Indian basketball, in an unholy mess !

''Power does not corrupt men, fools, however, if they get to a position of power, corrupt power. ---George Bernard Shaw.

Indian basketball is in a mess. The foreign experts have returned home because there was a fear, among other things, that the federation may not pay their salary or pay rent for their accommodation.

The same federation had been meeting their expenses to the tune of about a crore and a half of rupees in a financial year, earlier.

It is not a question of the federation suddenly running short of money. There has been enough of it thanks to the overwhelming support of IMG-Reliance, a real lifeline to Indian basketball.

The money has frozen, because of the dispute in the federation. With two factions claiming control of the federation, the bank account has also been frozen. IMG Reliance has refused to pay the quarterly instalment in April, till clarity was reached about the legality of BFI.

It has meant no salary for the staff of the federation, no petrol for the vehicles, and some of the payment made towards the conduct of the Federation Cup in Pune, not being cleared as the cheques reportedly bounced.

From a time when the Indian team showed signs of life when it beat the mighty China in the Asian Championship, Indian basketball has plunged into despair. All this, because of something as simple as choosing the venue for the Annual General Meeting.

Officials who do not even bother to be present in the National championship wanted to be present in strength in Pune for the Federation Cup, meant only for the top eight teams in the country. They wanted the AGM to be in Pune, and not in Bengaluru, after having agreed for it.

There was nothing wrong either in trying to have Pune as the venue, or bring a novice in sports administration like Poonam Mahajan, a Member of Parliament in Maharashtra, as the president of the BFI. But, the Constitution of the BFI needs to be respected, and procedures followed.

If the faction headed by the former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the BFI, Roopam Sharma, was sure of its majority, which it was able to flaunt, perhaps because it was believed to have the money and political strength, what stopped it from winning the election in Bengaluru. Why is that they could command the majority in Pune, but were perhaps not so sure of it in Bengaluru. Maybe, it is because even a crocodile is powerless when it comes out of water.

It was a primitive scenario, where the man with the stick, claims the buffalo ! ''Jiski latti, uski bhains''.

With the vested interests, trying to usurp power, in a hurry and in an illegal fashion, the game has been shaken. Even though there is no proof of it in the open, except claims, the international basketball federation (FIBA) has refused to recognise both the factions, headed by K. Govindaraj and Poonam Mahajan. Worse, it has announced that no Indian team would be able to compete internationally till the issue was resolved.

In such a bleak scenario, the much maligned Indian judiciary has shown a guiding light by acknowledging that the faction headed by K. Govindaraj which was elected in Bengaluru on March 27, had the constitutional power to move ahead and discharge its duties.

Honestly, it was a simple situation. The outgoing president had the authority according to the constitution to call for the election and decide the venue and time. More importantly, the former CEO was offered the key post of the secretary general of the federation in the new team.

It is an old story that after having accepted Bengaluru and March 27 as the place and date for the AGM, and communication had been initiated accordingly by the then secretary general Ajay Sud, the CEO unilaterally started issuing circulars stating that Pune would be the venue and the AGM would be on March 28.

The attempt was to strengthen the federation with political influence, but the stark reality is that the stupid exercise has taken the life out of the game in the country. What a shame.

While the uncertainty of the international federation could be understood, as so many factors had to be taken into consideration before a national federation was recognised, the reluctance of the Union Sports Ministry and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to see what is right and wrong, has been tragic. Both had the powers to douse the issue at the start itself, if they had wanted to respect the constitution, and proper procedures. But, both turned a blind eye towards the issue.

The joke doing the rounds is that both organisations that claim to carry the Olympic Movement forward, are blind in both the eyes, when it suits them.

At a time when IMG Reliance was pumping about 10 crore rupees into Indian basketball every year, it is tragic that the game in the country has hit the reverse gear because of selfish attitude and narrow minded approach.

As always, George Bernard Shaw was brilliant, but he perhaps overlooked the possibility of women claiming equal rights, in the modern era !

