Boxing

Boxing has dominated the news (at least on the MCT front ) in the last couple days... the boxers have returned after a good performance at the world championships and have returned heroes. the media again have gone after the federation and it was supposedly brought up in parliament that they were transported in a shabby van from the airport to their hotel. 

R U SERIOUS!!! i am now at least convinced that they don't have better things to talk about in parliament... the truth is that our sportspeople are not treated well but that doesn't encompass one van ride from the airport to the hotel which is maybe 15 mins. 

if they want to make a difference why don't they upgrade the facilities that the athletes live in, the poor quality of food that they are fed and the sub standard quality of life they have in the various camps. They really don't care if they ride in a mercedes or tata indica, what they really want is to be able to live in a nice, clean place that will actually make them a whole lot healthier. 

Dinesh Kumar...the coming out party!!!

so closely following in Akhil's footsteps Dinesh Kumar who got in on a wild card also managed to win. This win is more impressive than akhils because this is the same guy whom he had got pummelled by earlier this year at the Olympics. So Dinesh has shown great poise and actually worked very hard. He is a young boxer who has shown a lot of promise and is also another one of our candidates who has come out of a career threatening injury. So we are proud of him and looking to some gold medlas now. 

AKHIL BRINGS ME OUT OF RETIREMENT :)

akhil kumar has again gone and done something great at the 2008 world cup finals in moscow. this is a tournament that is by invitation only for the world's top 8 boxers and akhil has just beaten german marcel schneider 15:6 and got india it's 1st medal in 14 years at a world cup. akhil has been training hard with our trainer heath matthews and is now up against olympic silver medalist from Cuba. All scores can be seen live on www.aiba.org. 

akhil is a very special athlete for us and he is now brimming with the confidence that he can go all the way. His next bout (semis) is on the 13th so everyone get ready for a good showing. 

later on tonight our other boxer Dinesh Kumar is fighting against an algerian boxer whom he lost to at Beijing. But hey its a new day!!!!! COME ON BOYS!!!!

the young ones beckon....

All the associations are going to be flushed with the funds now with over 700cr being allocated to "prepare"athletes for the commonwealth games... how much of that is really going to make it to the athletes in a timely fashion remains to be seen but it is an enormous amount that could actually (if used correctly) be stretched to the next olympics, i somehow doubt that... regardless this gives us a good opportunity to actually help out the young kids and really get good systems in place so that we have a cycle in place to constantly replace the older ones...
The other heartening thing is that our athletes are so touched by all our support that they are eager to give back in any way they can and so I am going to have akhil scout and find out some young and talented boxers and ofcourse abhinav is eager and ready to help out shooting. So for the first time we can actually groom right from the bottom.... actually "creating" champions right from the ground up is something that i have long tried to achieve and since i am now able to do it with such a great group of people nothing could be better.

REBUILDING!!!!

So have been really really really busy in the last couple of weeks actually getting things started again... for starters Saina has won yet another tournament this one was even bigger than the Philippines open that she won so we are really proud of her and now the goal is to make sure she keeps improving we keep moving forward.
my goal for the next couple of months now is to actually have a good group of juniors in place and have not really done that till now because i have never had a precedent to follow and was not sure whether we were going in the right direction or not and didn't want to waste money but now i have a lot of clarity in at least the sports we have been involved with in the last couple of years and so it is just a matter of putting plans in place.
we are presently trying out 20 young archers in bangalore and hopefully will get a couple of good ones coming out of that. i would like to have the same process in all the other sports while adding more sports to the charter so in the process of doing the research. Any suggestions and tips will be welcome since the more people helping the better.

the road ahead....

my schedule is finally slowing down...was on a 4 day holiday and then had to zip to london to discuss the next steps with Mr. Mittal and family so a post has been long overdue.

Anyway things are looking great in terms of what we have achieved so far but now the bar has been raised for London and am excited at the challenge. 

The key for the next couple of months is getting a good group of athletes and a bigger pool. So there are a few core sports as of right now like shooting, archery and boxing and we need to expand those and try and reach out to as many people as possible. Am going to also go down to the grassroot level and help fund those which should create a good cycle of athletes in a few years. 

