Have been out of commission for a bit now because of a minor horse riding accident... so have been in bed resting my hurt hip/back and luckily for me have a slew of physiotherapists (for my athletes) who are all helping whip me back in shape...
Just to keep you guys posted on a few developments while i have been laid up....
Our Squash girls Joshana and Dipika faced off in the finals of the nationals two days ago and after a good match Josh came out on top... Congrats to her and am also happy dipika is closing the gap. Am a strong believer that competition is the way to get the best out of us and as a country we need to cultivate strong domestic competition if we want to succeed outside.
Also my boxers have finally made it to Kazakh after a very tumultous few weeks where they were having visa troubles... among other things.... and somehow managed to get them out of here before it got really ugly... They have a good solid couple of weeks of training before they go out to China so hopefully this will all pay off...
This Kazakh expedition has been no easy task right from finding the coach to sending them off but these are things we have to take in our stride. It will all be worth it at the end.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Archery world Championships IV
its my final day here and there is good and bad news... will start with the good since i am learning to be optimistic...
Bombayla Devi and Chekorvolu Swuro have secured two olympic berths for India. Dola had a bad outing and lost in the first round of elimination.
Nevertheless she still has the Asian Championships to qualify and she should have good chances there since a lot of the top archers would also have already got a place by then.
The bad news is the boys... they all lost 2nd round of elimination adn couldn't secure any berths. However tomorrow is the team championships and if we win a round in both men and women that would secure berths for all so we are all anxious that happens....
Keep fingers crossed.... and hope for the best.
From what i can understand the Olympic rounds are like playing russian roulette so its anybody's game...
Bombayla Devi and Chekorvolu Swuro have secured two olympic berths for India. Dola had a bad outing and lost in the first round of elimination.
Nevertheless she still has the Asian Championships to qualify and she should have good chances there since a lot of the top archers would also have already got a place by then.
The bad news is the boys... they all lost 2nd round of elimination adn couldn't secure any berths. However tomorrow is the team championships and if we win a round in both men and women that would secure berths for all so we are all anxious that happens....
Keep fingers crossed.... and hope for the best.
From what i can understand the Olympic rounds are like playing russian roulette so its anybody's game...
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Archery world Championships III
Just a quick update since the internet connection is on the blink....
The men also had a below par outing at the world championships in the elimination rounds yesterday. They finished in 14th place and the thing going for them is that most of the teams are all equal and its very little margin separating the teams. So coming into the Olympic rounds our guys are positioned well to be able to win a round and thus secure a Beijing berth.
Rahul Banerjee had the best day and is in 10th place overall. Somai Murmu also had a decent day, the team was let down by Tarundeep Rai who shot below his capabilities but will have a chance to make it up in the Olympic rounds.
Today is a rest day, with the individual elimination for both men and women tomrrow.
The men also had a below par outing at the world championships in the elimination rounds yesterday. They finished in 14th place and the thing going for them is that most of the teams are all equal and its very little margin separating the teams. So coming into the Olympic rounds our guys are positioned well to be able to win a round and thus secure a Beijing berth.
Rahul Banerjee had the best day and is in 10th place overall. Somai Murmu also had a decent day, the team was let down by Tarundeep Rai who shot below his capabilities but will have a chance to make it up in the Olympic rounds.
Today is a rest day, with the individual elimination for both men and women tomrrow.
Monday, July 9, 2007
Archery world Championships II
Yesterday the women were in action, the results were not as good as we expected but still in a good position for the Olympic berth.
The three women had a mixed bag of results with Bombayla and chekrovolu shooting their career best scores with 1312 and 1330 respectively. Dola Banerjee who is India's best shooter had a disappointing outing shooting a lowly 1290. This ended us up in 12spot as a team. So now the 16 top teams will slug it out in match format with the top 8 qualifying for the Olympics. So the format is a simple one with number 1 playing number 16, 2 vs 15 etc. India is playing against either Great Britain or Russia (who are tied) which is a great match up since we have beaten both teams in the recent past.
The Olympic rounds are where all the talent and skill doesn't really matter and its only how big a heart you have that really matters.
Korea dominated the womens (not a surprise) which ended up well ahead of every one else. Our girls still have a ways to go to catch up to the koreans, their top two shooters shot 1385 and 1360. I think archery has come a long way and now we need to take steps to take it to the next level.
