नव वर्ष की शुभकामनाएँ

Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody's ever made before. Don't freeze, don't stop, don't worry that it isn't good enough, or it isn't perfect, whatever it is: art, or love, or work or family or life.

Whatever it is you're scared of doing, Do it.

Arjun J Chaudhuri with Sports Economics students at Salwan Marathon Race

Students Presentation On 24th December at 11 a.m.

Dear students
As earlier informed your final presentation will be on 24th December 2013 at 11 a.m. As you know your presentation, your classroom attendance ,your field attachments and your original postings (not cut and paste)on blog will be calculated to assess your marks.
Do inform me your final  presentation title.

Dr Suresh Kumar Lau on Sports Nutritions and Dr Atish Parashar on New Media Advertising

photo journalist Shivani Pandey and Historian Dr Asad Ahmed interacting with SEM & WJ students

Arjun J Chaudhuri on Sports Ethics

9th Edition of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

9th Edition of Airtel Delhi Half Marathon

Ethiopian Tsegay wins ADHM with new course record; Florence is women’s champion Lakshmanan, Preeja emerge Indian champs

 New Delhi, December 15, 2013:  Ethiopian Atsedu Tsegay demolished a highly competitive men’s elite athlete field and also set a new Course Record to win the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon on Sunday.

 Tsegay stopped the clock at 59.12 minutes to lower by 3 seconds the course record of 59.15, set by countryman Deriba Merga in 2008. He was followed home by Kenyans Geoffrey Kipsang in 59.30 and Wilson Kiprop (59.49). Kipsang, the fastest athlete of 2013 (58.54) was coping with the loss of his 17-year-old brother Elais, who passed away on Friday and did wonderfully to overcome his grief and run a brave race, but was thwarted in his bid to win the race as a tribute to his brother by a strong running Tsegay.

 The women’s race, also chasing a course record, failed in its bid due to a slow start, but picked up in the later stages and was won by Kenyan Florence Kiplagat in 68 minutes. Florence, the 2013 Berlin Marathon winner, led a Kenyan clean sweep, with Gladys Cherono finishing second in 68.03 and Lucy Kabuu taking third place in 68.10. The men’s and women’s winners were richer by USD 25,000.

 The Indian category was won by G Lakshmanan and Preeja Sreedharan among the men and women respectively. Lakshmanan, representing the Army, finished in 64.44, followed home by Kheta Ram in 64.49 and Ratti Ram Saini in 64.51. Lakshmanan, finished 15th overall, with Kheta Ram (16th) and Ratti Ram (17th).

 Preeja, who has been training at high altitude in Munnar, Kerala, clocked 80.04, followed home by Kavita Raut (80.06) and Lalita Babbar (80.09). The winners took home Rs 2. 5 lakhs each.

 A total of 31,000 plus runners participated in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon 2103, which offered total prize money of USD 210,000.

 The men’s race  began at a fast clip and was taken through the first 12 kms below the course record pace of 2.48 mins per km by pacers Vincent Rono and Timothy Kiptoo. After the pacemakers dropped out around the 12km mark, the pace fell a bit as the leaders assessed each other, before Atsedu took control of the race. The lead bunch of Atsedu, Kipsang, Kiprop and Kipkemoi were still running strongly and together, before Atsedu ran the 16th km in 2.45 to open up the lead. Both Kipsang and Kiprop pushed hard to keep up with Atsedu till the 18th km, who kept his foot on the pedal and gradually pulled away to win convincingly. Defending champion Edwin Kipyego finished a disappointing eighth.

 Atsedu, the fastest athlete of 2012, had a poor run at this event last year, finishing 20th and suffering an ankle injury, that kept him out of competition for nearly a year. On Sunday he proved that he is back to his top form.

 “I am happy to win the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon as I did not run for nearly a year because of an ankle injury. This is only my second race post the injury and am happy with my performance. I paced till 12 km and at 15 km I realized that I have a huge lead and will win the event. The climate was extremely cold so initially it was a little difficult to adjust to the conditions,” said Tsegay.

 “This was a tough time for me, as I lost my younger brother two days ago. I was heartbroken, but I decided to stay and compete. I am happy with my performance and I would like to dedicate this race to my younger. While running, I only kept telling myself that I need to run and finish this race for my brother, “said Geoffrey Kipsang.