It is also imperative that we now reach out to the the other sports where we are not so good and start grooming people for the future. They might not be ready for the London Games but maybe the next ones after that. However it is important for the overall quality of sport in the country and hence am going to be looking into that. 

The sport i am eager to help because i don't believe we are far off is athletics because i feel like there are certain events we can do very well in and it is just a matter of getting the right training. So that is going to be my immediate project.

The archery program has already started with our korean coach having a month long trial for finally selecting the group. It is being held at the Jain School in bangalore which has some of the best facilities in the country. 

Change, Change, Change....

life has been busy busy since beijing and we are all coming off the adrenaline highs and life is slowly returning to normal... i would like to dedicate my post today to abhinav... of course we are all proud of him and of course he is the man of the moment... and of course i have now known him for sometime and we are friends... but finally someone has come out and spoken from the heart and shed light on the truth of the matter of indian sport and what a mess it is... i am so proud of the fact that there are very few people who have the guts to say it like it is and very few of our past winners has ever done anything about the whole picture... so here is a guy who has put it one the line and really wants to see a change in the way things happen... the truth is that it is not going to happen overnight but we all have to join hands and really push this through if things are ever going to change in this country... So those of you who don't live here... abhinav was guest editor at the times of india today and has really spelt out things the way they are... and now it is a matter of everyone teaming up and making this change happen. I think the world of this guy and now i am even more impressed with his character and desire to make india a better sporting country....

taking stock

ok so now the roller coaster ride also called the Olympics are drawing to an end (well for me they are already done) so it is time to get things back to normal... am on my way back to india as we speak and now am excited and scared and every other emotion because we have to keep improving and also start over in so many things. I have been so emotionally up and down and am looking forward to a much needed break (which is in 3 weeks) where i will actually have time to sit down and think... in the meanwhile i am proud of what we have been able to do over the past couple of years and now have to strive to get better... my athletes are also now believing in us and our systems and i am looking forward to them actually giving back and helping me out. The mittal champions trust has actually become something much bigger and now has a huge "fan" base of people willing to lend support and help so am happy that we can achieve a whole lot more and am aiming at least 7-10 medals at the next games :)

The time is now...

ok so we are less than 24 hours away from knowing whether akhil can win india its first ever boxing medal...
i am way tooo nervous to write, think, analyze, predict but i am saying this... the guy has a heart of a lion and urge all to pray for his success....
I told him today i am behind him win or lose... he replied to me saying he has "three" more bouts to go.... COME ON.... Lets bring this one home...
The momentum he will generate will bring our other two boxers in with flying colors i have no doubt... so i am expecting at least 3 medals....

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN..... IT IS THE AKHIL KUMAR SHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes it is independence day and yes the others all had some tough luck so it was left up to my boy to keep the indian flag and more importantly spirit flying high....
And he did that in style... he was up against world champion russian boxer but that didn't matter because akhil has a mammoth heart and that in the end pulled him through.
I actually managed to muster up the courage and go and watch because akhil made me promise him that i would come and he told me this morning i had nothing to be nervous about.... Gosh darn it...wish i had listened to him and not been so nervous all day...
All credit to him and i have no doubt he will keep this going....
On another note, one of my closest friends lost today and he said he played his heart out so had no regrets... what is of note here is that even after he was so disappointed he came straight to support akhil at the boxing... He has been my friend, supporter, critic and means the world to me...but today he taught me that the meaning of patriotism that is sometimes forgotten by us in the individual sport world.... The man is Mahesh Bhupathi and the love he shares for his country and other athletes really has no bounds.

Nail biting and sleepless nights...

life of a spectator is supposed to be fun... but life of a spectator who has feelings for the participants is downright gruelling....
Such has been my life for the last few days with all the kids in action and 4 still to go... the last few days have of course been euphoric and i haven't slept well in the last few nights... first with nervousness then due to excitement....
well now abhinav has gone back and things here (at least for me) are focussed on the rest of my athletes... tomorrow is Mr. Akhil Kumar for his second round bantam fight... he is fighting a russian who has been world champion and so is a formidable opponent...however i have faith and am hoping for a major upset... so am goign to spend most of the night tossing and turning in apprehension but hey i wouldn't trade this for the world...
Being part of an athletes life has its ups and downs but that is the fun part...it is the process that gives you most of the joy...
Please pray for him.... but i have faith...he is in the best shape of his life and looking good...
come on boy.... "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" M. Ali

elvis has left the building....