Sailing fraternity aghast to find novices figuring in TOPS

The sailing fraternity has found gaping holes in the selection of
athletes for the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), and has
questioned the liberal funding for novices through the scheme that is
meant for the best of the elite athletes.

While most of the leading sports persons in various disciplines are
just about getting the funds from the government scheme, in which selection is
supposed to be ''purely on merit'', two sailors who have got into the
Olympic boats in the 49er class only recently, have been drafted into
the scheme.

The two sailors, Varsha Gautham and Aishwarya Nedunchezhiyan, had won
the bronze medal in a field of six countries in the Asian Games in
Incheon last year, but in the 29er class, which does not figure in the
Olympic fleet.

The duo had a reality check in the ISAF Sailing World Cup in Miami,
early this year when they finished last among 40 teams, in the 49er
class.

In the World Championship in Santander, Spain, last year, Varsha and
Aishwarya had placed 53rd among 55 teams. It was also a qualifying
event for the Rio Olympics.

Subsequently in another World Cup in Abu Dhabi in November, the pair
finished 17th and last.

The Olympic field in the 49er class is supposed to have 20 countries,
and ten of them have already qualified from the World Championship in
Spain.

The Indian pair is supposed to be eyeing one of the 10 spots from
among 23 countries likely to be in the race for Olympic qualification
in the event.

While conceding that they were not against the young sailors getting
support, which helped them being based in Europe and compete regularly
in international events, the seasoned sailors questioned as to how
the two sneaked into a scheme that promised podium in the Olympics, at
the expense of more deserving classes.

Probing further, it has been pointed out that the men's 49er class has
also been supported by the government, and one of the two sailors in
that category happened to be the son of a council member of the
Yachting Association of India (YAI).

The two men, Ganapathy Kelapanda and Varun Thakkar, had also struggled
to avoid the last spot in the World Cup in Miami in January this year,
and placed 56th out of 58 boats. In the World Championship last year,
they were 77th out of 80.

While mysteriously keeping out such outstanding sports persons like
Leander Paes, Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza, who have very realistic
chances of winning medals in the Rio Olympics, perhaps because they
are globe-trotting millionaire tennis players, the government has
apparently played into the hands of wily schemers who have taken it
for a nice sail, in pleasant sea breeze !

Indian tennis needs to revive a strong under-18 circuit and strengthen the events for men and women

We all tend to appreciate the value of something, more in its absence.

Not many were willing to discuss the Indian under-18 tennis circuit, till it was banished from the calendar for 2015.

Suddenly a lot of people draw your attention to the absence of the under-18 circuit, in an otherwise robust junior calendar. You also quickly realise that after the abolition of the Indian domestic circuit for men and women many years ago, this was another retrograde step.

It is like removing college education and then taking away even the option of higher secondary, for the student community. Just imagine what we would be left with.

There is absolutely no doubt that in a vast country like India there should be thousands of tennis courts available for public, and a number of tournaments that would sustain the enthusiasm of the players at all levels.

By focusing only on the elite who play at the international level, tennis has become a product for the elite market in the Indian community. It is a shame.

Considering the cost of playing the game, and considering a small thing as the cost of stringing a racquet which can easily be Rs.1000 depending on the quality of string you choose, the number of tournaments offering Rs.50,000 as total prize money, is indeed a poor reflection of Indian tennis. Now, they have introduced tournaments offering Rs.30,000 as total prize money.

When the players joined hands and asked the All India Tennis Association (AITA) to have more tournaments offering Rs.2.5 lakh prize money, instead of Rs.1.25 lakh, about two decades ago, the whole domestic circuit was taken away from them. The lack of unity among the players, and the precious little that the players body has done after having been revived some time back, has been a big let down for Indian tennis.