The elite women had a slow start as they did not keep pace with pacer Alice Kimutai, but picked up the speed and went through the 5km mark at 17.10, much behind course record pace. The next 5 kms were faster and the 10km mark was passed through in 33.17, at which point pacer Kimutai dropped out. It was a bunch of 6 women that went into the lead, among them Lucy Kabuu, Florence Kiplagat, Meseret Hailu, Gladys Cherono and Wude Ayalew. Florence further pushed the pace to take the group through 15km in 49.12 before Meseret dropped back at the 16km mark. The next three kms were run at a fast pace at an average of 3 mins per km and by the 18km mark Florence had opened up a lead of around 100m. Kabuu flagged a bit at this juncture but Gladys kept running powerfully to whittle down the lead, however, she could not catch up with a fast finishing Florence.

Indian men’s winner G Lakshmanan was content to remain behind leader V L Dangi for a major part of the race, before breaking away in the last two kms to win.

It’s a good feeling to win, especially since I do not really prepare for long distance event. I only prepare for 5 km, 10 km and Asian track events. The weather conditions here were similar to our training camp in Bangalore and that really helped me. I had not expected to win with such good timing and I finished almost two minutes faster than the time I had set in mind,” said Lakshmanan.

The Indian women’s race was a very slow one, with the leading athletes content to bid their time. Preeja broke away in the last km to lead a sprint finish ahead of Kavita.

“I am very excited and happy to win the Airtel Delhi Half marathon. This is the first time I am participating in this event and the conditions here were the same as our camp in Munnar. I think, that was an advantage for me,” said Preeja.

As usual the race witnessed the participation of a large number of enthusiasts and celebrities, among them Anil Ambani, N Chandrasekharan (CEO & MD, TCS), and Rahul Bose. A host of dignitaries including event ambassador Donovan Bailey, besides Bipasha Basu, Gulshan Grover, Rakesh Mittal (Vice Chiarman and MD, Bharti Enterprises Ltd.), Ajay Puri (Director Market Operations, Bharti Airtel), were present to cheer on the participants. 

 Following are the results:

Overall  Athlete Men

Atsedu Tsegay (ETH) 00:59:12 (NCR); Geoffrey Kipsang (KEN) 00:59:30;Wilson Kiprop (KEN) 00:59:49; Kenneth Kipkemoi (KEN) 00:59:55; Nicholas Kipkemboi (KEN) 01:00:24; Philemon Rono (KEN) 01:01:07; Gladwin Mzazi (RSA) 01.:01:12; Edwin Kipyego (KEN) 01:01:21; Leonard Korir (KEN) 01:01:25; Richard Mengich (KEN) 01:01:27.

Overall  Athlete Women:

Florence Kiplagat (KEN) 01:08:00; Gladys Cherono (KEN) 01:08:03; Lucy Kabuu (KEN) 01:08:10; Meseret Hailu (ETH) 01:09:05; Wude Ayalew (ETH) 01:09:21; Emily Chebet (KEN) 01:09:22; Alice Kimutai (KEN) 01:10:09; Yebrgual Melese (ETH) 01:11:59; Lineth Chepkurui (KEN) 01:12:01; Paskalia Kipkoech (KEN) 01:12:02.

Overall Indian Athlete Men:

G Laxmanan (IND) 01:04:44 (Overall 15th); Kheta Ram (IND) 01:04:49 (Overall 16th); Rattiram Saini (IND) 01:04:51 (Overall 17th); V L Dangi (IND) 01:04:53 (Overall 18th); Indrajeet Patel (IND) 01:06:04 (Overall 19th); Rahul Kumar Pal (IND) 01:06:17 (Overall 20th); Mukesh Rawat (IND) 01:06:39; Baliappa A B (IND) 01:06:47; Rajesh Thankachan (IND) 01:08:34; Ajay Kumar Patel (IND) 01:09:45.

Overall Indian Athlete Women:

Preeja Sreedharan (IND) 01:20:04 (Overall 15th); Kavita Raut (IND) 01:20:06 (Overall 16th); Lalita Babbar (IND) 01:20:09 (Overall 17th); Sudha Singh (IND) 01:20:20 (Overall 18th); Ritu Pal (IND) 01:20:44 (Overall 19th); Manisha Salunkhe (IND) 01:20:57 (Overall 20th); Swati Gadhwe (IND) 01:21:09; Rohini Raut (IND) 01:21:55; Ranjana Kumari (IND) 01:27:01; Neetu (IND) 01:29:39.

Men: (35 to u-40 yrs)

Basant Pradhan 01:22:27; Mogon Kherkatary 01:22:30; Rabindra Sirka 01:22:30.

Women: (35 to u-40 yrs)

Jayanti Thapliyal 01:36:24; Lalita Madhwal 01:38:44; Shobha Desai 01:39:07.

Men: (40 to u-45 yrs)   

Dan Lowson  (UK) 01:14:28; Raman Nanda 01:20:22; Bhupender Singh 01:21:21.