So the star has left for india today and i can only imagine the mayhem there when he arrives... well we are all proud of him and now it is time for me to focus my energy on the remaining athletes who are still in the hunt...
so the remaining two medal prospects are akhil kumar and jitender... each play friday and saturday respectively so have a day now to catch up sleep and get my racing heart to beat slower...
i have to talk about saina today who i am soooo proud of not because of her results but the maturity she has shown and the way she has fought her heart out. we are all disappointed by the results but as the coach told me, he can't think of anythign she could have done differently... the other girl played phenomenally and deserves the win.
She is only 17 and is definitely someone who we are pinning our 2012 hopes on.
My archer also lost today and it is imperative we learn from this and move on. The big thing i have realized is we need to be able to perform better under pressure and so now have to devise ways we can simulate some of this on the kids from before.

MOOD!!!!!!!!!

yesterday was such a phenomenal day and really changed everything for our camp at the village... the pressure was definitely mounting on the athletes and there was this mopey attitude of "still no medal"
Even I who is usually very positive was highly disappointed by our women archers who had lost narrowly in the team competition and that all flew out of the window at 12pm 11th of August....
Euphoric is definitely and understatement... it was something that no one has ever felt before and to see the Indian flag at an Olympics made all in the hall weak in the knees (and i am not just using a cliche....)
I really can't explain the feeling... I was thrilled beyond bits... didn't sleep the night before because i was too nervous...didn't sleep last night since i was too excited.... so couldn't even eat, sleep let alone type.... sorry for the late post!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!

yes it is old news now.... our boy won.... it has still not fully sunk in and think it will be a while before we really grasp the magnitude of his achievement.
I know all are talking about how it was awesome and ofcourse i and all the world are ecstatic but this is something that was inevitable and no one deserves this medal more than Abhinav.
So after all the euphoria we had a quite celebration with dinner and think will continue the trend. Abhinav of course doesn't understand why this is such a big deal and how he should just be left alone...... NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is funny because as he described earlier he worked and worked and worked to get to the top of the mountain and now he is at the summit and there is nothing there.
That is the psyche of an athlete, they go thru the pain, anguish, joy, and several other emotions mostly for the journey and not so much for the destination. People always say it is the process and trying to hone your skills that really give you the true high.... the results are just the icing on the cake... So that is how abhinav thinks and the truth is it is the complete opposite than the rest of us and we cannot describe how proud we are of him....
AWESOME!!!!!!!!! i still can't believe it... hopefully it is the first of many more to come....

Bedazzled!!!!

ok for all those who watched the opening ceremony and were not impressed..... you need to be checked for pulse....
i have been/seen my fair share of opening ceremonies and they all have been impressive but this one with it sheer magnitude really blew me away....
the olympics was an event for which china could showcase their power and strength to the world and man have they ARRIVED!!!!!
as an athlete most of us dream of walking in something like this and it is something that we think of a lot in our career...even in moments of doubt we hope, wish, pray for this opportunity...so when the day finally arrives that moment you enter the stadium everything goes blank and the only sensation that you can feel is the goose bumps all over your body... it is something that you will never forget and will be a topic of conversation for your whole life....
ok enough about me and time to put away my scrap book....
the athletes all go into competition tomorrow and it is a nerve racking time... the first days of any competition are tough because you really don't know how you are going to go out there and feel... however as the competition progresses you start to feel better and better and get into the rhythm of things...
this is what makes it tough for sports like 10m air rifle in which the medal is decided in 3 hours... the women always are the first event and medal of the Olympic Games so we are wishing for all success and praying for the best with our two stars.... anjali bhagwat and avneet kaur.... go kick some ***

and its D Day!!!!!!!!

