly in
Nepal as in USA. Globalization has made sure same things are offered on platter
everywhere. It has made sure Nepal has F1 enthusiasts, despite knowing hosting
such races in the country would require a miracle of gigantic proportions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
With the change, demands of the fans have changed. They no
longer want their players to lose, nowhere. They back their players, so that
they finish top of the podium.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They become disappointed when their cricket and football
team lose semi-finals on the same day (ACC T20 Cup and SAFF Championship). They
also resort to throwing stones at opponents, in hope and in frustration. Unpardonable,
but something that needs to be understood... The administrators may need to
improve security, but they also need to understand that wins actually help in
these cases. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For that, it needs to be instilled in the players that they
can win. If Nepali footballers can play good enough to be in semi-final and
dominate possession, they can surely win.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Till now our performance shows that: If points were given
for ball possession, our side would edge out many, except perhaps the world cup
winning Spanish side. Likewise, if points were given for crowd presence (and
missiles hurled by them to the visiting teams), Nepal would edge out Australia
(and perhaps, India – unless the match is played in Eden Gardens).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The belief, the push for the win was not visible from the
players' body language – both in football and cricket. Their shoulders drooped
with every advancing moment, fear evident on their faces. Winners prowl with
pride and not crawl in fear. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We saw New Zealand side beating Australia in Australia after
a gap of 26 years. For these many years, they could not, since they did not
have enough belief.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One should note that we have teams better than what the
results has shown us, in both the games. And we need results now to prove the
skill, the class they have.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Before new lines are written in these columns, we are likely
to have new executive committee of Cricket Association of Nepal, following its
first ever election. Whoever leads it, regardless of the political affiliation,
he will have to work on the will to win for the players. Sooner, than later… </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Underdeveloped and developing may not be excuse anymore.
Some insiders say, CAN has more money in its coffers than Sri Lankan Cricket
Board. And Sri Lanka, we know, have been the world champions.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Winning isn't everything. The will to win is the only thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">(PS: The write-up
appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu
Post, on 17rd December, 2011)</span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-28819588053881584882011-12-03T06:02:00.001+05:302011-12-04T18:12:43.027+05:30The 'F' Factor<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjlqG0QSwiThksooay8mnRCXvtsrR2NHAVnKh7GYEhMcxdUPSPrbkS6BHz1uZqbQJ5eIO_ovo001V4CDfPjnpLoPX_sYsjKSqWDZmqoiX2aA8rPIdnoW0DxLO7F8IDAGeOmPx-Nxipdc/s1600/The+F+Factor+web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcjlqG0QSwiThksooay8mnRCXvtsrR2NHAVnKh7GYEhMcxdUPSPrbkS6BHz1uZqbQJ5eIO_ovo001V4CDfPjnpLoPX_sYsjKSqWDZmqoiX2aA8rPIdnoW0DxLO7F8IDAGeOmPx-Nxipdc/s400/The+F+Factor+web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 0px;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2001</b>: An important year in
history of Nepali sport, especially cricket. The year was to change how cricket
was viewed in Nepal. As Kathmandu played host to Youth Asia Cup (later termed
as ACC U-19 Cup), the home team defeated Malaysia in the final, with Roy Dias –
former Test Cricketer from Sri Lanka – in charge of young boys that were to
form a core for the senior team later.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As Malaysian Colts faced Nepali
boys in the final, the Malaysian coach – incidentally a Sri Lankan – told yours truly, during the innings break, "It’s difficult for my boys playing
against a good team and such a huge crowd. When they play at home, not more
than 100-150 people watch them."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">That quote sounded like a
forfeit already, although half of the match still remained. Indeed, the size of
the crowd at the Tribhuvan University Cricket Ground was many folds that the
visiting team had ever seen. And they were vociferous too, making it very clear
whom they supported. Every delivery that Lakpa Lama tweaked, every ball Binod
Das swung, were cheered and made even more difficult to face for the batsmen.
For they all came with a roaring noise in the background. And the Malaysian
team succumbed, handing Roy Dias and his wards the biggest trophy for Nepal
till then.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">That is what fans can do. Make
their heroes look larger than life, turn them into invincible beings. The
clapping hands and roar can create doubts in the opponents' mind, making them
falter at the slightest opportunity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><b>2011</b>: A decade has passed and
Nepal stands at another crossroads. There is a change in the team, the
in-charge is different. New Coach Pubudu Dassanayake is definitely a breed that
the previous coach was not. The players have grown up, and are not slaves to
teenagers' anxiety anymore. And together they are working to modernize their
approach to cricket. They are ready to turn a corner.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But the fans are the same. They
still want the trophy. They still want their players to play like invincibles.
They still are ready to back their team, with their claps, with their roars and
quite possibly, with their aggression.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Sports watchers, across the
world, have a sense of solidarity with their teams. While watching sport, their
blood pressure rises, just like the players, and you can see them yelling even
at the television screen at home. Crowded by identical beings, their behavior
on the ground can go awry at times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Here, we've seen the best of the
fan factor; we've also seen the worst of it. We've seen them queuing up for
autographs; we've also seen them invading the pitch.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Fans, as they are biased, can be
a double edged sword. They can kill for you, and sometimes they can get you
killed. For every cricket enthusiast, it would be wise to remember the incident
of February last year and the embarrassment it caused us internationally. The
pitch invasion by the crowd during Nepal's match against US in ICC World League
Division 5, would always remain as a dark spot in Nepali cricket. As the match
was disrupted, Nepali cricket was shamed. ICC, following its own investigation,
slapped a conditional ban on hosting matches at the Tribhuvan University
Ground.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">None, who love cricket in the
country, would want a repeat. And for that, the onus is on the spectators
themselves. They don't want to be taken as a bad host. For that, they have to
prove that they've matured, just as their players have over the years. They
need to ensure that the opponent team has to be respected, even if they don't
receive moral support. After all, they're also trying to prove themselves, as much
as our team does.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And the day fans start being
just, nobody can stop cricket development in the country. Not even political
interference.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(PS: The write-up appeared in
Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 3rd December, 2011)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Photo: taken by self</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-27163649975138038372011-11-26T07:17:00.001+05:302011-11-26T10:21:20.807+05:30We Will Wait !<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1O5vZkDVlZjKkcREkoBI-zJbub5DcnUfl6iOpHO2AmIwIGJMk07jXWxp2udtSViqdDj5W7AW_O-kIFYxzppB3xSp_uJnnj1VODoMayR3Ku-dWmFTgzFRa7dsKGSzULTxW9mkVEQ8_CY8/s1600/Tendulkar+Fans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1O5vZkDVlZjKkcREkoBI-zJbub5DcnUfl6iOpHO2AmIwIGJMk07jXWxp2udtSViqdDj5W7AW_O-kIFYxzppB3xSp_uJnnj1VODoMayR3Ku-dWmFTgzFRa7dsKGSzULTxW9mkVEQ8_CY8/s400/Tendulkar+Fans.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">“Don't whisper a word. The whole world
will be able to hear you. Wankhede is stunned into silence. Rampaul spoils the
party, Sammy holds the catch at second slip.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps obituaries would sound
comparatively pleasant to some cricket fans. The lines appeared on ESPNCricinfo
web portal, as Sachin Tendulkar departed without scoring what could have been his
100<sup>th</sup> international century – just one-hit-over-the-boundary short
of it. As many firsts that the man has pocketed, this would be another first in
the history of the game.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">The dreaded words appeared: 'SR
Tendulkar c Sammy b Rampaul 94'. At little under 140 kmph, this may not be the
best ball West Indian pacer Ravi Rampaul might have bowled, but certainly will
be the most memorable for him.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Right at
the moment, the waving flags stopped, as if time froze. The clapping hands were
on the heads. The crowd remained glued to their seats – silent in disbelief –
as if this was not real. It couldn't be, they'd come in hordes to see their
favorite player touch a milestone nobody else had dreamt of before. The shock
on the faces of spectators, beamed through the TV, looked as if a catastrophe
had struck the stadium.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A long walk for the most coveted
batsman in cricket history followed, at the ground that’s been called his home
ground, for past couple of decades. A sigh came from him. He looked at his bat.
<span class="apple-style-span">He looked at the crowd, as if to say, I’m sorry…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Before that very moment, all media,
including social media was abuzz with mention of SRT's possible century. Fans
crying out for support, anticipating a celebration… A tweet read: "In the
train, around me everyone is logged onto either ESPNcricinfo or radio.
Smiles and random fist pumps." Then, Tendulkar was going more than
run-a-ball, having scored a four and a six in a Fidel Edwards over, bowled
close to 150 kmph. Tendulkar looked ominous, giving people glimpses of his
creativity, as he leaned back, played upper cut to score two sixes off Edwards,
in the innings and also showcased the best of his straight drives. As thousands
roared, the century was for his taking.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Just a moment later, after his shock
dismissal, a frustrated tweet read: "No he is not out. That was a wide
ball and no ball and dead ball and Ravi Rampaul is involved in match fixing and
takes drugs." Anger, just because he ousted Sachin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the awe that he inspires in a
country of more than a billion, and beyond. Having been a witness to his
batting and spectators' admiration in the Test Match in Delhi recently, this
scribe learnt a few things about what cricket is for his fans. For them,
cricket exists because SRT plays it. Yours truly - being an admirer of the
cricketer and watching the match in expectation of his 100<sup>th</sup> ton -
was still amazed to see fans chanting "Sachin, Sachin" at their
loudest, even when he picked the ball that rolled to him. For others, boundary-saving
efforts were treated with mere claps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">A fellow spectator said, "I wonder
how he is able to pick his bat, under such pressure. I've seen, this is even
louder in Mumbai". During the match, when Virender Sehwag was out, the
noise reached its crescendo. Not in appreciation of Sehwag's batting, but because
Tendulkar was coming in to bat. Everybody wanted him to score the 100<sup>th</sup>.