Women: (40 to u-45 yrs)   

Aurea Muller Dias 01:39:40; Vaishali Kasture 01:43:36; Shubha Bhargava 01:46:26.  

Men: (45 to u-50 yrs)   

Dinesh Kumar 01:22:32; Shiva Nanda Shetty 01:23:25; Mukesh Rana 01:24:45.

Women: (45 to u-50 yrs)   

Roshini Bakshi 01:57:56; Meena Vankawala 01:59:43; Kiran Chulani 01:59:43.

Men: (50 to u-55 yrs) 

Gary Hester (SWE) 01:18:41; Ashok Nath 01:24:26; Naresh Chand 01:34:59.

Women: (50 to u-55 yrs) 

Asha Aggarwal 01:54:02; Young Yub Kim 02:00:53; Yukiko Yamamoto 02:02:56.

Men: (55 to u-60 yrs) 

Sabhajeet Yadav 01:28:16; Ramdev Yadav 01:39:08; Ajaib Singh 01:39:46.

Men: (60 to u-65 yrs) 

Bhasker Desai 01:40:45; Ashok Joshi 01:40:49; Subhash Chand Khatri 01:44:30.

Women: (60 to u-65 yrs) 

Mala Honnatti 02:06:10

Men: (65 years and above) 

Yudhavir Singh 01:51:06; Virendra Singh Rawat 01:53:22; Mahadev Samjiskar 01:59:38.

 DHL Corporate Challenge Winners:

1st CASV GROUP INDIA PVT. LTD.-05:06:19.

2nd   FREE SCALE SEMICONDUCTOR INDIA PVT. LTD. A-05:30:16.

3rd GENEX LOGISOLUTIONS PVT. LTD.-05:33:41. 

Kingfisher Ishtyle Wale Winner:

1st  Queen Mosquito-Amarjeet R Bains ( Individual)

2nd  Inflation-Pooja Malhotra (Individual)

3rd  Prakurti-Tamanna Oberoi-(Individual)

 Kingfisher Sensation Squad Winner: 

1st  Nirbhaya Damini-The Sovereign School

2nd  Child Labour-Maharaj Darshandas Charitable Trust.

India win Women's Kabaddi World Cup

India clinched the women's Kabaddi World Cup championship for the third time in a row, defeating debutant New Zealand 49-21 in the summit clash played at Guru Gobind Singh sports complex on Thursday.

The Indian eves led their New Zealand counterparts for most part of the match and held out a strong challenge by the visitors in the second half, on course to a resounding win.

The Indian team took home a first-place prize of Rs one crore.

Anu Rani was adjudged the best stopper while Ram Bateri was declared the best raider. Both received a Maruti Alto car each.

Australia beat France 2-0; leads the points tally with 9points

FIH JUNIOR HOCKEY WORLD CUP MEN 2013

 New Delhi, 9 December 2013: Both teams were already through to the
quarter-finals after winning their initial two matches and were
playing for top of the pool and a better draw later in the
competition. The mood was light and action was flowing back and forth
pleasantly in the initial minutes of play. Teams traded early
penalty-corners but with no real danger for the keepers.
William Gilmour had a chance for Australia alone in front of Edgar
Reynaud in the French goal but blasted his shot wide. Simon Martin
Brisac created a good chance with a quick free-hit and a 40m run
through the Australian defense but his last pass in front of the empty
net was misunderstood by his teammate. Despite missing key midfielder
Hugo Genestet, France were holding their ground handsomely in front of
the Oceania Champions.

 Goal-keeper Edgar Reynaud was again in fine form and thwarted some hot
Australian attempts. The Kookaburras put some of their best chances
high and wide and the two teams were still on par 0-0 going into the
break.
Australia did not waste time in second period and jumped into the lead
by Frank Main in the 37th minute. France had a good reaction but could
not penetrate the dense Australian defense. Play was entertaining,
very intense and physical at times. Australia took advantage of a
numerical advantage to force a corner and Cameron Joyce capitalized
with a straight forward low shot, giving his team a small 2-goal
cushion.
With time passing and little chance of altering the final result, both
teams gave field time to their alternate goal-keepers and Australia
walked off with the win and top of Pool B, while France were satisfied
with their performance against a higher ranked team and their
qualification for the quarter-final for the first time since 1985.

Speaking on the win Australia Coach Paul Gaudoin said," I believe the
good performance of team is primarily depends upon the skill
execution. We have young squad of players and they are focusing on
following a simple strategy of gaining and passing the ball quickly.
Our team has done lot of improvements in past few days which can be
seen in their game. All the teams playing in the league are good and
cannot be taken lightly."