Ok so even for me all i have thought about for the last couple of years is beijing olympics, beijing olympics, beijing olympics.... and now that it is here i really don't know what to do with myself... so i can only imagine how relieved the athletes will be for their days to actually be here...
so yesterday all the official stuff was in on the agenda, there was a welcoming ceremony at the village with all the media and delegates in attendance and now today the athletes actually have to start getting into "competition" mode and all the blinkers will come on...
it is a great spectacle which will really seperate the champions from the rest... because only they will be able to bring out their best under extreme pressure...

as the day nears!!!!!!!!

well as the big day nears of course there is all this tension in the air... today we have planned to go to the Olympic village and check on our guys before all the hungama begins... so will have lots of details on that later on in the day...
its another balmy day in beijing where the smog continues to cast itself heavily over the city...there are all these high rises wonder what kind of view they have from the top floors...
anyway today is a day where we just go and make atheletes laugh and relax and take their mind off things since they are probably done thinking about their events every waking moment....

Are we ever going to learn!!!!!

So the news today is that the Indian weightlifter has tested postive for dope and banned from the Games....
this after all the hue and cry surrounding the weightlifting and how they had all these trials and there was all this politics involved... well ok so that is still a bearable situation we are used to this stuff, then lets not delve on the fact that weightlifting is a sport with rampant dope scandals and is one of the sports where India has just come out of a ban the real kicker is that it is common procedure at the Olympics that weightlifters are tested before the event actually starts.
THIS IS WHAT MAKES ME SOOOO ANGRY!!!!
I am often asked what is lacking in Indian sport and i always reply that it is not money, talent or anything else it is only a lack of knowledge and planning....
People often tell me that some sports in today's day and age cannot be done without dope... ok so lets for one minute assume weightlifting is one of those... then couldn't we at least take a scientific approach and get it done right...
I am in no way condoning drug usage but i know that lots of sports are rampant with steroids so how come it is only us that get caught????
Knowing the Indian system, they realized about 3 weeks ago that Monika Devi was going to be going since she won the trial and someone in their infinite wisdom probably advised her to take some stuff that has now turned up...
these athletes are at the mercy of coaches who are not only clueless but also ignorant to the protocol vis a vis medecines. So who pays the price??? our poor athletes who have given their life not even to win a medal but sometimes to just get an opportunity to go on an airplane to an international country.
So when someone asks you why we don't win medals.... it is because there is no vision, no desire and no expertise to actually do things right.

Smoky and overcast

It is 7am Beijing time and for the last few months we have been bombarded by the weather reports and all about how the officials are controlling the smog....
i always wondered if that was hype or the city was really smoggy and the latter is true. So looking out of my window it looks grey and opaque all over the city... on opening the window you are blasted with heat, humidity and it is still grey and smoggy...
i know you are probably wondering what the hell i am trying to convey... but bear with me....
so even before i am surprised at how it is so hot and humid and everything else the first thought that crosses my mind that this weather is perfect for our athletes!!!!!!!!!
it is similar to home in the sense that the europeans are definitely going to be sweating it out big time and so being the eternal optimist i begin to think that even the weather gods are helping us a little bit..... and this might be the year!!!!!!!!!!
I am feeling confident at the same time realize sport and its unpredictability.... but still it is a great feeling to wake up in the morning and wonder.... What if????

Beijing 2008..... It's finally upon us!!!

Can't really believe how fast the last 2 years have flown and now we are almost at the start of the greatest sports show on earth....
This is an interesting time in both my life but also the life of a lot of our athletes who are goign to be participating. Me first- it is unbelievable how when the time is here your body is full of apprehension and you keep wondering how things will go....
For the athletes- it is even more so...they are all on tenter hooks (but all wiht brave faces) and silently praying the Gods look down upon them when they try and bring glory not only to themselves but also to a nation....
So Ladies and Gentlemen..... the time is right around the corner..... and all eyes, ears and any other sensory devices are tuned in....
I personally just got to beijing today and it was a long trip so haven't really met anyone which i will do tomorrow so more on that update then...