However, he missed it, and the fans still clapped. They were frustrated, but I
could not hear a word of criticism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">It's not easy to manage such adulation,
being human. It's not easy to shut your ears to such decibels. But then, it's
not easy to be Sachin Tendulkar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">He will definitely score his 100<sup>th</sup>,
sooner or later, as Amitabh Bachchan tweeted: "Heartbroken! Ah well
another day maybe. We'll wait!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Another fan, in yours truly could not
resist the temptation and wrote: "Sad that Sachin did not score
the 100th... Proud that he played like Sachin we admire... Would be sadder
to see him crawl to it..."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; font-family: Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">(PS: The write-up appeared in Yours
Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 26th November,
2011)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmVpqJoeOxNBRHRM_aV76iKNZs2SRwwlU6TrAiQ6iq6VUPsDMJBBf451pZWAkxjbNNccQBz_SQrP9zUvh5I-vydboly1q7LZZfsotfX8cR-6cbbfH_JqYEDh3qPkQzypOXIhbb2gTDCY/s1600/Tendulkar+Fan+Art+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRmVpqJoeOxNBRHRM_aV76iKNZs2SRwwlU6TrAiQ6iq6VUPsDMJBBf451pZWAkxjbNNccQBz_SQrP9zUvh5I-vydboly1q7LZZfsotfX8cR-6cbbfH_JqYEDh3qPkQzypOXIhbb2gTDCY/s400/Tendulkar+Fan+Art+1.jpg" width="382" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<br /></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-75906954591025624932011-11-19T08:20:00.001+05:302011-11-19T08:23:59.510+05:30Is it Cricket?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsl3ukz-TzZN08b9yjnyj3DkvQ4UYTh_ypAcM7S5h0DRabGxRuD7HbL4cnZrUTD8EVeVOy0leiiWUdDGfUjh_wybAlbDHx59H9RO6TWlxtem7U4PIXd9yrm4mwvlZIHH3r8AAfswgfHA/s1600/Is+it+cricket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSsl3ukz-TzZN08b9yjnyj3DkvQ4UYTh_ypAcM7S5h0DRabGxRuD7HbL4cnZrUTD8EVeVOy0leiiWUdDGfUjh_wybAlbDHx59H9RO6TWlxtem7U4PIXd9yrm4mwvlZIHH3r8AAfswgfHA/s400/Is+it+cricket.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">These are
difficult times to be a cricketer here. Mind you, under normal circumstances it
would be busy times with a major championship not too far away (ACC T20 Cup
gets underway in a fortnight).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Cricketers in
Nepal have always considered themselves unlucky. In the beginning days of
cricket here, most could not play, given it was only within a reach of richer
few. Hence most were unlucky. Till late 90s, Nepal had no participation at
international level, so the players were said to be unlucky. When the cricket
administration prospered and coffers did not show zero balance, the cricketers
said they were unlucky as they did not receive anything out of it. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Circa 2001, yours
truly once met a national level cricketer who said he was unlucky not to be in
the national team, forgetting a small matter of letting nearly 50 wide balls,
in a small matter of 4-5 matches.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But the
cricketers, for now, really have a difficult time. For, they're caught in
transition. As if transition from long standing coach was not difficult in
itself, they have an unenviable task of going through the restructuring – or
should one say, reconfiguration – of Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN). It
should be noted here that the past coach, Roy Dias, coached Nepali team since
beginning of this century, and had played majority of his cricket in the 80s.
Meanwhile, the new coach, Pubudu Dassanayake, played his cricket in modern era
and coached a team to the World Cup. He is used to more modern ways and
equipments of coaching and is trying to use it with the boys here. The national
team players, though young, will take some time to adapt to that mechanism.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And, during the
same time, they have to deal with the new administration of CAN, led by a
Central Committee Member of a political party. Imagine the confusion, when the
coach hardly knows the abilities of the players and the whole cricket
administration is into the hands of someone totally alien to cricket. If we add
to that the Nepali organizational culture of never keeping institutional
knowledge or memory, you know what could go wrong. For players, it's like
starting afresh, akin to doing an entry level job in a fast food joint, after
managing it for five years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If you were a
player, it could be difficult not to be scared. The new CAN, the ad-hoc body
supposed to hold election for an executive body, has announced that its new
statute will not be in compliance with the ICC provisions. The person
responsible for recommending the statute says, he was not aware of ICC provisions.
That coming from a former cricketer and administrator sounds like a blatant
excuse. World governing body of almost every sport has some provisions for the
national bodies, especially on governance. If you are not aware of that, and
are still preparing something as important as statute, you have disqualified
yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">ICC is very clear
on stopping political or government interference in national cricket boards.
That would also include National Sports Council (NSC), known for dissolving the
national sporting bodies, upon the whim of its chief. Continuing the tradition,
Member Secretary of NSC, Yubraj Lama, appointed Tanka Angbuhang – Maoist
Central Committee Member – as President of CAN. Perhaps to return the favor to
the party that got him the most powerful position in Nepali sport. He was a
sportsman once, but what he is practicing right now is definitely not cricket.
Special mention should be given NSC appointing past president Binay Raj Pandey
as Patron of CAN, without even notifying him.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">With all of it
going on in the background, one would be surprised if the players can still
focus on learning newer techniques in cricket. And cricket fans would just hope
that in this insane environment, at least the players would keep their sanity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(PS: The write-up
appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu
Post, on 19th November, 2011)</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-61971656476832243852011-10-22T06:46:00.000+05:302011-10-22T07:35:55.534+05:30The Worry Called Cricket<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfbaRBwCfxTLoX9HcrkzQfXn3_MH5HP3SXATHilYxGGKJ55RIA2iaogb7L114vktx7NCMF3TADyUNYcjK8B89CTfIo5eunhbKSH_uxF-Hyhsy1iemNlCQfUfhobwbUZURCPKG4zChh1I/s1600/Nepal+Cricket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAfbaRBwCfxTLoX9HcrkzQfXn3_MH5HP3SXATHilYxGGKJ55RIA2iaogb7L114vktx7NCMF3TADyUNYcjK8B89CTfIo5eunhbKSH_uxF-Hyhsy1iemNlCQfUfhobwbUZURCPKG4zChh1I/s400/Nepal+Cricket.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If you were to
visit Tribhuvan University Grounds these days, you could see Nepali cricketers,
led by captain Paras Khadka, in practice drills. They are busy in preparation
for the SAARC Under-25 Twenty20 Cricket, which Maldives will host.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As the boys look
sprightly during the net sessions, a rumor that yours truly heard this week
comes as a flash. The story is: Recently, President of Cricket Association of
Nepal, Binay Raj Pandey called Paras Khadka for a meeting. Paras sent a message
saying he would meet the new President of CAN, as the change of guards is
likely.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The truth in the
story cannot be verified and hence should be called a rumor. But the anecdotal
reference gives you a rough sketch of behind the scenes in Nepali cricket.
We’ve heard of Nepal cricket skipper’s dissatisfaction over CAN’s handling of
cricketers, and sometimes they’ve been justified too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Even if the story
mentioned above is rejected completely, what cannot be undermined is that CAN
has not been able to hold elections for a new executive committee. Pandey
ascended to the throne five years ago, and has been time and again been told to
hold elections, especially after Yubraj Lama became Member Secretary of the
National Sports Council.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The scene is fast
heating, as Pandey tries to take stock of what his team has done during their
tenure. And we cannot forget the division within the executive committee due to
political appointment of some members.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Rumor mill also
has it – mentioned to this scribe on the condition of keeping it off-the-record
– that a certain section of present CAN executive committee members lobbied for
a politically affiliated head of the cricket body. Their logic was that they
already have a team, and the team can handle cricket even if the chief is a
politician. Logic seems right. One person cannot just do everything. He needs a
team to accomplish things. A good team, to be precise…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The worry is not
the logic, but the division within the so called ‘guardians’ of cricket. The
worry is, their lobby is getting stronger. The worry is, there are some
politicos from the ruling party who are providing these lobbyists with fodder,
and incentive.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In a recent
meeting, Rumesh Ratnayake, Development Officer of ACC, told the writer of these
columns, “The pace of growth of cricket in Nepal in last decade hasn’t been
what we expected. We thought it would go at 70 miles per hour but it was at
20.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Now Rumesh was a
fast bowler as a cricketer and his love with speed can be understood. But the
gap in expectation and results has been worrisome. Ratnayake said, “At a point
we thought Nepal could achieve Test status, not only ODI.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Somehow, the
custodians for past half a decade have to realize they’ve fallen short on
promises. Half a decade ago, Pandey was labeled a savior for Nepali cricket.
