Tried to mix Gavaskar's defence, Richards' aggression: Sachin

NEW DELHI: Sachin Tendulkar

NEW DELHI: Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday said he made a conscious effort to blend Sunil Gavaskar's defence with Viv Richards' ruthlessness to evolve a batting style of his own.

Since his 1989 debut against Pakistan, Tendulkar has been lording over the bowlers, who continue to struggle to breach his near-impregnable defence and often find themselves at the receiving end of his aggressive hitting.

Tendulkar revealed he modelled his batting style on Gavaskar and Richards, two players he idolised.

"Sunil Gavaskar, needless to say, and Vivian Richards are the batsmen that really inspired me," said the champion batsman with more than 29,000 international runs under his belt.

"I wanted to be as solid as Sunil Gavaskar and as destructive as Vivian Richards, because that combination was always going to be lethal. I felt truly inspired by these two individuals on the field," Tendulkar said.

Over the last two decades, Tendulkar's appetite for runs never waned and the Mumbaikar said he never ran out of motivation.

"I don't need anyone to come to me or motivate me or prepare me before a big game," Tendulkar said.

"I've always been motivated and I love this sport. I grew up loving this sport and as each day goes by, I fall in love with this game more and more.

"The desire to go out there and win matches for my nation is growing, and it continues to grow. I'm proud of the fact that I've been able to play for 20 years and I'm still motivated, and I still want to go out there and do better," he said.

Despite his iconic status, Tendulkar remains a team man and he underlined the importance of working as a unit.

"Team work for me is practising together and also trying to get the best out of each other. That can only happen if you go out of your way to help your team-mate. You must be prepared to sacrifice for your team-mate, which will eventually end up giving a positive result for your team," he said.

TOI

Salman Khan to promote Indian football

brand ambassador of Indian football

NEW DELHI: Bollywood actor Salman has been roped in as the brand ambassador of Indian football by the All India Football Federation to promote the
game in the country.

Salman, who was present at the Ambedkar Stadium on Monday night to watch India's Nehru Cup title victory over Syria, has agreed to promote the game, AIFF acting president Praful Patel said.

"Salman is a national icon. He had come to us and said he wants to promote football. So we have made him our brand ambassador. It is not going to incur any cost to us and he had approached to us voluntarily," Patel said.

"We have to see how he can help promote football in the country," he added.

Salman, who had shown interest in buying an Indian Premier League side when the league will be expanded to 10 teams in 2011, took a walk at the periphery of the pitch waving to the crowd who filled up the 20,000 capacity Ambedkar Stadium to the brim.

TOI

India beat Syria to lift Nehru Cup

India beat Syria to lift Nehru Cup

NEW DELHI: Defending champions India beat Syria 5-4 in the penalty shootouts to lift their second successive Nehru Cup title at the Ambedkar Stadium on Monday.

Goal-keeper Subroto Paul, who saved three penalties to become India’s saviour, was awarded the man of the match.

Climax scored the first goal for India in the penalty shootouts. Renedy took the second penalty and missed as he hit the pole. India goal-keeper paul revived the home team's hopes as he stopped the second penalty diving to his left. Sunil Chhetri again gave India the lead by scoring in the third penalty. Again Indian goal-keeper stopped the Syrian penalty to retain the lead. Mehraj missed the penalty would have given India the title. Syria again levelled again by scoring in the fourth penalty. Sukumar Singh again scored to give India the lead.

Before the penalty shootouts, India were granted a free kick because of a foul committed on Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia in the 114th minute in the extra-time and Renedy didn't let the opportunity go waste as his kick swung from right to left to beat the Syrian captain and goalkeeper.

But Syria scored the equaliser in the dying minutes to dash India's hopes and the final went into penalty shootouts.

Coach Bob Houghton's decision to rest key players in the last inconsequential league match against the same opponents paid dividends as the senior players came afresh for the final encounter of the five-nation football tournament.

It was a heated, tensed and keenly contested encounter in which the referee had to intervene many times to calm down the players. Indian captain Bhaichung Bhutia was handed yellow card in the first half of the game. However, the first half ended without a goal.

India were awarded a free kick soon after the commencement of the second half when skipper Bhutia was fouled. But the free kick taken by Steven Dias was stopped by the Syrian goal-keeper.

The heat was not limited to just the players. The Syrian coach Fajer Ebrahim lost his cool in the 60th minute when two off-sides were given against his team in quick succession. He got into an argument with the linesman and that led to India coach Bob Houghton gesturing towards the Syrian camp while pointing his fingers and saying something.