The likes of Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Sania Mirza and Somdev Devvarman can make Indian tennis healthy, by inviting corporates to support a strong domestic circuit. It has to be conceded that Sania Mirza has a tennis academy against her name with world class infrastructure and a promise of world class coaches and trainers.

Nearly two decades ago, Gadgil Western Group (GWG) ran an Indian circuit with an investment of one crore rupees every year. Coach Nandan Bal had played a significant role in roping the sponsor for the benefit of tennis in the country. It ran for just a year and a half, before lack of returns saw the title sponsor who was supporting about 22 tournaments a year apart from the Satellite circuit international tournaments, abruptly pull the plug.

Today, considering the $430,000 ATP Tour event in Chennai, a few Challengers including the one offering $125,000 total prize money for men and women in Delhi, a number of international events for men and women, offering $10,000 to $25,000 in prize money, apart from the ones handling millions of dollars like the International Premium Tennis League (IPTL) and the Champions Tennis League (CTL), it should not be difficult to find a purse of about six crore rupees and run a healthy domestic circuit for men and women. Instead, we have Rs.50,000 events, and a few more events that offer prize money ranging from Rs.100,000 to Rs.500,000.

The problem is that if we mock at the small events, even they may vanish from the calendar, as nobody makes a noise. What we are attempting is to show the disparity. The millions of dollars are being pumped into international tennis and precious little for domestic tennis.

From that point of view, I am happy to hear the voices of anguish in the tennis fraternity about the absence of the under-18 circuit in the country. A brainwave was the reason behind removing the circuit by the end of last year.

The argument was that players after turning 16 should directly be competing in the events for men and women. Wish they had plenty of that, at least.

Even for entries into the ITF junior events, the players need their national under-18 ranking, if they don't have international rank. Thanks to Pakistan hosting two of their ITF junior events in Delhi last year, we nearly had a dozen ITF junior tournaments. But for a country of the size of India, it offers limited opportunities.

Moreover, not many can pay $65, about Rs.4,000 as entry for an ITF junior tournament, if they know that their chances of crossing the first qualifying round is not great, that is if they manage to get entry.

Also, when players want to join colleges in the US, or elsewhere, the national under-18 rank plays a significant role in securing their admission, apart from tennis scholarship.

Now that the Indian calendar, which had more than 100 national ranking tournaments for the under-18 group last year, does not have one, aggrieved people point at the study by the ITF that a 17-year-old should play about 32-38 tournaments in a year, with an aim to have 80-90 singles matches, and about 35-55 doubles matches.

Earlier, we used to wonder why our juniors, ranked in the top-10 of the world, were not able to break into the top-100 in the men's and women's rankings. Now, it has been a struggle to have juniors in the top-100. Only the likes of Sumit Nagal, Pranjala Yadlapalli and Mihika Yadav have that status at the moment.

Somehow, we have got our equations totally wrong. The main reason is that tennis has become an exclusive sport. Only the rich can play the game, and the coaches never tire of stating that those kids lack the hunger to work hard and excel. The fact is, the talented kids don't even get a chance to touch a racquet, except through some honourable ventures like the one run by Chandigarh that taps rural talent.

Thankfully, I do hear that there was a meeting during the Fed Cup in Hyderabad, when world No.1 doubles star Sania Mirza led India from group-II to group-I in the Asia-Oceania zone, in which it was decided to revive the under-18 circuit. Already, almost half the year has run out, and it is high time that the authorities swung into action promptly to put things in place.

If India wants to boast of the second highest number of tennis players after the US, which a study might have projected as a strong possibility, there is an urgent need for thousands of courts with different surface and hundreds of tournaments, catering to all levels, around the country.

Delhi does conduct a lot of events, but Maharashtra has set a fine example by roping in a title sponsor to support hundreds of its events at all levels with cash and kind. Many other units may have their own little ways. But, in a country as big as India, it is quite disturbing that there are tournaments for men and women, offering a total prize money of about 60 lakh rupees, just about $100,000, if you study the AITA calendar for this season.