Now, he looks a sorry figure, with his comrades fast disappearing. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But what should
also be remembered is that present team inherited virtually empty coffers when
they took over and now CAN balance could read anywhere between 70-90 million
rupees. While the failings are listed, the achievements also have to be
accounted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One
cannot deny the change needed to modernize Nepali cricket. But the change
cannot be whimsical, which is what may happen, given the stance taken by various
players in sports right now. Too much of political interest is not likely to
help the sector. We’ve already seen that with the executive committee headed by
Pandey, which was for most of its tenure, split into half.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(PS: The write-up appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 22nd October, 2011)</span></span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-1183775566367654822011-10-15T07:22:00.001+05:302011-10-22T05:53:10.464+05:30Curious case of Sharad Veswakar<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span> <br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24bU1VR9eTsLpJXhpJX9m6MWNPfs36FpkbN8F-tf-B9xHskH6QdIK8PPgKaI4osKTWC6XY35egVQpqaYz2NqUMkh3L-ycSBX9QwovjvQ9VpY2O822DJZ8SPQ2-7AR1K_QemPn9YC4kfU/s1600/sharad+veswakar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24bU1VR9eTsLpJXhpJX9m6MWNPfs36FpkbN8F-tf-B9xHskH6QdIK8PPgKaI4osKTWC6XY35egVQpqaYz2NqUMkh3L-ycSBX9QwovjvQ9VpY2O822DJZ8SPQ2-7AR1K_QemPn9YC4kfU/s400/sharad+veswakar.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">'I love scoring goals for England and playing for England. That's one of the reasons I didn't retire – I love playing for my country.' said David Beckham once, despite knowing he did not feature in the future plan of English football team. Arguably, David Beckham is one of the most celebrated names, if you consider European football post 1990s.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sports psychologists tell you: Pride of playing for the country does make sportsmen run that extra mile, push the barriers a bit further, and makes them feel responsible. Because, in the back of their head, they're thinking about trying to uplift masses that back them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But can we imagine a situation where a player plays without a country? Impossible you'd say? Then what is the case of Sharad Veswakar, one of the mainstays of Nepali Cricket team?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sharad Veswakar, who has represented Nepal right from Under-15 level to national cricket team does not have a citizenship of Nepal. Something wrong there? Yours truly says – it's completely insane. It's as if he doesn't exist, except in the record books, where his century for Nepal stands.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nepal Citizenship Act 2006 says, "Any person born at the time when his father or mother is a citizen of Nepal, shall be a citizen of Nepal by descent." Furthermore, it adds, "A child born to a Nepali female citizen from marriage with a foreign citizen in Nepal and having permanent domicile in Nepal may be granted naturalized citizenship as prescribed, provided the child has not acquired the citizenship of a foreign country on the basis of citizenship of his father."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, Veswakar has a Nepali mother and has been residing in the country as far as he can remember. Yet the boy in his mid-twenties is not our own, at least legally. Worse, this is the status WE have given him. We take a lot of pride in collecting hundreds of thousands of rupees to send SMS to India, just to help a Nepali-speaking person become an Indian Idol (It should be noted that yours truly has no malice against Prashant Tamang or his singing). Yet we act indifferent, when somebody takes pride in playing for us and treat him with disdain.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">"President is the only person we've not spoken to, this issue. From the rest we've already received assurances," This is what Nepali captain Paras Khadka had to tell this scribe, during a conversation some time ago. Just over two years ago, a delegation of cricketers had met Madhav Kumar Nepal, then Prime Minister, to return with a bagful of promises. Two Prime Ministers later, the issue is just there, while several thousand more – a number of them non-Nepalis – have become 'proud' citizens of this country.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Over the years, we've seen so many cricketers, who showed a lot of promise at early age, taking to a foreign land, to have a secure future. But this man hasn't budged. Whether he could not go out or did not wish to – is not the question. The question is: Can't somebody stand up and say – you've done us proud and deserve to be a citizen of this country? Not that giving him citizenship would hurt national coffers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He told this scribe once, "Whenever the issue is raised, I feel as if it's a joke. I try not to think about it and focus on my cricket." But any sane man can understand focus becomes a tad more difficult when you have more serious issues in your head.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps, it is a joke. Some cruel joke, where he is a victim of his own stardom, for he can't go and pay a few thousand rupees – just like many do – to become a Nepali citizen. Till he musters up courage to do that, perhaps he will remain a refugee in his own country. For we have a habit of forgetting things - taking it too easy - especially if the issues are related to sports, no matter how important.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But, yours truly wishes his status would change and change for good. No matter how faint, hope remains.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #464646; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(PS: The write-up appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 15th October, 2011)</span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-35086295825606322742011-09-24T07:09:00.001+05:302011-09-24T07:09:42.217+05:30Of Departure and Arrival<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-MMYz38SWrANakjb5iWovNybJsCXEbt8XE_Ocj7EQ7Vak5YCpcqRl1zDiBBBOk81q3i34oNcKGZ0rwYet2TZz4H-VcniE0STmYeGdfShRXrRzqhkCiVVkrioSPgM8L0nFspPfi6YXF0U/s1600/MAK+Pataudi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" id=":current_picnik_image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuwyLK6qVjMhM5E0J1sf9aVNtA0nUNlCF5JggHBt1orRLDnOx2roX_jivL-tiohO8JlbqfzjQhSo-LhkE7rVqQaetbR1Ly-YNwnp03JePsiJomJIb2BaSpsU-sKuXNEPSrMEdNc8A8uUY/s1600/16490604248_G2RSJ.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #464646; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">"I really
respected him" – This remark may neither raise eyebrows nor would it
register very strongly on anyone's mind. But if you know that it was Sachin
Tendulkar making such a remark, you would stick to the word 'really' and start
admiring the person, whoever the great batsman is referring to.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Tendulkar was
referring to Former Indian captain <span>Mansoor
Ali Khan Pataudi, who passed away on 22<sup>nd</sup> of September 2011. It
would be interesting to know that Tendulkar was barely a 2-year old when
Pataudi played his last International match. It needs sheer genius in a person
to earn respect, in the heart of a cricketer who started playing serious
cricket, a decade after he had retired.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Most of us, who have grown in the constant shower of cricket, just
because we are close to India, have heard of him. Hardly a few have seen him
play. Yet we know of him. Probably, among the cricketers who played before the
television era, he was the only icon that we knew, with the exception of Sir Don
Bradman and Great Garry Sobers. Not many can boast to have such a long
shelf-life after retiring, something most sportsmen would envy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Having seen him only in interviews, except some grainy black and white
television footages, yours truly learnt that cricket is just an extension of
this princely being. The aura of the Republican Prince – as termed by a cricket
writer – was overwhelming. A desire to interview the person behind Ray Ban
glasses grew. It's perhaps not worth mentioning that yours truly could only get
to as far as meeting Sharmila Tagore, his wife for 4 decades.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As I asked her, how it felt to have been married to a Rockstar cricketer,
she would reply, "I married a human being. His cricket never interfered
our lives." A line with a smile, which used to floor millions during her
film days, now with added affection... A lesson you learn, in life – Keep
things simple.</span><span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">We've seen a lot
of cricketers who could not carry the weight of their lineage. Ask, Rohan
Gavaskar (son of Sunil Gavaskar) and Liam Botham (son of Ian Botham), how
difficult it could be. Mansoor Ali Khan had a proud lineage to live up to,
cricket historians and writers still write about Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi's
leg glance and his famous opposition to Douglas Jardine's Bodyline tactics.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Yet he became the
youngest Test captain of the world – the record remained till Tatenda Taibu
became Zimbabwe's captain in 2004 – and made India a team that could win
matches abroad (India won its first abroad series under him). He is the one
credited with giving Indian cricket a new and proud face, 4 decades before
Sourav Ganguly patented the style towards turn of the century. Khan would be
remembered for developing Indian spin quartet as a force, akin to what the West
Indians developed in form of the pace quartet, albeit much later. All this
happened, after he had already lost vision in one of his eyes. Interesting to
learn that he donated another one, a week before he died…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">One reason why the
great Imran Khan said, "… he was a genius of great proportions."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">While the cricket world
pays farewell to Pataudi, we wait for our next coach, <span>Former Sri Lankan Cricketer Pubudu Dassanayake, who's due to arrive coming
week</span>. He has already said that he would want to take Nepal to higher
rank and possibly into the World Cup. We would love to see that. He has already
proved his mettle, taking Canadian team into the World Cup.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">One thing
Dassanayake would do well to remember is that his compatriot, Roy Dias has already
done the groundwork. He would rather not reinvent the wheel and try to add on
to the achievements we've already had. Much will also depend on how 'localized'
he gets and tries to earn the respect of the players, who sometimes get complacent
and carried away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">(PS: The write-up
appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu
Post, on 24th September, 2011)</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQiq0V45AYpgjqLTrpk8OaPzZIe6ybX14hGSv3yH-gklX3Tgt37jiBlCwG9OB6wnBlTrri4BcgI63-0lDund6hxwHkNhmAKfiTJKVI78GDQBOUIh0QksIOjy2W-KOD-ii1fBbQHuyHVcw/s1600/MAK+Pataudi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" id=":current_picnik_image" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9G2kjaXuNx3Pg5f_ikHUoxIkec5CU00K4bykFq0X6TU1oHc5MPifz2UB9PqSOFW0k4yxh6-pGxnawIRhCA81xz_4FbzEsEb2qk6KNNtPbWa1SJ2SJ1M4xJwWwG20ySI0NFSQ0deiIcS8/s1600/16490548606_wSpTB.jpg" /></a></div>
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Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-69050490735489674802011-09-17T06:58:00.000+05:302011-09-17T06:58:54.589+05:30The Art of Losing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIoo2ON79ZEHbq3AIKl4WCMdY9b87XEZfX_ReIff-T7y-C97mB79IT0b8L5jnXWN1VnuUNfh6uVlyr-ipWUk5c0cUW8zybIBBuWx_Ng71vfomol0HVTS0PmB-U3uq1qskwKwsKxD-vbY/s1600/Nepal+U-16.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYIoo2ON79ZEHbq3AIKl4WCMdY9b87XEZfX_ReIff-T7y-C97mB79IT0b8L5jnXWN1VnuUNfh6uVlyr-ipWUk5c0cUW8zybIBBuWx_Ng71vfomol0HVTS0PmB-U3uq1qskwKwsKxD-vbY/s400/Nepal+U-16.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Nepali youth team did
not do well at the AFU U-16 Championship group D Qualifiers at home, despite
our best wishes and sizeable crowd support. First two matches, the boys were
blanked. Never a good sign if you are pinning your hopes on young talents, when
some of the youths in the national team are showing signs of fading early.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Before the start
of the series, Coach Sunil Shrestha told us, 'There's not much difference among
the sides at the age-group level'. That meant we had a good chance, and we grew
hopeful. Of the four countries participating, we were the lowest ranked side.
Oman, Saudi Arabia and Syria are ranked ahead of us by FIFA, well 30 places or
more. But these were age-group matches. Our boys did not appear too weak, in
front of them. And at this level, skill is considered ahead of physique.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">But we were
blanked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Losing matches is
part and parcel of the game, and would always remain so. It should always be
taken that way. Win some, lose some – is a mantra many sports stars reiterate.
To top it, we had some important players who were injured. Those who would
rally the midfield, Bibek Basnet and Umesh Thapa were out of the team before
the tourney began. Some others also picked niggles while in the play.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">But the manner of
loss should be studied, scrutinized. And maybe a little bit of history too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">The boys, right on
the first match against Syria looked out of sorts. There seemed to be no plan.
The hold on the ball was not seen. And things hardly improved in the next matches.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">But this is one
tourney, so that is not important. A few bad days on the field do not make
players any lesser.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">What the football
administrators should actually look into is the fact that our youth team has
not won a match against any other nation in last 4 years. After 2007, when the
boys defeated mighty Jordan 3-1, we have lost 7 matches and were blanked in 6 of
them. The last people to score a goal for Nepali U-16 team were Nirajan Malla
and Sujal Shrestha, against Kuwait the same year. Both are in the national team
now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">That basically
means that the present U-16 players haven't heard of Nepali U-16 team winning,
while they've been at the Academy. That doesn't do good to their morale.
Losing, like winning, is a habit. You practice for it, everyday. And if you
haven't heard of winning ways, the loss creeps into your system, and you start
accepting any result as 'it was to be'. The drills become rituals, and players
– especially the young ones – do not see a point in them. They just follow
orders. The losses start hurting less and less.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Success has many
fathers, but failure is an orphan.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">And the greatest
disservice ANFA could do to football would be ignoring this. This should be the
time they do not let this failure look like an orphan. For players would need
support from their administrators, especially after morale shattering losses.
Otherwise, they would start becoming machines produced to serve substandard
products. There is every chance that mediocrity could become their way of life,
if left unattended.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">There are fears
that these young minds may start thinking that winning or losing is not
personal. It actually is, despite what Don Corleone said in movie The Godfather.