In 89th minute when an off-side was again given against Syria, a frustrated Ebrahim argued with the linesman again. This time Haughton was only staring at him without saying anything.

In the extra time, a support staff of Syria was sent off for arguing with the linesman following an ugly incident in which Bhutia was tackled from behind by a Syrian player which led to some pushing and shoving.

The highly contested match was watched by Bollywood star Salman Khan and AIFF acting president and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports M S Gill.

Two years ago at the Ambedkar Stadium, the home team had beaten the Syrians in front of a 20,000-strong crowd to win their maiden Nehru Cup title.

TOI

Wasim Bari appointed appointed acting COO of PCB

Karachi,

Karachi, Sep 1 (PTI) The Pakistan Cricket Board today appointed former Test captain Wasim Bari as its acting chief operating officer after the Governing Council signed a summary for the dismissal of Saleem Altaf.

The Board said Bari would continue to work as COO until a new appointment is made.

Sources said Altaf, who has been in the Board since 2004, has more or less accepted his fate this time and didn't appear to have any intentions of challenging his dismissal.

"This time the Chairman (Ejaz Butt) has done everything according to the book to sack Altaf and has got the Governing Council members behind him," a well-placed source said.

The source said last time Altaf was sacked as COO by former Chairman Dr Nasim Ashraf in June last year he didn't follow rules and regulations.

PTI

Nine out of 12 hockey World Cup spots booked

New Delhi,

New Delhi, Sep 1 (PTI) Nearly six months to go for the much-awaited FIH men's hockey World Cup and nine out of the 12 teams have already booked their place in the flagship event to be held here from February 28 to March 13.

Apart from hosts India, Canada (champion of the third Pan American Cup), Korea (champion of the eighth Asia Cup), South Africa (champion of the Africa Cup of Nations, 2009), Australia (champion of the sixth Oceania Cup) have qualified for the event.

England (champion of the 12th EuroHockey Nations Championship), Germany (silver medalist of the 12th EuroHockey Nations Championship), Netherlands (bronze medalist of the 12th EuroHockey Nations Championship) and Spain (fourth ranked team of the 12th EuroHockey Nations Championship) have also made it to the mega-event.

PTI

India have to raise their game to retain Nehru Cup

New Delhi, Aug 30: India may have made the final without any palpitations, but not many are giving them a chance of retaining the Nehru Cup football title they won two years ago beating the same Syrians in the final.

The home team would, however, back themselves to send Syria packing in front of home crowd, a feat they managed in 2007. Back then India lost to Syria 2-3 in the league phase and went on to beat the visitors in the final. This time,too, India lost 0-1 in the inconsequential league match against Syria on Saturday.

Syria are the only unbeaten side at the round-robin stage and there was some suspense about who do they play in Monday’s final till it was belatedly revealed that India were through after their facile victory over Sri Lanka as no-one cared to flip through the rule book to see how a tie is resolved. The inconsequential last league game gave both the teams to ponder about a couple of things.

Team India wrap up camp

Team India wrap up camp

BANGALORE, Aug 30: The Indian cricket team wrapped up its four-day preparatory camp for the upcoming Tri-Series in Sri Lanka and the Champions Trophy with a final session of batting and bowling drills on Sunday. The camp that began on Thursday initially laid stress on fitness, followed by some batting, bowling and fielding practice under the watchful eyes of coach Gary Kirsten. The team will leave for Sri Lanka to take part in the tri-series. (PTI)

Jaitley assures players of fair selection

New Delhi, Aug 25: The players’ mutiny in the Delhi and District Cricket Association spearheaded by Virender Sehwag ended today with DDCA President Arun Jaitley accepting their demand of fairness in selection process.

The uproar had started after Sehwag alleged that there was corruption and nepotism in the selection process, claiming interference by the all-powerful Sports Committee. The star Indian opener had threatened to quit the Delhi Ranji team if things did not change.

Jaitley denied allegations of interference against the Sports Committee but assured that the selection process would be made more transparent after meeting Sehwag and another revolting player Gautam Gambhir late last night.

“Steps are required to ensure that the selection process is fair. No interference is acceptable and would not be tolerated. The players’ suggestions were well-intentioned,” Jaitley told reporters here. “I told them (the players) and my colleagues that steps should be taken to ensure that the standard of fairness is maintained. It’s obvious that we require selectors who are experienced, who have a strong spine to be fair and firm,” he said.