Today the men are in action and typically we have posted better results in the Men. My guess is they should finish between 4-7 which should position them well for the Olympic round.
More on that later on in the day....
The three women had a mixed bag of results with Bombayla and chekrovolu shooting their career best scores with 1312 and 1330 respectively. Dola Banerjee who is India's best shooter had a disappointing outing shooting a lowly 1290. This ended us up in 12spot as a team. So now the 16 top teams will slug it out in match format with the top 8 qualifying for the Olympics. So the format is a simple one with number 1 playing number 16, 2 vs 15 etc. India is playing against either Great Britain or Russia (who are tied) which is a great match up since we have beaten both teams in the recent past.
The Olympic rounds are where all the talent and skill doesn't really matter and its only how big a heart you have that really matters.
Korea dominated the womens (not a surprise) which ended up well ahead of every one else. Our girls still have a ways to go to catch up to the koreans, their top two shooters shot 1385 and 1360. I think archery has come a long way and now we need to take steps to take it to the next level.
Today the men are in action and typically we have posted better results in the Men. My guess is they should finish between 4-7 which should position them well for the Olympic round.
More on that later on in the day....
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Archery world Championships I
Monday, July 9th 2007.
The recurve championships gets under way today with the womens event. The way it works is that today the women will shoot individually for their ranking places at three different distances, 70m, 50m and 30m after which they will be ranked as per their scores. India has three women here Dola Banerjee, Chekrovolu Swuro and Bombayla Devi all of which are vetrans and now need to step up. This is the first opportunity to qualify for Beijing and its always an advantage to secure your berth early.
The field here is a strong one, there are 90 countries participating and everyone here agrees that archery worldwide is growing. India is a country where archery has comes naturally to some living in the tribal belt and now it is just a matter of bringing in that expertise to make the push. This is harder than it seems since Korea which is the best is not so liberal in parting with their knowledge and it is tight lipped about their advantage. However the reason i am here is to secure that exact knowledge.
Archery in europe and americas is played on a part time basis whereas in Asia (including us) we play it full time. This in my opinion is a distinct advantage and a great opportunity for an upcoming coach to make their mark. However to get someone to come and live in india is a tall task and this is a challenge we face in all sports.
That being said if our girls can have a good showing here today I am hoping it will open the door for some of the world's best to take a look and agree to get a piece of the "India Shining" pie.
More updates later on today on the results.
The recurve championships gets under way today with the womens event. The way it works is that today the women will shoot individually for their ranking places at three different distances, 70m, 50m and 30m after which they will be ranked as per their scores. India has three women here Dola Banerjee, Chekrovolu Swuro and Bombayla Devi all of which are vetrans and now need to step up. This is the first opportunity to qualify for Beijing and its always an advantage to secure your berth early.
The field here is a strong one, there are 90 countries participating and everyone here agrees that archery worldwide is growing. India is a country where archery has comes naturally to some living in the tribal belt and now it is just a matter of bringing in that expertise to make the push. This is harder than it seems since Korea which is the best is not so liberal in parting with their knowledge and it is tight lipped about their advantage. However the reason i am here is to secure that exact knowledge.
Archery in europe and americas is played on a part time basis whereas in Asia (including us) we play it full time. This in my opinion is a distinct advantage and a great opportunity for an upcoming coach to make their mark. However to get someone to come and live in india is a tall task and this is a challenge we face in all sports.
That being said if our girls can have a good showing here today I am hoping it will open the door for some of the world's best to take a look and agree to get a piece of the "India Shining" pie.
More updates later on today on the results.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
The Archery World Championships
Again delay on the posting but trying to catch up with office work after a long time out of the office. Anyway out again this week end and it might surprise everyone its not for a shooting event. Yes yes!!! going to Leipzig for the archery world championships. In the market for a new coach and this is a good opportunity to check out the field. All the good coaches, globally, sign contracts from Olympics-Olympics so need to get our foot in the door to really be able to sign one of the big name coaches after Beijing.
Archery is one of the sports I feel we are really close to winning, the point again being we lack the expertise to get over the edge. If we are able to use scientific methods it is definitely a sport that we can master.
So more updates later on this week from Leipzig.
Archery is one of the sports I feel we are really close to winning, the point again being we lack the expertise to get over the edge. If we are able to use scientific methods it is definitely a sport that we can master.
So more updates later on this week from Leipzig.
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