Published by: KANISHKA SALWAN
Course: Sports Economics and Marketing

India to bid for 2015 and 2016 Club World Cups: AIFF

The Club World Cup happens annually and has a prize purse of 20 million USD with the winner taking home 5 million USD . It is played with seven continental champions and the hosts are the 8th nation. But getting hosting rights for FIFA events aren't easy.

After the Under-17 World Cup, India might get to host yet another prestigious FIFA tournament, the Club World Cup in 2015. The only stumbling block is the guarantee money.

The Corinthians from Brazil, who beat Premiership side Chelsea in the final of the FIFA Club World Club last year, is a spectacle Indian football fans can expect to witness as the tournament is likely to hit the Indian shores in 2015. 

All India Football Federation president Praful Patel said in a press conference, "Officially we have put in a request to host the Club World Cup in 2015. That will mark a paradigm shift in the way football is looked at in India. Official communication has been made. Expect to know the outcome by the middle of next year."

Despite the ongoing tussle of the I-league clubs with the AIFF, they will say a big thank you to the Federation if the tournament comes in 2015. As hosts, the winner of that year's I-league will get a direct entry into the competition, which would mean a huge exposure for Indian football.

The Club World Cup happens annually and has a prize purse of 20 million USD with the winner taking home 5 million USD. It is played with seven continental champions and the hosts are the 8th nation. But getting hosting rights for FIFA events aren't easy.

Unlike the 24-nation Under-17 FIFA World Cup which will need at least six stadiums, the Club World Championships will require only a couple of venues as only eight matches will be played on knock-out basis among seven teams.

Since its inception in 2000, Japan has hosted the Club World Championship six times including the last edition. United Arab Emirates have hosted twice (2009 and 2010) after Brazil hosted the inaugural edition.

Under the current format, the host nation's champion team takes on the Oceania champions in a play-off. The winner joins the champions of Asia, Africa and North America at the quarter-finals. The quarter-final winners go on to face the European and South American champions, who enter at the semi-final stage.

Talking about the Under-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017, Patel said getting the prestigious tournament was a tough task.

"It has not been an easy task to get the hosting rights. Right from getting assurances and guarantees from the Central and state governments, it has been a tough job. These assurances and guarantees were absolute and non-negotiable," he said.

"The real challenge starts now and we have to develop the infrastructure to world standards to host the Under-17 World Cup successfully. I would say that getting the hosting rights was easier but hosting it successfully would be tougher," he added.

Asked about the possible window for the Under-17 World Cup, Patel said, "FIFA has not told us about that. No doubt we will also give suggestions but FIFA will decide when to hold the tournament in 2017.

"But it will have to be not in summer months and take into account the monsoon rains also. So probably it may be after October," he added.

He said all the six stadiums which will host the matches will have to be of FIFA standards and all of them will require natural grass turf.

"FIFA is very strict about playing conditions and our stadiums will have to be of FIFA standards. Moreover, all the stadiums will need to have natural grass turfs," he said.

"The eight stadiums we have shortlisted, out of which six will be selected, are not final. Those stadiums which do not fulfil FIFA criteria and do not have natural grass turf will be dropped," he added. 

Out of the eight stadiums shortlisted by the AIFF, three -- Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata, KSFA Stadium in Bangalore and Cooperage in Mumbai have artificial turfs and Patel indicated that these venues will have to switch to natural grass turf of they have to host the matches.

The other five -- Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here and Margao, Balewadi Stadium in Pune, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi and Guwahati -- have natural grass turf but all of them will require sprucing up come up to FIFA standards to host the matches.

Surprisingly, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, which fulfils maximum number of FIFA criteria, was not included in shortlist.

Patel also said India will have to put up a reasonable performance event and a blueprint will be chalked out to select the players.

"We are yet to chalk out the details. But we will form a committed team to pick players so that India put up a respectable performance. Only then the world will begin to notice us as a footballing nation," he said.

"We will scout the talent from every source possible. We have our own academies and if required we may convert one academy to exclusively train the players for the Under-17 World Cup. We will send the selected players to various countries to play friendly matches before the actual tournament," he added.

Players who are born on or after January 1, 2000 will be eligible to play in the Under-17 World Cup.

(Report Courtesy NDTV)

Mumbai Marathon prize money raised by $10,000

Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2014 will be held on January 19. The prize money for the event has been raised by $10,000 to $3,60,000.

Top Indian male and female finishers will get Rs 5 lakh each, the organisers said in a statement on Wednesday.

The event will have over 39,500 participants. The full marathon event has received 3,600 entries, while the Half Marathon has an unprecedented 14,200 entries, the release said.