Somdev, Prakash play higher-ranked opponents in US Open qualifiers

New York, Aug 25: India’s No 1 Somdev Devvarman will take on American Alex Bogomolov Jr in the first round of the US Open tennis qualifiers.
Somdev, ranked 161, is tied 1-1 with the 16th-seeded Russian-born American, who is ranked 133rd.

Bogomolov Jr beat Somdev in their first meeting in Calabasas challenger last year, but the Indian avenged the defeat, beating the American in straight sets at the LA Tennis Open qualifiers in July.
Somdev's former Davis Cup teammate Prakash Amritraj, ranked 253, will meet 159th-ranked Alejandro Falla of Columbia in the first round in his bid to qualify for the US open. (IANS)

India in must-win situation

NEW DELHI, Aug 21: Injury-plagued India face a litmus test of character to stay on course for their title defence in the Nehru Cup international football tournament when they take on Kyrgyzstan in a crucial round-robin match on Saturday. India began their campaign with a 0-1 loss to Lebanon and Bob Houghton’s boys need no less than a win in Sunday’s fixture at Ambedkar Stadium under floodlights.

A draw against Kyrgyzstan, ranked four places down India at 160th in the FIFA chart, may still not send Bhaichung Bhutia-led side out of the five-team competition but the hosts fate would then hang on other team’s hand as they play Sri Lanka on August 25 and Syria on August 28. The rub of the green might not have favoured India against Lebanon but now Houghton and his boys will have to shrug off whatever psychological after-effects of that match or else face criticism after having an expensive six-week foreign training tour of Dubai and Spain.

We can win even without Zaheer, Sehwag: Harbhajan

NEW DELHI, Aug 24: India will sorely miss Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan in next month’s tri-series in Sri Lanka but the presence of match-winners and the balance of the team still make them the tournament favourite, said Harbhajan Singh.

Talking to reporters after unveiling the Compaq Cup 2009, which will be given to the winner of the tri-series also featuring New Zealand, Harbhajan conceded it would not be easy to replace players like Sehwag and Zaheer but felt the team could still pull it off.

“Sehwag is a key player. Any team in the world would miss a player like him. But now that he would not be playing, we would have to do well without him,” Harbhajan said.

He said the return of veterans Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid would offset Sehwag’s loss.
“We are a strong team and it's a balanced side. Besides, we have a number of match-winning players in the ranks. We have the youngsters and then you have experienced players like Dravid, Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh. If we play to our potential, we would return with this lovely trophy,” he said after unveiling world’s first digital sports trophy.

Like Sehwag, Zaheer too underwent a shoulder surgery which ruled him out of the tri-series and the subsequent Champions Trophy but Harbhajan seemed to have enough trust on other pacers to pull it off.

“Zaheer is an experienced bowler and it’s unfortunate that he would not be playing. We are going to miss him,” Harbhajan said.

“However, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma have been doing well and they will have to step up to the plate and deliver,” he said. “Overall, we have got enough talent and we did well against New Zealand at their home and also in Sri Lanka. Over the last two years, we have beaten every side. We just need to play to our potential to win the tri-series.
“It’s an important series for us because right after that, we play the ICC Champions Trophy, which is a big event for us,” he said.

Both Dravid and Nehra made a comeback to the ODI fold after their One-day career seemed over. Asked if he felt it was retrograde steps to bring back players who are on the wrong side of the 30s, Harbhajan begged to differ.

“For me, age is not the criterion. I don’t think you become old at 32. Great players continue to perform at 35-36. Age is not the consideration,” he said.

Harbhajan’s views were sought on Virender Sehwag’s tussle with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) as well but the spinner said he had no clue about it.