Thinking otherwise may derail them. Unless the loss hurts, one can do nothing
about changing the result. They should be told, the sport is played more in
mind than on the field these days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">The
administrators, Coach included, could do well to tell them the importance of
fitness. How to avoid injury at such an age would go a long way in preserving
good talents for the future. And we could have our best boys taking the field
against any opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Or else, our boys
will perfect what we could say: The Art of Losing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">(PS: The write-up
appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu
Post, on 17th September, 2011)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Disclaimer: The
picture shown in the post is courtesy: www.goalnepal.com<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-78879912083501272662011-09-10T06:25:00.000+05:302011-09-10T06:25:51.569+05:30Of Awards, Missions and 'My People'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvTQ3Rr9CRsspfRR-7YNOoy7Ppe1RfBxOA-t57tTU2fqiH19AlSczqAssFdWpkLGCiig9Y6OL13D_twCwDEjmYAFac66CqISFbWi7yJEDyxYIosFo6wTGORRfnKnTQkfxcppCxP4s88Y/s1600/Yuvaraj+Lama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzvTQ3Rr9CRsspfRR-7YNOoy7Ppe1RfBxOA-t57tTU2fqiH19AlSczqAssFdWpkLGCiig9Y6OL13D_twCwDEjmYAFac66CqISFbWi7yJEDyxYIosFo6wTGORRfnKnTQkfxcppCxP4s88Y/s400/Yuvaraj+Lama.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Jess Owens once
said, "Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust." <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And Owens was
arguably one of the most influential athletes of all time, winning 4 gold in
Berlin Olympics in 1936, when Hitler staged the game to showcase the Aryan
supremacy. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Despite what Owens
said, awards do, and would continue to, mean a lot to the athletes. These are
the reasons why they play for, when the game they play is not enough to buy
them sustenance. Probably that's why Pulsar Sports Awards gets a lot of
publicity. So much that players go ahead players or their fans go ahead getting
pamphlets printed and paste it around the walls. So much, fan groups rally
around requesting for SMS votes. The national football team went to the eastern
region, to play friendly matches against Sunsari, Morgan and Jhapa – with the
permission from ANFA – to gather support for its captain, who happens to be one
of the nominees for Popular Player of the Year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">At the risk of
irritating a lot of sports journos, yours truly would also like to argue that
the awards have become popular also because it is organized by Nepal Sports
Journalist Forum. Most sports journos are affiliated with the forum, and the
news gets month long (or more coverage in popular newsprint), making it widely
read, and thus popular. One question could be asked here: Would it get as much
coverage, if some other organization covered it?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">If the answer is
yes, there is nothing wrong with it. But if the answer is no, rethinking is
needed. Are we overdoing it? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Despite this
criticism, it has to be reaffirmed that the award has done more good than bad
to the morale of the players, and should be lauded along with the players who
receive the trophies.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">-----<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As far as Nepali
sports sector is concerned Yuvaraj Lama is the man to watch (and it is being
said after a lot of deliberation). The Member Secretary of the National Sports
Council, since his appointment, has rarely missed the headlines for more than a
week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And now he's back
to it again, announcing Mission SAG 2012. Commendable, if you notice this is
2011 and never did we announce preparation for South Asian Games, this early.
Probably this is the first time, NSC has a plan, with a four-phase training
programme, with each phase having quarter of a year implementation schedule. Probably
this is the first time, science has taken precedence over guess work. Probably
this is the first time, determination, psychology and suitability to the
sport, is to be recorded. These were the words alien to sports practice.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Histrionics is Lama's
forte, and many who have watched him in filmdom will vouch for it. He loves a
big stage, and makes the best use of it. This is evident from his goal of 40
gold medals for Nepal, in next year's SAG. Quite a climb, you would think, if
you remember we bagged 8 in the last edition in Dhaka, last year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Daydream? Not
exactly… But, maybe ambitious, if not unattainable… The Member Secretary will
have to get his entire team – which includes of groups and subgroups with
different interests, occupying spots the NSC – on one point agenda, if we were
to reach close to his goal.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We have not
forgotten the promises he made when appointed to the post. Of transparency,
good governance and keeping slate clean as far as political appointments are
concerned. He has failed once already, by appointing 'his men' at NSC, giving
in to political temptation of doling out jobs to party cadres. This is
interesting, if we take into account some of the employees at the organization
were removed, as too many people were considered 'unnecessary'. No competition…
No openness… No transparency…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: #464646; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Shakespeare,
in Julius Caesar wrote, “The evil that men do lives after them”… We believe, so
does one's good deeds… The Member Secretary may well decide what lives after he
says goodbye to his position. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">(PS: The write-up appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 10th September, 2011)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 18px;">Disclaimer: The picture shown in the post is courtesy: www.ekantipur.com</span></span></div>
</div>
Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-65286683172687000332011-08-27T06:21:00.000+05:302011-08-27T06:21:12.155+05:30Rupak Memorial Awards: A shot misfired?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICeT14g-9qniZfefWAxOX3NQMN961F5L4Q5gLT26KtL8BTq0Dpo3xO6pSMrym4sXGIdcISIamYGxjkGqIZGodagQYoED9mXahULfqiqaIvxZNx_5vDtP9a70vq0ukwR2i6zNz9HwaOfk/s1600/awards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgICeT14g-9qniZfefWAxOX3NQMN961F5L4Q5gLT26KtL8BTq0Dpo3xO6pSMrym4sXGIdcISIamYGxjkGqIZGodagQYoED9mXahULfqiqaIvxZNx_5vDtP9a70vq0ukwR2i6zNz9HwaOfk/s400/awards.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">All Nepal Football Association
(ANFA) awarded 12 of its prized possessions this week. Since it started, Rupak
Memorial Awards have held its position in Nepali football. And it would have
saddened former national captain and FIFA referee Rupak Sharma - who passed
away in an unfortunate accident - to see that the award was discontinued for
some years.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">For restarting the awards, ANFA
deserves a pat on its back. Restarting a discontinued event to an organization
is akin to a player trying to force his way back into the game after injury.
It's a mental fight, which gets tougher by every passing day. And ANFA should
be lauded. After all, these prizes are what makes the players struggle harder,
compete better.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">However, much as the restart
needs to be congratulated, it should be critically viewed. There are some
chinks in the whole episode that should not be ignored and if not corrected in
time, would neither improve ANFA's image nor its working style. Some questions
would demand answer.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The first of them being, how can
we have two best players for every year? The awards are constituted to
felicitate excellence and unless the real best is awarded, the whole purpose is
lost. It is easy to select two each year as it gives selectors easier option of
not leaving the second best; but it compromises the dignity of awards. The
merit of awards comes under scrutiny. Mind you, it has not come as exception but
general rule. Second bests are second bests, no matter how good they are.
Silver medalists are never termed champions.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It would be sad to know that
ANFA, or the selection team headed by former national coach Bhim Thapa selected
two players for each year, just to please everyone. But awards are not meant
for keeping everyone happy. It is to honor and inspire excellence. Short cuts should
not be preferred.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The other question that could
pop up to an inquisitive mind, would be: How were Bikash Malla and Ritesh Thapa
named the best players of the year gone by. Now the point of argument should
not be mistaken here. It is not to diminish the service they have provided to
Nepali football. They have, to the best of their capability, done a good job
under the bars.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But the point here is, both
these players are not the first choice goalkeeper for the national team. It is Kiran
Chemjong, who has pushed his way as the number one keeper in Nepal. And his
name was missing from the list. How can the top one be left out and two second
bests are honored? We should note that Bikash Malla – who showed a lot of
promise during his earlier days – plays for the Army Club now, which has not
even been among the top 3 sides in the National League. If the reason to choose
these players over the top keeper is to appease someone, the award loses its
value.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One more question would come for
awarding Nirajan Rayamajhi for the year 2064. Nirajan has been a great servant
of Nepali football, he shares the record scoring most international goals for
Team Nepal along with Hari Khadka. But for the year in question, national league
was not held and Rayamajhi was playing for NRT, which hardly gets to play many
tournaments. How many matches did he play to get the award?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Rayamajhi deserves accolades and
also awards, for what he has been. But giving it to him for unjustified reasons
would only lower the nobility of the player and the award. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Some of players who have played
with distinction over these years, like Tashi Tsering, Kumar Thapa, Surendra
Tamang and national captain Sagar Thapa, are missing from the list. Their contribution
needs to be recognized.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">One fact that should make ANFA
management happy is that 4 out of 8 awarded players are the product of first
batch of ANFA academy. This should be an indicator ANFA takes seriously, and
pump in more effort in grooming the players.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And as far as awards are
concerned, players should be happy that they're happening, at least…<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(PS: The write-up appeared in
Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 27th
August, 2011)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Disclaimer: The picture shown in
the post is courtesy: www.myrepublica.com</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-4989353037841275632011-08-13T06:48:00.003+05:302011-08-13T07:16:03.144+05:30National Games: Opportunity, despite Challenges<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsmhX0ROgp9KoPaZ4ddbMorEVaD131JIeV9jwtkW0yELC0baS8Nl0NWshc-zkaVzFJ07E6YIr4YDwPVj-3pTK_fpq-vSpHzrgKxFfXgrxe9NuAtmydt9Fh2Gj24Thc7iBAbsF5bL9Gvg/s1600/Dandi_biyo+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsmhX0ROgp9KoPaZ4ddbMorEVaD131JIeV9jwtkW0yELC0baS8Nl0NWshc-zkaVzFJ07E6YIr4YDwPVj-3pTK_fpq-vSpHzrgKxFfXgrxe9NuAtmydt9Fh2Gj24Thc7iBAbsF5bL9Gvg/s400/Dandi_biyo+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #cccccc; color: #555555; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px;">CPN-UML leader KP Sharma Oli is seen playing Dandi Biyo while inaugurating a Sports Tourism Festival. Circa: April 2011</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The news of National Sports
Council (NSC) proposing to organize National Games in the first quarter of
coming year must have brought back butterflies in the abdomen of the numerous athletes.
This normally happens, even to the top players; just before they are take on an
opponent in a match. Not necessarily a sign of nervousness, but the stress of
approaching duel. Stress, by itself, is not bad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Seven months away it is, yet some
of the players must already be licking their lips at a chance of another round
of competitions. For if they're not, they're not worthy of being the athletes
we would be proud of. An athlete, like a warrior, should welcome any
opportunity of a round of duel.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But for most players in the
country, the duels – keeping in mind that our players mostly do well in
individual events – are too few and far in between. This is why the National
Games holds a lot of importance, especially for the players who are not already
representing the nation at international competitions. Almost all the players,
barring a few who take sport as a hobby, dream of playing for their country at
the top level. And the National Games provide them the stage where they can
upstage a present champion; the podium where they announce their coming; the
platform where they humiliate the also-rans.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Moreover, the multi-sport
jamboree brings in a lot of fanfare, makes the youngsters dream. Dreams of
podium finish; Dreams of clinching the honours; Dreams of rising to the
occasion; Dreams of pushing themselves harder...<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> One should also mention here that the Games
are to be held in Far Western region. It should only help develop and nurture
sports culture.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And for these reasons, the
announcement or proposal – whatever it might be called as of now – has to be
lauded.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Having said all these, the
challenges are still many. The proposed Games, which are to be held in the far
western region, are still not a certainty; it still needs the nod of
ministerial cabinet. And in given circumstances, the members of the cabinet are
counting hours of being in power, rather than weeks or months.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The players and sport
administrators must be keeping their fingers crossed. They must be fighting, in
their mind, the possibility of news that the Games are postponed. After all, it
has already been done earlier this year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And even the government gives
its nod, some major challenges remain. That of infrastructure. With just over
half a year to go, how many grounds – forget stadia or arena – can be built?