The Senior Citizens' Run will have 1,360 participants, while the Champions with Disability Event would have 200 participants. Besides, 20,150 people have registered for Dream Run section, it added.

(Report courtesy Times of India)

AIRTEL DELHI HALF MARATHON

2014 WORLD CUP GROUP STAGE DRAW

INDIA TO HOST 2017 U-17 WORLD CUP

It’s official -- India will host the 2017 U-17 World Cup! The decision was taken at the FIFA Executive Committee Meeting which was held on December 4 and 5, 2013 at Sauipe Fun Hotel, Salvador de Bahia, Brasil.

“This is historic. This is what we have been waiting for. I need to thank the FIFA Executive Committee for keeping their trust on us and granting India the rights to host the 2017 U-17 World Cup,” Mr. Paful Patel, President, All India Football Federation, told www.the-aiff.com. “I am also grateful to the Government of India for their support and giving us the necessary guarantees which made it possible for India to bid for the 2017 World Cup.”

“Hosting a Tournament of such a stature will also help galvanise the face of Indian Football among the masses and youth of the Country. At the moment, Football is popular in certain pockets in India. With the U-17 World Cup taking place, I strongly believe that the popularity will swell overnight and the mission of making Football a pan-India sport will be realised,” Mr. Patel stated.

“I cannot sum it up in words what this means to Indian Football,” an elated All India Football Federation General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das said.

“The entire Country has been waiting with bated breath for the final decision to be taken. I would like to thank our President Mr. Praful Patel for bringing the U-17 World Cup to India. Without him we wouldn’t have got the clearances from the Government of India and the hosting rights. I’m extremely grateful to FIFA for their support and encouragement,” Mr. Das added.

The Tournament in which 24 Teams would be taking part will be held in six venues which are to be selected from eight prospective venues -- New Delhi, Goa, Bangalore, Pune, Mumbai, Kolkata, Kochi and Guwahati.

The FIFA U-17 World Cup kicked-off in 1985, the first edition being hosted by China. It began as a Competition for Players under the age of 16 with the age limit raised to 17 from 1991 onwards.

The last edition of the Tournament was hosted by the United Arab Emirates which was eventually won by Nigeria U-17 when they defeated Mexico U-17, 3-0 in the Final. The next edition is slated to be hosted in 2015 in Chile.

Since its inception in China, 2002 FIFA World Cup hosts Japan, and South Korea and United Arab Emirates are the other three Asian Countries to have hosted the U-17 World Cup so far. However, Saudi Arabia are the only Asian Country to have won it, back in 1989.

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)

IPL SALARY CAP FIXED AT RS 60 CRORE FOR 2014

According to reports, the Governing Council of the IPL has decided to put an upper limit on the total salary of the players for the 2014 season. A salary cap of Rs 60 crores has been projected to be imposed on each franchise. For 2013 the limit was 12.5 million dollars (Approx Rs 77 crores).

Considering the present economic conditions, all payments will be in Indian rupee. This means that foreign players who were earlier paid in dollars will be paid in Indian currency only. The salary cap is expected to rise by 5% every year.

In professional sports, a salary cap or wage cap is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a sporting club can spend on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Several sports leagues have implemented salary caps, both as a method of keeping overall costs down, and to ensure parity between wealthy and not so wealthy teams as they cannot entrench dominance by signing many more top players than their rivals. Salary caps can be a major issue in negotiations between league management and players' unions.

(Photo courtesy www.ibtimes.co.in)

India officially submits bid to host FIFA U-17 World Cup

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) can confirm that India has submitted its bid to host the prestigious 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

“We are happy that we could submit all the necessary bid documents before the deadline,” AIFF General Secretary Mr. Kushal Das told www.the-aiff.com

“I am grateful to our President Mr. (Praful) Patel for the initiative taken in following up with the Government in terms of the guarantees required, and ensuring the all the guarantees were ready and could be submitted in time,” added Mr. Das.

Airtel I-League CEO Mr.Sunando Dhar submitted the bid documents to FIFA’s Director of Competitions Division Mr. Mustapha Fahmy at the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich on Tuesday (November 12, 2013).

“I was at Zurich to submit our bid documents for hosting the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2017. The bid will be taken up in the FIFA Executive Committee meeting on December 3,” Mr. Dhar confirmed.

“FIFA was very happy to receive the guarantees from the Government and the official bid from AIFF. We are eagerly waiting for the final verdict now,” he added.

Other nations competing for the bid include Uzbekistan, Ireland and the 2010 World Cup host South Africa.

(Report & Photo courtesy AIFF Media)