“To be honest, I’m not aware of the details. I have no clue what is happening between Viru and DDCA,” he said. (PTI)

Yuvraj is a massive danger: Butler

DUBAI, Aug 23: India, along with hosts South Africa and Australia, are the strongest contenders for next month's Champions Trophy with Yuvraj Singh posing a massive threat to bowlers’ economy, fears New Zealand medium pacer Ian Butler. “India play good One-day cricket. So, I wouldn’t like to put a finger on who is favourite to win the 5 October final. You’ve got to look after your own backyard and not worry about what other teams are doing,” Butler said in an ICC news letter. “Yuvraj Singh is a massive danger, especially with some of the short boundaries he can get,” the 27-year-old added. Apart from Yuvraj, the right-arm pacer tipped South African pacer Dale Steyn and Pakistan's Saeed Ajmal as players to watch out for. “With only the top eight teams playing in the tournament, no matter who is in your group it's going to be a tough group which makes for an exciting tournament,” he said. On his team’s prospects, Butler said with the return of some key players like Shane Bond, the Kiwis can put up a decent performance. “I think with the return of a couple of key players and the amount of depth that's building in New Zealand cricket, it makes an especially exciting time for us. It will be good to see how we compete against the other seven teams,” he said. (PTI)

I am dead tired now: Bolt

BERLIN, Aug 23: Sprint king Usain Bolt admitted he is dead tired from his exertions after capturing his third gold medal of Berlin’s World Athletics Championships with Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team.

Bolt’s three medals here have replicated his gold medal hat-trick from last August’s Beijing Olympics and while he has repeated his individual world-record breaking haul he insists he is not in the same shape he was in China.

The 23-year-old shattered his own 100m world record here last Sunday when he picked up his first gold, then set another global mark when he was victorious in the 200m final on Thursday before running Saturday's third leg of the relay.

The Jamaican quartet clocked a championship record of 37.31 seconds while Trinidad and Tobago took silver in a national record of 37.62sec and Great Britain the bronze in 38.02sec.
With team-mate and world 100m bronze medallist Asafa Powell carrying a groin strain, Bolt ran the penultimate relay leg and despite his claims he is jaded still had enough gas to help his team clinch victory.

2010 Hockey World Cup: Hero Honda bags title sponsorship

PTI

New Delhi (PTI): World's largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Honda Motors was on Monday named the title sponsor for the 2010 FIH Men's Hockey World Cup to be held here in March.

The announcement was made at a glittering ceremony here in the presence of International Hockey Federation President Leandro Negre, Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi, Hockey India President A.K. Mattoo and the 1975 World Cup winning members of the Indian team.

Negre said the mega-event would provide eight-time Olympic champions India the perfect platform to revive their past glory.

"The World Cup is the most important event in the game of hockey and we want to showcase before the entire world that the FIH can hold a truly mesmerising and beautiful event," Negre said.

"For global development of hockey, it is important that India should come up and play to its potential. The FIH hopes that hosting the 2010 World Cup will give a tremendous boost to Indian hockey," he said.

"I have been constantly travelling throughout the world and I must say many teams are eagerly waiting to be a part of the World Cup. Some of the teams have already qualified but qualifying tournaments are going on," he added.

Hockey India President Mattoo said 2010 would be a landmark year in the history of Indian hockey for the sheer magnitude of the event to be held in the national capital.

"Hockey India is proud to be associated with FIH in hosting the 12th Men's Hockey World Cup. We have taken the right step towards the revival of the game," Mattoo said on the occasion which also witnessed the unveiling of the gold and silver plated World Cup trophy.

"The year 2010 will be a milestone for Indian hockey because of the World Cup and Commonwealth Games. It's for the second time India has been given the honour to host the hockey World Cup," he added.

The only time India hosted the hockey World Cup was way back in 1982 in Mumbai, where arch-rivals Pakistan emerged as the winners.

Hero Honda Managing Director Pawan Munjal said although hockey went through many ups and downs in the last decade, the national game still continued to be an integral part of India's sporting tradition.

"Despite India being a cricket-frenzy nation, the game of hockey has managed to regain its identity. Hockey is not just a game, it's a very important part of our history and sporting tradition," he said.

"The World Cup will help revitalise the public interest in the game," he added.

Meanwhile, IOA President Kalmadi said the newly-formed Hockey India was determined to form a democratically elected body with men and women federation under one roof before the World Cup, a mandatory clause put forth by the FIH.

"We are duty bound to bring up the standard of hockey in India. We have a difficult task at hand to merge men and women's hockey at the state level but it is a challenge and we are certain to hold elections within the stipulated six month's time," Kalmadi said.

PTI

National hockey put off

Pune:

Pune: Blame it on H1N1 virus. The jinxed national hockey championship will be a non-starter. The championship, scheduled to be held here from September 13 to 27, has been postponed due to swine flu. The postponement comes days after the Hockey India shifted the national camp to Bangalore from Pune.