Even if they are built in a jiffy, what would be the standard of
infrastructure? National Games is also to prepare players for international competitions.
Would it be possible to guarantee that? Rallying 5 regional sport development
bodies and 72 district bodies to focus on the Games is a tough ask by itself,
since it is time consuming. And to top all that is a small matter of: Funds. 30
million Rupees has been allocated for infrastructure and you don't need to be a
Chartered Accountant to say, "It's not enough."<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In an interview to yours truly,
right after being nominated for the post of Member Secretary of NSW, Yubraj
Lama had spelt out priorities for his tenure. Establishing Sports College
topped his agenda, while regularizing multi-sport competitions (like National
Games) and resolving conflict between sport bodies (like Nepal Olympic
Committee and other associations) also were on his list, as he said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In the latest announcement of
NSC, initiatives have been taken for these areas, by forming committees and
taskforces, which might even work. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But those, who are not Lama
fans, would term these decisions as populist. They could say that the
government will change and his days on the hot seat are numbered. He may not
get opportunity to implement them, relieving him of the burden.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">So the NSC Member Secretary,
Yubraj Lama, must have stressful days ahead. To get permission to organize
event, and that too successfully…<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But then, as we earlier
mentioned – Stress, by itself, is not bad. Let's see how he lives it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">(PS: The write-up appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column -
OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 13th August, 2011)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Disclaimer: The picture shown in the post is courtesy </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">http://xnepali.net/ihost/dandi-biyo-is-it-the-nepali-national-game.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-83661364785171382892011-08-06T06:31:00.000+05:302011-08-06T06:31:38.936+05:30Promise's there: Time to Act!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fB-g0EURW_ZeWdmZ7KO-ZphlXtVeBXebsNMCH-cM0QNVDe3LoCHTuHi7NE6kIqA1doLDSgVmRzkD1bxRv0u4kmfb2MyiAKC4gSYyECspDq7Q7HbIaZLWw_0IqnV5nS1uN7XRTHMIHSI/s1600/U-19+team.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fB-g0EURW_ZeWdmZ7KO-ZphlXtVeBXebsNMCH-cM0QNVDe3LoCHTuHi7NE6kIqA1doLDSgVmRzkD1bxRv0u4kmfb2MyiAKC4gSYyECspDq7Q7HbIaZLWw_0IqnV5nS1uN7XRTHMIHSI/s400/U-19+team.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Many cricket fans, those who favour game's global expansion,
would be delighted to see Zimbabwe's re-entry into the Test arena after almost
half a decade. The cricket world, especially the non-Test playing countries,
must be looking at it with the same interest as they did 19 years ago, when
Dave Houghton's amateurs took to the field against India.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">This is exactly the moment when Zimbabwe batsman, Tatenda
Taibu – who had been in self imposed exile after controversially resigning from
the captaincy in 2005 – took the opportunity to tell the world that all is still
not well with Zimbabwe Cricket. He said, he spoke out 'as a senior member in
the side'. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tatenda Taibu is one name Nepali cricketers and fans alike,
would never forget. He was the one who had stopped our boys' dream run at U-19
Cricket World Cup in 2002, beating Nepal in the final of Plate Championship.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">As Nepal U-19 team, led by Prithu Baskota, plays the U-19
World Cup 2012 qualifiers, the memories of Taibu's conquest over our team and our
boys' performance in 2002 in New Zealand comes back flashing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">It's because that tournament was a special one for Nepali
cricketers and fans. A little less than a decade ago, in that tournament, Nepali
Colts, led by Binod Das, announced themselves to the world – as former Sri
Lankan Test batsman Roy Dias took the team to New Zealand. Nepali boys had a
close loss against English boys then, and were able to beat Pakistan, ranked
better than Nepal on any day. This had made Nepali boys a rage in New Zealand,
who only knew this country because their favorite son Edmund Hillary was one of
the firsts to have climbed Mt Everest.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">"How do you play in the mountains," they would
ask. "What are you doing in Nepal," then Coach Roy Dias used to be
ask.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">The questions had helped Nepal being recognized as a cricket
country. Perhaps no other non-British colony showed as much promise in cricket.
Beating a Test country like Pakistan cannot be a fluke.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Taibu was player of the tournament then, as current
Australia batsman Cameron White was the leading runscorer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Fast forward a decade later, Taibu is a 'senior' batsman for
Zimbabwe, and Cameron White is an essential in Australian limited over plans.
And our boys, who played alongside them are waiting, for yet another
opportunity. 9 years ago, nobody was questioning the talent Binod Das & Co.
had. They looked destined to rise and shine. But, despite being on the
launchpad, we lost the plot. Maybe we took it too easy, we ignored the
essentials, we forgot we had a road to take. Somewhere, we needed cricket
administration to be 'smarter' than they showed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Similar promise has been shown by the team led by Prithu
Baskota in the U-19 World Cup Qualifiers this time. How else do you describe a
figure of 10 overs, 6 maidens, 9 runs for two wickets, by Bhuvan Karki, followed
by overhauling the target with 30 overs to spare, as our boys beat Kenya. It's
not only the win, but the way team is playing should give us hope. Despite
losses – which have been against the team that have better cricket
infrastructure – the wins have been emphatic. The fight has been spot on.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But then, we should not sit on the laurels we get while
being termed as promising. For every dream that you see, you have to wake up to
realize it. Promises would remain only that, if cricket administration does not
remain alert. Boys are doing their bit on the field, authority needs to do
theirs. Engaging them in cricket round the year would be important.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">In 2006, we won the Plate championship at the U-19 World
Cup, our best performance in terms of title so far. Then, Ireland was captained
by Eoin Morgan and Sri Lanka was led by Angelo Mathews. Now, Morgan is a vital
part of English team and Matthews has shown his worth for Sri Lanka. Our
captain in that episode was Kanishka Chaugain. He now lives in US...</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #261400; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">(PS: The write-up appeared in Yours Truly's weekly sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 6th August, 2011)</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">Disclaimer: The picture shown in the post is courtesy www.ekantipur.com. It was published in the The Kathmandu Post</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">.</span></span></div>
<br />
</div>
Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-89520349093668386182011-08-01T23:49:00.004+05:302011-08-06T06:33:40.131+05:30Following the Royal Takeover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3viwr3aEOo9E-WKG-WdNZKGzk8V_wiFr6UilwRj3eEICBkeh6UF3ehD8bPNotJF4bUHCbfj98bhINoY54pWTCPLc9tEx7VctVfgwuhxgv7vANHzzFyraFIMwngsz3eGr-3e_-18R7Z4/s1600/nepalarrest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3viwr3aEOo9E-WKG-WdNZKGzk8V_wiFr6UilwRj3eEICBkeh6UF3ehD8bPNotJF4bUHCbfj98bhINoY54pWTCPLc9tEx7VctVfgwuhxgv7vANHzzFyraFIMwngsz3eGr-3e_-18R7Z4/s400/nepalarrest.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">The army began cordoning our office premises at around 9:30 (0445GMT) in the morning, some half an hour ahead of the Royal Proclamation… the state-owned radio and television had already announced that King Gyanendra was going to address the nation. Nothing more than that had been said, except that the King had summoned the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and chiefs of security agencies for a Royal audience.<br /><br />As the group of armymen covered the periphery of the premises, an army major, in his military outfit and a gun, asked for an entry into the television station's newsroom. He politely said that he was here to provide security to the office in case an incident like September 1 occurs (On Sept 1, following the killing of 12 Nepalis in Iraq, there were riots in the city...the rioters had vandalized the office, burning several vehicles and pelting stones on the office building).<br /><br />All of us, almost the entire news team, watched the Royal Proclamation live on the state owned television. Following the proclamation, the army major asked whether he could visit the control room. By then, the telephone lines were already cut and the cellular phones were cut during the address to the nation itself.<br /><br />He was promptly shown the studio and news control room of the television station. A lot of confusion had already been created with the announcement of emergency, following the sacking of the then government. A lot of fundamental rights were suspended with the announcement.<br /><br />The following rights have been suspended:</span><br />
<ul style="line-height: 1.4; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; list-style-type: disc; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 2.5em; padding-right: 2.5em; padding-top: 0px;">
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: initial; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Freedom of opinion and expression</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Freedom to assemble peacefully and without arms</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Freedom to form unions and associations</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Press and Publication Rights</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Rights against preventive detention</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Right to information</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Right to property</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: transparent; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Right to privacy</li>
<li style="border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 1px; border-width: initial; color: #444444; margin-bottom: 0.25em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.25em; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0.25em; text-indent: 0px;">Right to constitutional remedy through writ jurisdiction (Writs like mandamus, certiorari, prohibition and quo warranto), except habeas corpus</li>
</ul>
<br />
As a matter of fact, not many of us knew what line to follow as far as the news was concerned. So one of the bulletin spot was used to re-telecast the proclamation. In the following bulletin, all the scripts were screened by the Army major. An armed army man was present within the news control room throughout the bulletin. The screening continued throughout the day, including all the bulletins. The same was the case with all of our daily publications and the FM radio news. The armymen<br />
cordoned the premises throughout the night.<br />
<br />
The following day, King announced a cabinet of ministers. So we prepared a report on all the cabinet members, which included their positions. Incidentally, the report also talked about the ministers holding some important positions during the Panchayat regime (the non-party political system, which was overthrown by the popular movement in 1990). That news, aired at 1200 local time, was said to be bold under the prevailing circumstances. The army major told us that the news should not go in the format written and those parts had to be deleted from it. So those parts<br />
were removed in our subsequent bulletins.<br />
<br />
The same day, we had aired an international news, which had it that the Marxist guerrillas had killed 14 Colombian marines, in Colombia. We ran the news in three of our bulletins, starting in the morning. The army major, very polite in his conversations, requested to remove that news as well. The reason: that could be detrimental to our security forces' morale. The word communist had its effect.<br />
<br />
The armymen stayed within the premises for three days and the screening went on a regular basis. One of our bulletins had to be aired two minutes late, because the Major had not finished reading the news then. On the third evening, the army left. But before leaving, they cautioned us to follow the guidelines issued by the government while disseminating news. And we have been following that ever since.<br />
<br />
An interesting pattern of news had emerged in the whole media. While some papers had editorials on archery, weather and significance of socks, our regular section of vox-pop in the prime time news, called Janamat, had people being asked the importance of fruits in one's diet. While that was being aired, the control room crew had a hearty laugh. That also prompted the news-anchor to smile. Eventually, the chief of news was asked from a certain person close to the Royal Palace (although he did not reveal the identity and name of the person) on why did the news-anchor had that mocking smile on his face, while reading that particular section. Well, perceptions...<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>[Editor's note: This report was written several days ago and recounts the moment immediately preceding the coup when the military took control of Nepali broadcast facilities prior to the announcement of the coup by King Gyanendra.]</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>This article, written by yours truly, was published on Radio Free Nepal, an online blog, where articles were published anonymously, following takeover of Executive powers by then King Gyanendra. This article appeared under the headline: An Account from Kantipur TV News Staff on Censoring, </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>on February 19, 2005. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><i>The reason it has been re-posted here is to remind us, what we have braved in past, so that we do not lose the achievements of Jana Andolan II. </i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><i>Picture courtesy: Radio Free Nepal</i></span></span></div>
Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-82902298816856633712011-07-30T06:16:00.005+05:302011-07-30T06:26:11.403+05:30A sign of Good Times to come?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b4H_4vpxL9f8QzTchZhMjnJ1ooNi5wE5jnkxGRyRXV1qyb2CW3X0Q15A55mk_AYq-rKtAdJ6FQO9Q2uj8j2m5BVXCkoqsHFAnS9i-V1uaT5dg_Gk4HO0v5SJ1d-6hlQ8ntt2YJxuPuc/s1600/TKP+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b4H_4vpxL9f8QzTchZhMjnJ1ooNi5wE5jnkxGRyRXV1qyb2CW3X0Q15A55mk_AYq-rKtAdJ6FQO9Q2uj8j2m5BVXCkoqsHFAnS9i-V1uaT5dg_Gk4HO0v5SJ1d-6hlQ8ntt2YJxuPuc/s400/TKP+picture.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Heard
a conversation in a public vehicle: God must be Nepali. For he made sure we do
well in two sports in a single day.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Needless to say, the person in
question was talking about Nepali football team's performance against Jordan (</span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">2014 FIFA</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><em><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-style: normal; line-height: 115%;">World Cup</span></em><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">qualifiers</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">) and U-19 cricket team's start in ICC U-19 World
Cup qualifiers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Yes,
Nepali Colts beat Afghanistan convincingly. Most were expecting the result, may
be not with such a margin though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">But
in another case, Jordan advanced to the group stage of the qualifiers, beating
Nepal by a huge margin. The scores, in aggregate, stood at 10-1 in favor of
Jordan, while Nepal managed merely a draw at home. So what's the fuss about? A
draw?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">However,
if you look carefully, there is a reason for joy, for elation, for exuberance
and for deciding which nationality God has. For, the draw followed a drubbing.
