Union Sports Minister and Olympic silver medallist Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore sought more positive energy, even if it means “using the negativity to fuel the positivity”, to power Indian sports to greater heights.
At the relaunch of the Sportstar magazine as a fortnightly, at the Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Friday, he said sportspersons and the sports media had the “best quality of life’’ and said it was “passion for sports” that bound them together in the passage of growth.
In attendance were Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu, her coach and former All England champion P. Gopi Chand, former India cricket captain Bishan Singh Bedi, who said he was an avid reader of the magazine, hockey great Zafar Iqbal, and as Rathore said, “a galaxy of sportspersons in the hall”.
The Co-Chairperson of The Hindu Group of Publications, Ms. Malini Parthasarathy, looked back at the history of the magazine and its contribution while presenting its new sleek look, with its “detailed and colourful narration of sport”.
“I congratulate Sportstar . I was extremely happy to see myself on the first page,” said Sindhu as she admired the contribution of the Sportstar and The Hindu in pushing Indian sports to a high level.
Bishan Singh Bedi, P.V. Sindhu, P. Gopi Chand and Zafar Iqbal receive mounted Sportstar covers as mementos.
Gopi Chand said it was very important for a young player to be noticed by the media, and recalled calling home after winning the All England title to find whether his photograph had been published.
Popular magazine
Even as the legends of Indian sport recalled the inspiration they felt in seeing their names and photographs published during their formative years and later when they won laurels on the big stages, Ms. Malini Parthasarathy recalled the rich history of the magazine which was first launched on September 10, 1947 as Sport and Pastime .
“It was extremely popular with excellent action photography and in-depth analysis of international, national and local sports,” she said.
The original magazine stopped publication in 1968 and was reborn in 1978; went into tabloid form before regaining its original size.
“Today we bring you a refreshed and reinvigorated product, that will retain the highest quality of sports journalism,” she assured.
Stressing that sports was always top priority, she reiterated, The Hindu Group was passionate and deeply committed to the promotion of India as a sporting nation.
“It will enable Sportstar to become a platform for bold dreams and ideas to be unveiled for the nurturing of excellence in each sport,” she said.
The positivity of sports journalism, “less combative or confrontational” as compared to political and social journalism was highlighted by the former Editor of the newspaper, to drive home the point that there were “fewer villains in sports journalism and more heroes than in other areas of journalism!”
The collaboration with various stakeholders has helped the media build “excellence in sport and take India forward as a leading sporting nation,” she concluded, congratulating the stars on the stage, for “breaking the barriers” and doing the country proud.
On his part Bedi said there should be more substance to cricket reporting than mere statistics.
Bedi congratulated Sindhu for her memorable wins, despite consistently facing world class opposition, and said cricket captain Virat Kohli would now face top class opponents starting with South Africa.
Focus on youngsters
Sportstar Editor Ayon Sen Gupta said the concerted efforts of the magazine would be “to focus on youngsters, their sporting goals” and help the country in “producing more champions”.
Giant-size prints of iconic covers helped everyone revive memories, and some of the stars were presented mounted photographs of the covers, as a token of appreciation.
Ayon Sen Gupta, The Hindu’s Sports Editor K.C. Vijayakumar and cricket correspondent Vijay Lokapally interacted with the sportspersons in making it a memorable afternoon for everyone.