Soruce:http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_national-hockey-put-off_1283823

India To Face Lebanon In Nehru Cup Opener

India To Face Lebanon In Nehru Cup Opener

The (All India Football Federation)AIFF decided to make the Nehru Cup a five team tournament after Thailand was sending a junior side while their replacement Palestine was going to send a club side.

So now the competition will be played on a league format with the top two teams facing off in the final.

All the Fixtures :

Match No 1 : Wednesday :19.08.09 :India Vs Lebanon :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 2 : Thursday :20.08.09 :Kyrygstan Vs Syria : Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 3 : Friday :21.08.09 Srilanka Vs Lebanon :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 4 : Saturday :22.08.09 :India Vs Kyrygstan :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 5 : Sunday : 23.08.09 :Syria Vs Sri Lanka:Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 6 : Monday :24.08.09 :Kyrygystan Vs Lebanon :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 7 : Tuesday :25.08.09 :India Vs Sri Lanka :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 8 : Wednesday :26.08.09 :Syria Vs Lebanon :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 9 : Thursday : 27.08.09 : Sri Lanka Vs Kyrygstan :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 10 : Friday :28.08.09 :India Vs Syria :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Match No 11 : Monday :31.08.09 : Final :Kick off at 6.30 PM

Speaking to the media at AIFF Football House on Friday, India’s coach Bob Houghton said that Syria start favorites based on their FIFA Ranking but all other teams will be competitive in the tournament.

The Englishman feels that it will be interesting to see how India play against Syria and Kyrygzstan who were also part of the competition in 2007. Sri Lanka who did well in the 2007 SAFF Cup will also prove to be a test for the Indians, according to the former China and Uzbekistan coach.

He said “Our preparation has been excellent with the training tours abroad. We brought the players to a good level of fitness in Dubai.

“We also conducted training sessions in Barcelona where we played four practice games which helped to raise the confidence level of the team as we did not lose any game.”

When asked about Sunil Chhetri’s fitness he said “We have to wait a little longer to decide about Sunil .He will not play if we have doubts about his fitness.

“Samir Naik and Sushil are recovering quickly from their injuries and are back in training.

“Subhash Singh is a good player who did well last season in the I-league.”

Houghton also said that BCCI’s 25 crore grant to the AIFF for the 2011 Asian Cup will help the senior team to prepare for that tournament by organizing more camps and matches.

AIFF General Secretary Alberto Colaco furher added “ We are happy that BCCI has responded positively .The modalities and exact form of execution will be worked out after discussions.”

Goal.com India

AIFF to get Rs. 25 crore in two instalments

AIFF to get Rs. 25

Mumbai: In a far reaching decision that would encourage other sports federations to knock at the door of BCCI for financial assistance, the BCCI Working Committee here on Thursday decided to grant Rs. 25 crore to the All India Football Federation (AIFF).

The money will be paid in two instalments of Rs. 12.50 crore over a period of two years.

Praful Patel, Union Civil Aviation Minister and acting President, AIFF had petitioned the BCCI for a specific sum to be used for development purposes and the BCCI Finance Committee at its meeting recommended in favour of making the grant.

The BCCI has already contributed Rs. 50 crore to the National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) corpus of Rs. 80 crore to help Indian athletes win medals at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi next year. The Ministry of Sports has contributed the remaining Rs. 30 crore to the fund.

One-off decision


Though the BCCI has taken a one-off decision to support football, it’s unlikely to withdraw support to other sports. It has in the recent past sponsored Karan Rastogi, Aditya Jagtap, J. Agnishwar, Anand Pawar and Surabhi Tipre.

The BCCI also rewarded Abhinav Bindra (Rs. 25 lakh) for winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympic Games. Vijender Singh (Boxing) and Sushil Kumar (wrestling) too received Rs. 10 lakh each for winning the bronze medals at Beijing.

“The BCCI will continue to support individual sportspersons, but purely on individual merit,” said Ratnakar Shetty, Chief Administrative Officer, BCCI.

AIFF pleased


The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Thursday thanked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for granting Rs 25 crore for the development of football in the country.

“This grant will help in the development and promotion of the game in our country. For long, India has been a great cricketing nation and I am sure it will be known as a great footballing nation in the future,” AIFF acting president Praful Patel said in a statement in New Delhi.

To monitor programme


“AIFF will closely monitor the development programme and hopes to see the revival of football in India as the country will participate in the Asian football championship after a gap of 24 years,” Mr. Patel said. — Special Correspondent

The Hindu

FIFA wants to promote football in India's villages

World soccer body FIFA

New Delhi (IANS): World soccer body FIFA has shown interest in developing the game in India's villages.