And for the fans, a draw was as good as a win. It was almost a rise from the
ashes à la Phoenix. For the die-hard fans, there are many lives lost and
gained in those 90 minutes that their stars sweat it out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Forget
fans, how many 'realistic' pundits would have given Nepal a 1-1 draw, at
Dashrath Stadium, after a 9-goal storm hit them in Amman.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The realists always ask you: What do you do when you
have your back pushed to the wall? …when you hit the rock bottom?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">For theorists, the answer may be simple: Bounce
back. But then, only those who face the situation know that it's always easier
said than done. They say, nothing succeeds like success. The corollary is also
true. Failure also breeds its own kind. When your back is to the wall, you
start taking support of that wall. It becomes your companion, and you start
finding some comfort in it. You start going though the motion… run-of-the-mill
stuff. So much that you start enjoying it, making it difficult for you to come
back. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">At such moments, it is necessary to break the
thought process. Once that chain is broken, parity can be restored. In this
case, Nepal's climb in FIFA ranking must have helped. After all, we became the
number one football side in South Asia. Some pride restored off the field.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Apparently, following the 9-0 humiliation, Nepal's
British coach had told the boys, "You don't become a bad player after one
game." Inspiring? Maybe, but the coaches don't go and play. It's for the
boys to face the heat. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Even
in pre-match press conference, Roberts was quoted as saying that they (the
team, including himself) wanted to put pride back into Nepal and want to please
everyone. The captain, however, sounded more circumspect, not promising much.
Somehow, the fans were worried. "Are the players in right frame of mind to
play this game," they wondered.<span class="apple-style-span"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">But
once the match started, worry was put to rest. The boys were in the zone and
felt at home. The fans could do their job – cheering. In sport, as in life,
some questions are answered only through actions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Going
to Amman, to play the first leg, Nepali team was underprepared, under-practiced
and showed lethargy on the field. The football administrators should take some
blame for that, for they know in advance when the national team plays. And they
are supposed to prepare them for big matches. Nothing big about that, it's
their job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Amazingly,
not much changed in 5 days – after match in Amman, but the result did. One
thing that changed was that the players realized or made to realize why they
were playing – for their shirts. And the performance was there for all to see.
Some would like to call it moral victory.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Sourav
Ganguly, the person credited to make Indian cricket team a fighting unit, said
once, "<span class="apple-style-span">I do not understand the meaning of
moral victories." But then, that was Indian captain talking. For fans,
that's what it is all about.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">And for the players, maybe they can take a leaf out
of their coach's quote and remember - You don't become a great player after one
game, either. Could it be just the start we needed?</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">(PS: The write-up appeared in Yours Truly's sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 30th July, 2011)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">Disclaimer: The picture shown in the post is courtesy www.ekantipur.com. It was published in the The Kathmandu Post </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">epaper.</span></div>
</div>
Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-1211053062650143372011-07-02T10:19:00.000+05:302011-07-02T10:19:09.271+05:30Full stop for Fed Express? Maybe not<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPeKL6k699dAJXEik2O3iMDL3iHhlhwbEiWKbVZjB9bNVxAXURrwPagcymHIONP92bVsHXpspH7Y2yHkn_UphTzHZ1BZgknWIXRNAy8ZM1lyL3f2wQFXyoMsDHdWN3RKeZJPDyjex2tI/s1600/Roger-Federer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLPeKL6k699dAJXEik2O3iMDL3iHhlhwbEiWKbVZjB9bNVxAXURrwPagcymHIONP92bVsHXpspH7Y2yHkn_UphTzHZ1BZgknWIXRNAy8ZM1lyL3f2wQFXyoMsDHdWN3RKeZJPDyjex2tI/s400/Roger-Federer.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">And the Fed Express crashed, after going 2 sets up, for the first time in 179 Grand Slam matches he’s played. The Muhammad Ali look-alike – although a much softer and more erratic version - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did the unthinkable, stopping clocks and hearts at 4:24 PM on Centre Court on Wimbledon.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tim Henman, who carried the British torch (read the lone hope) at the Wimbledon towards the turn of the century, had tipped Roger Federer to win the title this time around. The logic was, Federer has become more carefree with age. And that would help him take more risk and kill the opponents. Alas! Henman’s prediction missed just as his volleys did at the Wimbledon’s 4 semi-finals.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Henman may not have forgotten the year <span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">2001, when he beat the newcomer Federer</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;">in 4 sets at a quarter-final on the same stage. And he might have recognized, even then, that this 20-year old had, what he himself did not have. But, he may well be as shell shocked as we are after this quarter-final.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">Shocked we are. For, Federer had collected as many fans, if not more, as any player in the history of Tennis. For, he restarted the debate “who’s the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)?” For, he stamped his authority in the world of Tennis and finally settled the debate, </span></span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">appearing in an unprecedented 23 career Grand Slam finals, including 10 consecutive appearances.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">But Federer did not become Fed Express just because he was number one for 237 weeks at a stretch. Not just because he appeared in 18 of 19 finals between 2005 Wimbledon and 2010 Australian Open. The Fed Express he became because he made anyone else feel like also-ran for extended period. The Fed Express he became because he added flair of Boris Becker to consistency of Ivan Lendl. To us, he made Pete Sampras look like a robot. The Fed Express he became because he made cricket look boring, as Australia was invincible, West Indies were buried while Sachin Tendulkar was showing signs that he was mortal after all. All with a racket in hand and imagination in the head.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Tennis hasn’t seen many baseliners as comfortable coming to the nets, exhibiting rare backhand smash. He was the one. Anyone else hasn’t had their motion termed as a great liquid whip. Anyone else hasn’t prompted Jimmy Connors to say, "In an era of specialists, you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist, or a hard court specialist...or you're Roger Federer."<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Ivan Lendl once said, “Grass is for cow”, frustrated as he failed to win any title on the surface. Federer proved that silken elegance and offense both have a place on grass. He treaded on it, he owned it.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">We sat in awe, as he, along with Rafael Nadal revived the legacy of great Tennis rivalry. We were reminded of </span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Borg-McEnroe and Edberg-Becker rivalry that made Tennis exhilarating again. That too in </span><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;">21<sup>st</sup> century, when we thought Tennis is all about rising hemlines and designer shows. We loved Nadal; We loved Federer a wee bit more, for the grace he showed after losing to a younger and brasher player on clay and later, even on grass.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">He would lose to Nadal – as Nadal lifted his game to the level of insanity, playing against Federer – time after time, in finals. We would think, “Greatness too, has a shelf life”. But when commentators termed him old, we’d scoff. “He’s still in 20s”, we’d say, “Next time!”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A year and a half without title? Not palatable for a champion. But then we were convinced, this Wimbledon would be his. And then came Tsonga. Two sets down, but he hung on, like the Great Ali he resembles. ‘Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee’. He stung, with a serve at 133 miles per hour. Fed Express stopped. For us, Wimbledon was over.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Post match, Federer said, "Except the score, many things went right". Next year when he returns – as we, the fans want – we would want that the score goes right, too. For he, more than anyone else, deserves the title for the 7<sup>th</sup> time.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">PS: The write-up appeared in Yours Truly's sports column - OFFSIDE - in The Kathmandu Post, on 2nd July, 2011)</span></span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-62103529441415304632011-06-25T09:47:00.001+05:302011-06-25T10:03:54.390+05:30Olympic spirit: Did we not lose it?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjQsuOOoKhM_g1X7wXPHmzxZ1Y8WMtlDMPNARKONgM4RlQDlPJihIKmY6wL6a9vADPlSd10z0npuWF8EG_7zpE-j1osi64TJ_xEJRp-s3f1kut9C9bzmhxtBfrYuclUAaPJWq8S4Dnao/s1600/handcuffs_thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjQsuOOoKhM_g1X7wXPHmzxZ1Y8WMtlDMPNARKONgM4RlQDlPJihIKmY6wL6a9vADPlSd10z0npuWF8EG_7zpE-j1osi64TJ_xEJRp-s3f1kut9C9bzmhxtBfrYuclUAaPJWq8S4Dnao/s400/handcuffs_thumb.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div><div style="line-height: 115%;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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More than 200 countries – 205 in theory – marked the Olympic day on June 23rd. The day has significance in history as it was the same day in the year 1894, when International Olympic Committee was formally established.<br />
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As every National Olympic Committees marked the day, their focus was the slogan – Sports for Everyone. Only we, perhaps, marked it without getting the message. For us, it was not for everyone. That has to be exactly the reason why there were two Olympic Committees organizing their own program in two different places. While one chose birthplace of Buddha, the other one chose the capital (as if Buddha was against unity).<br />
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If you find it astonishing, you’re in for more shock. Two of our best known sportspersons, and the only players we have produced so far to get ‘qualified’ for an Olympic event, were not the part of celebrations. Yes, Deepak Bista and Sangina Baidya were not present in either of the programs. And why would they? After all, they would not like to be linked with yet another controversy. And which celebration would they choose to attend? They’re affiliated to National Sports Council and would not like to go against what their bosses say.<br />
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Now this does not make Bista and Baidya baddies. For they must be as confused as anyone else. For they would have enjoyed being a part of Olympic Day Run as anyone else. For they have contributed to Nepali sport as anyone else, maybe with more glory. Talk to Bista on the topic and he finds it difficult to talk about it (could not talk to Sangina on the issue). For he would not know what exactly to say about not attending the program.<br />
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It was the moment the whole Olympic movement was shamed, by the officials who have none of it. <br />
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In moments like these, you feel perhaps it is good that Pierre de Coubertin, the person known as father of Modern Olympics is no more. For he started the Olympic movement thinking it would bring world peace. He saw value in the ancient practice of a sacred truce during the ancient Olympic Games, thinking it might have modern implications, and the modern Olympics would have a role in promoting peace. Was he wrong in doing that? Anyone can answer that.<br />
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But here we are, trying to prove him wrong. World Peace may be buried deep under the sea, for we cannot even make peace to organize one program together. A common sports fan would like to question: What does it take to let ego go, for common good? Logic behind legitimacy may be secondary; development of the sports should be the primary agenda. And that does not look like happening here.<br />
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American President Barack Obama, during his pitch to bid for Olympics in Chicago had said: “[We] reach for a dream - a dream that no matter who we are, where we<br />
come from; no matter what we look like or what hand life has dealt us; with hard work, and discipline and dedication, we can make it if we try. That’s not just the American dream. That is the Olympic Spirit. It’s the essence of the Olympic Spirit.”<br />
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Chicago may not have won the bid to host 2016 Olympics, but words expressed cannot be taken lightly. The Olympic spirit is the basis of motto of Olympic movement - Citius, Altius, Fortius (Swifter, Higher, Stronger). And we fail to get there, as we continue fighting among ourselves.<br />
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The Olympic spirit is neither the property of one race nor of one age. But it brings, and has to – for everybody’s good – people from all races ethnicities together. Without that, there is no point in claiming to have that spirit.<br />
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(PS: This write up appeared in a weekly column of yours truly in The Kathmandu Post, OFF-SIDE, on 25th June, 2011)<br />
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(The picture displayed above was taken from <a href="http://osocio.org/">http://osocio.org</a> and writer does not claim any rights over the picture)</span></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-71279394227694341352011-06-18T10:11:00.005+05:302011-06-22T08:46:38.768+05:30Change in Guards at NSC: Will it be change of attitude?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MjN8hqKkJNMGJ19TVfep4MR1hn3o5UQsOHhWOGKea4AcNahLaQFwY95PhOD0xJQW_1ot8LPeCTswZSzSrbZdQ6FAD1xtyyVbYtlL-ozkvNlzeEXupF0VNIIi5FrPLYw_UpJVmaQt28Q/s1600/NSC-sv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6MjN8hqKkJNMGJ19TVfep4MR1hn3o5UQsOHhWOGKea4AcNahLaQFwY95PhOD0xJQW_1ot8LPeCTswZSzSrbZdQ6FAD1xtyyVbYtlL-ozkvNlzeEXupF0VNIIi5FrPLYw_UpJVmaQt28Q/s1600/NSC-sv.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The National Sports Council has a new head. Former Karateka Yuvraj Lama has made a comeback into the field of sports, after a gap of almost two decades, as the most powerful (potentially) person in Nepali sports – The Member Secretary of National Sports Council (NSC). Following his appointment, many a person were found asking, why is he back? Or what can he give back to sports?</div><div class="MsoNormal">Being able to talk to him the day he took office, I, too, was bound to ask him – Why? But Lama, as anybody who takes up such a post should be, appeared prepared. He tells you he’s presented a working plan to the party leadership. Party leadership? The question may amuse many. But that’s the way cookie crumbles here. Member Secretary of NSC, like in many other institutions that ought to be autonomous, is a political appointment.</div><div class="MsoNormal">As any sports buff would see it, the challenges are many for Lama. There’s a small matter of preparation for South Asian and Olympic Games that are to be held in 2012, along with administrative challenges of running the organization that’s ill-funded, overstaffed (lack of right person at right job) and often acts as a headless chicken in its own ways. Add to that Nepal’s preparations for hosting the South Asian Games in 2014. Now managing that would be a tough nut to crack even for a martial artist. To top that, he has another arduous and unenviable task of pleasing the party that has sent him to the job, especially as some of its cadres voiced their reservations on his appointment.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now we can’t forget that Lama was the person who had said his good bye to the field of sports. If you believe insiders of the game, he left it because there was no ‘future’ in the field. He took up the filmdom, as a filmmaker and actor during the gap. Some go on criticizing that his films did not do well and hence he landed in sports again. One may choose to agree or disagree with the statement, depending upon their loyalty. But what the former Karate coach can do is use his knowledge from the field of glamour to improve the image of sporting institutions. The villain on the silverscreen could become a hero off it.</div><div class="MsoNormal">In most countries that are taken as successful in sports, glamour is an integral reason for its popularity among masses. What it does is bring in people to the sports arena, consolidate the fan base as well as sport aspirants, thereby enriching the sector. More the competition, better are the results in international stage. And here, we could do with some glamour in the field. After all, how many sport stars do we see as brand ambassadors of products or social causes? Can be counted in fingers, without needing both hands... Compare it to the Bollywood stars hogging limelight during sport events like IPL. Who takes away the limelight is not a question. What it does to the masses is more important for us.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The other thought that is perhaps disturbing Lama, sports enthusiasts and the sports journos is: How long is he going to be in the hot seat? In all likelihood, the government should change sooner than later. That would mean change in guards again at the NSC (tradition, after all!). Will Lama be able to even table his work plan and start the sports academy or sports college (as he calls it)? Or even if it’s tabled, will his successors (which is bound to happen given the nature of the post), implement it? Will he be able to change the attitude of sports sector or the political leadership that governs it? These perhaps are the questions that need answers. As long as they are not, Yuvraj Lamas would come and go, we’d still be complaining.</div><div class="MsoNormal">One thing that he can definitely do, is make some visible changes to the website of NSC – <a href="http://www.nsc.gov.np/">www.nsc.gov.np</a>. It still shows Jeevan Ram Shrestha as the Member Secretary of NSC. With due respect to Shrestha, he gave up the post almost two years ago.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 17px;">(This write-up appeared in weekly column of Yours Truly 'OFF-SIDE' in The Kathmandu Post on 18th June 2011)</span></div></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-25783791512739862192011-06-11T22:44:00.002+05:302011-06-22T08:47:10.782+05:30Opportunities waiting, will we cash?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGfLyBa1CN5WsE4Sm-vEPAFPrTE2q0mevtKPYndwHIgI4R_vGd9D-HQLvPT9eJo6T4Sc1HQvMjssLSqdMxf8wfsyc_0UnVaF60O3ZbrJoENXxvNNwZCtj5xnie-Pwwl9vszhhpGFCMjg/s1600/building.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAGfLyBa1CN5WsE4Sm-vEPAFPrTE2q0mevtKPYndwHIgI4R_vGd9D-HQLvPT9eJo6T4Sc1HQvMjssLSqdMxf8wfsyc_0UnVaF60O3ZbrJoENXxvNNwZCtj5xnie-Pwwl9vszhhpGFCMjg/s400/building.gif" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Just a few days before we enjoyed the high-voltage drama for extension of Constituent Assembly tenure on most national TV channels, we ignored a small matter of one A division Football Club's plight of not finding sponsors. Needless to say, the club was not from the valley that is hub to everything that matters in the country, be it political frictions, sporting actions or financial transactions.<br />
The plight of the club went mostly unheeded, except for a few sympathetic journos, who got a few more bylines in print. Interestingly, this is not the only club that is facing financial crunch. With the football season at full swing, most clubs are facing the heat, as expenses are rising and incomes fall short. We knew its possibility, but failed take action on time. An opportunity missed.<br />
But what would you expect, as the National Sports Council – the apex Sports body in the country – itself is incomplete. The Joint Secretary from Ministry of Sports (and not Member-Secretary) heads it on ad-hoc basis. The Board at NSC has not been formed as it awaits political appointments. The present government is 4 months old and will be, in most likelihood, replaced by another one, anytime soon. And as a norm, first few weeks of the government never has sport in its To-do list. It's not difficult to know what will happen of NSC, whose patron – The Prime Minister – himself is counting days in power. Another opportunity missed.<br />
Flashback to 2008: Just before the elections for the Constituent Assembly, the sport aficionados were excited that most major parties had included sports in their election manifestos. The fanatics started dreaming. Two plus years later, the National Games was deferred, since Dhangadhi was not readied on time to host the event. That was supposed to be early this year. Despite deferral, no new date was announced. We had more important things to do. Yet another opportunity missed. <br />
As we stand in the middle of 2011, another year – another set of opportunity - is waiting. The year 2012. The year of Olympics. The year of 12th South Asian Games. These would require preparation. Even if the preparation doesn't start now, the planning will have to be started now. In the 11th South Asian Games, in Dhaka, Nepal just nudged ahead of Afghanistan by 2 gold medals. It should be noted that Bhutan and the Maldives did not get any medal. Slackness in planning could mean that we'd be the last one among gold medal winners. Will the opportunity be missed?<br />
Another issue that many have yet to talk about, given our habit of last minute preparations, is the 13th South Asian Games. It is Nepal's turn to host the event in 2014. And the question would be: Are we ready for it?<br />
If the engineers from NSC are to be believed (and who else are to be believed here), our sport infrastructure are accidents waiting to happen. Apart from few cosmetic changes in 1999 South Asian Games, we've not had any renovation of the infrastructure. Even if we do not build new stadia for the next SAG, major overhaul of infrastructure would be necessary. This is the second decade of 21st century and even technology has progressed by leaps and bounds in the sector. Improvement of the facilities is but mandatory. We've had enough fun complaining while watching Indian media reports on 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Could it be our turn to be laughed at?<br />
Here, we could do well to remember recent corruption scandal in FIFA. They were centered around which country is the World Cup awarded to. Explains, why countries attach so much of pride with multi-nation sporting events. Needless to say what it does to the economic growth of the nation. That's the stuff economists and planners to look at. The politicos, who talk of national pride at the bat of an eyelid, perhaps should know the value of it.<br />
And unless the planners believe in Mayan prophecy that the world would end by December, 2012, they better not procrastinate. After all, how many opportunities can we miss?<br />