India's sports minister M.S. Gill during his meeting with FIFA president Sepp Blatter in Zurich, on Wednesday, discuses a road map for the development of Indian football.

Mr. Gill requested Mr. Blatter to give some FIFA assistance to the government-sponsored Panchayat Yuva Krira aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) to develop the game at the grassroots level in India.

All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary-general Alberto Colaco, who was also present in the meeting, said: "Gill requested Blatter if FIFA could help to develop the sport through PYKKA. The sports minister said that through this programme football can be promoted in areas where the game is very popular."

Mr. Colaco also said that Blatter was impressed with the idea and asked the sports ministry and the AIFF to send a proposal for the programme.

"The AIFF will prepare a proposal for the programme in association with the sports ministry and then FIFA officials will come here to finalise the plan," he said.

Since his maiden visit in 2007, Mr. Blatter has taken special interest in India and has launched the 'Win in India With India' project plan to develop the club level football in the country. The Vision India programme is also a part of FIFA's GOAL project.

Soruce:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/007200908141751.htm

Indian football should learn from cricket: Bhutia

India's run

India's run-up to the Nehru Cup this year has not been the smoothest. In an exclusive interview to NDTV, India football captain Bhaichung Bhutia talked about the injury worries and more importantly infrastructural worries that have hit him in the recent times. Here are some excerpts of the interview...

Do you think sports persons in India just need to be able to deal with infrastructural odds because there will always be some?

I guess so. While playing football for the last 17 years I have experienced lot of difficulties. It's also frustrating to see, in terms of sports in India but I guess you have to deal with it and just try and make your points, and try and see that the government or anybody involved with sports make sure that the infrastucture and development programmes are done sriously, so atleast kids get the oppurtunity to play any sport they want to. Infrastructure is big time lacking. So it's frustrating but you get used to it and any oppurtunity you get you try and get your voice heard and hope that someday somewhere somebody will listen.

You've said that the BCCI giving 25 crores to the AIFF is a good thing, but in some ways would you also say that it is a huge warning as well that there's a complete dearth of sponsors in Indian football?

It is a worrying sign. The game itself has to be marketable for the sponsors. I don't think any corporates will come and do charitable work with any sport. They would want to do something that gives them returns. We can learn from cricket which is a marketable sport. It can take time, but I hope that one day football can be a marketable thing for corporates to come in, and BCCI giving 25 crores is a positive sign because the Indian team has qualified for the Asia Cup for the first time in 25 years, so it'a big step for football and any financial angle coming can only benefit the federationn in terms of building infrastucture as well as preparing the team for 2011.

There's still no resolution is sight as far as your dispute with Mohun Bagan is concerned. Do you think that in some ways you are being victimised because of your star status?

It's very frustrating for me to miss one exhibition match and a club like Mohun Bagan takes a decision 6 month suspension without pay. I can't understand the decision they take just because I missed one friendly match and that too after the season got over. It's even more frustrating that it takes even longer for a decision to be taken and the matter to be solved. It's been 2 months and I am yet to hear from the federation. I think the federation has to be stronger, take decisions faster. This means that players lose out on 2 to 3 months of football and salaries while the decision is being taken.

Nehru cup kicks-off from August 19. What is your message for all the Indian football fans out there?

I can only expect fans in Delhi to come out and support us the way they have been doing. I hope they come in large numbers. As a player and captain of the Indian national team I can tell you that we have had a great preparation and will do our best on the ground. We want to win this championship. It's going to be difficult but I can guarantee on behalf of the team and the players that we will be giving a 110%. We just need all the fans to come and support us on the ground.

Do you follow the EPL? Which is your favourite team?

I do follow English Premier League. I don't watch it very closely, but I do watch and I like watching Arsenal.

Source;http://cricket.ndtv.com/cricket/ndtvcricket/storypage.aspx?id=SPOEN20090105718

India play first tie on Sept. 11

Colombo:

Colombo: India will play back-to-back matches against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in next month’s tri-series here after the organisers rescheduled the tournament following a request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

According to the new schedule, India’s first match against New Zealand has been pushed back by a day from the earlier scheduled September 10. India will play its second match the next day, against the hosts, on September 12.

Soruce;http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090820/jsp/sports/story_11385036.jsp