(The write-up was published in the weekly column of Yours Truly in The Kathmandu Post on 11th June, 2011)</div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8482389569012710954.post-62426690970953870782011-06-01T21:59:00.004+05:302011-06-22T08:48:36.925+05:30The Royal story: A decade and counting…<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16OIq6MAaBe5i24d2bU1PCLva_ZFCPlKEhrVOANADgV_-oPVTuDdNeRgXoUEH7D7ZzA_iy4vyjWkdcaJdwb3laQrXCkAgyulyhIYmx8d4pggOp0I-SGJyySQkDIo_SazpE5PpBl5V5I4/s1600/royal+massacre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16OIq6MAaBe5i24d2bU1PCLva_ZFCPlKEhrVOANADgV_-oPVTuDdNeRgXoUEH7D7ZzA_iy4vyjWkdcaJdwb3laQrXCkAgyulyhIYmx8d4pggOp0I-SGJyySQkDIo_SazpE5PpBl5V5I4/s320/royal+massacre.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The story begins in 2001…</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The information:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Yours truly got a call just a couple of hours after midnight from a friend. You never feel good getting a call before dawn, unless you're in your prime teenage. The phone ring is always eerie (mobile phones were not in the range of entry-level job holders then), if you've just hit the best part of the sleep. And it was a male friend. Nothing friendly about the call, no greetings exchanged. A shock: "Did you hear about what happened at the palace?" Now you don’t expect a Royal palace to be a topic of ice breaker, that too, at such a time.</div><div class="MsoNormal">That's enough to dispel thoughts about your friend being lunatic, because he's a fellow journalist. Journalism is a serious business. A year into journalism – that too in the country's best read English daily – makes you feel that you have to be an expert on whatever happens in the known universe (although I was primarily supposed to be know-all in Sports). The news was sketchy and we did not really figure out at the moment that we were talking of a massacre. The sleep, that had started only a few hours ago was nowhere in sight. After all, it was an issue about the Royals. And then you think, you were near the place of incident (Thamel), only a few hours ago. "How did I miss something then?", a question makes rounds in your head. No answers.</div><div class="MsoNormal">More phone calls in the coming hours and complete silence on state-run TV and radio, tells you a story. A story you never imagined. The whole family – the chair, the heir and those who were probably not in the power scheme – is gone, brutally massacred. Not even hopes left. "How can that happen?", you ask yourself. Family members ask you, sitting in front of TV, before dawn – because they too think journalists should know all – "What exactly happened?" No answers again.</div><div class="MsoNormal">In such situation, the numbness grows, and it did. A walk to nearest street after sunrise and you see people confused, some shocked. They are speaking to each other. The tone is still hush-hush. Most newspapers haven't reported it. The ones who have, have only hinted at some violence at the palace. And you think, if I was the editor of the paper, maybe I would've been told everything by the sources high-up. Maybe, or maybe not! Wishes are not horses, not for real.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The realization:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">The rumor (till then no official confirmation) had it that the Crown Prince gunned down nine family members, including King Birendra, in a fit of rage. Rage? How bad? No answers yet. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Difficult to understand why it happened. Even more difficult to have a meal. "Wasn't the Crown Prince supposed to watch the Grand rehearsal of preparation for the National Games in the evening today?", you ask yourself. The Games are to start tomorrow, after a grand opening. I've already been given two more fellow reporters by my boss, to cover the whole Games. After all, the Crown Prince is (or was, already) the patron of National Sports Council.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The best place at such times, you think, should be a newsroom. That's where the information should be. You take off for the office. It's a Saturday. Traffic is less but people on the streets are more in number. On the way, you also see some teary eyed women, who probably never saw the glorified Royals, except in pictures or on TV. The calmness of all this is disturbing. Very disturbing. Everybody knows what has happened, but they fear what will happen next.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The work unlike usual:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">Stupidity has its own measures. Even when it's immeasurable. After a round of tea (or perhaps, more) with fellow workers at the office, I tell the News Editor (the second-in-command after the Editor), "Looks like National Games won't happen!" </div><div class="MsoNormal">Bravo! </div><div class="MsoNormal">What an announcement! Very intelligent stuff…</div><div class="MsoNormal">Before I even realize the magnitude of my stupidity, he shakes his head and tells me, "Can you help us doing other stuff then?" Humbled with his magnanimity, yours truly agrees. And since he does not 'understand' power or politics – being in Sports – mutually both agree that he does stories on those who were not in the power scheme. Prince Nirajan and Princess Shruti – The unfulfilled dreams, or rather, those who'd been slain unnecessarily, shamelessly. </div><div class="MsoNormal">And yes, lest we forget, the National Games have been shelved for now (only to be held some 8 years later).</div><div class="MsoNormal">The work begins, so does the prohibitory orders from the democratically elected government (called curfew). The King is changed over the days. And the official line is: Prince Dipendra, under the influence of drink and drugs killed everyone in his sight at a family dinner at the palace with an automatic weapon. Dressed in military fatigues, Dipendra killed his father, King Birendra (who had ushered in an era of democracy), his mother, brother and sister and five other relatives before gunning down himself.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The times are such; there aren't many takers for the official version.</div><div class="MsoNormal">However, yours truly gets busy with the work, trying to make telephone calls to people associated with the innocent two. With the curfew in place, it's difficult to meet them, and they would not believe you on phone. Why should they? They say they feared their own lives. They perhaps did.</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the mornings when one of the stories appeared on the paper, a friend calls. Somehow she sounds gloomy and satisfied at the same time (only women can do that): "Did you read a piece on Prince Nirajan in The Kathmandu Post? I feel bad about the man, who had nothing to do with politics, and was killed. I feel worse than the day I heard of the killing."</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Oh really? Who wrote it?", yours truly asked, trying to sound inquisitive. You cannot argue with women, much less their instinct.</div><div class="MsoNormal">"Oh Sh*t. It's you."</div><div class="MsoNormal">No matter how much journalists boast or remain under an illusion that people know their names by heart, yours truly learnt a lesson that day. It's the news that people are interested in, and not who wrote it (despite the names being in bold fonts). A journalist is just a finger pointing towards the moon so that people can see it. Once they see it, you've done your job and lost your importance.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Follow-up:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">The official version has come. The people hardly believe it, despite dramatic performance on state-run TV by the speaker of the parliament. The new King is on the throne. Journalists from International media still hire private cars and cabs to run around the city. A few have left already. The ones that are here try to find romanticism in Maoist insurgency. They teach the by-passers how to give a juicy soundbite (the way it suits their stories), while some local journalists make money tagging along with the international ones (and also gain exposure).</div><div class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, the people who were confused on the first day, are still confused. They are grieving. Men, en masse go and tonsure their head. The barbers for a while have stopped charging for their service. Among many rallies taken out in grief, yours truly also finds a place (peer pressure) and subsequently gives in to tonsuring. A friend tells him the reason for his own tonsure, "Dandruff problem." It's June heat. No love lost!</div><div class="MsoNormal">The people, the same people, just a decade ago were asking for the head of the same King. At least they wanted this King, and his family, to leave the place. Now everybody is grieving for him and his family, shaving off their head. Those tears are not fake; those are real.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Fast forward – a few days. The tea-stall chatters are not even centered on the slain family. Everybody is talking of the people who are associated with the rituals following cremation. They talk about how much these professional ritual-doers make. What amount? How much gold? How much of Land? The questions are many.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tells you, like in politics, in life – nothing is permanent. Even grief. Even the loss. Even the crisis. Even the shock. Had heard earlier - The King is dead: Long live the King. Fitting? Still unable to understand.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The Aftermath:<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">The term 'Mystery' is amazing. Sounding so similar to history, we might as well realize that most incidents in history remain mystery. And true to its nature, mystery still surrounds the massacre that many may argue started the slide of monarchy. A decade from the day, it's not present. Very few of us talk about it in a whole day.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Most of us still think that the report brought out, which was basically a summary of interviews (and not a result of investigation), has not done justice to the scale of the incident. It was the worst massacre after Lenin inspired shooting of the Romanovs in Russia 9 decades ago. </div><div class="MsoNormal">The other stakeholders in the state remained busy with themselves. The Maoists, who had just upped the ante a year ago in their bloody battle, were not going to sit down idly. They saw Indian 'hand' in the episode. Lack of proper investigation meant conspiracy theories still are rife. Although they sound interesting, none of them are convincing enough. After all, conspiracy theories are meant to be interesting. At the same time, democratically elected government and the lawmakers remained mute. Did they fear their own security? They did not tell us.</div><div class="MsoNormal">But the whole episode definitely removed the aura that the monarchy lived with. Something that was granted to them for past couple of centuries. Neither the King non the Crown Prince post-2001, could live up to the billing of a deity. Suddenly, they were not lord Bishnu's avatar. Amazing so much can happen in one night. That fateful night, along with a family, a myth was killed. The myth that the lord is taking care of the nation and its citizens. The myth was busted, and we are yet to come to terms with it. That we have to take care of the nation ourselves. It has taken a decade, and we're still work-in-progress when it comes to that.</div><div class="MsoNormal">A decade on, the ring that rattled yours truly's sleep that night still haunts him, for we are yet to become our own lords. And he is waiting for another ring, timing notwithstanding, which tells him that everything is well with his nation.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sadly, the story does not end...<br />
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(PS: The above photo was featured in the 'From Our Own Correspondent' section of online edition of BBC following the Royal Massacre in 2001)</div></div>Cow Cornerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14916048129048085182noreply@blogger.com9