Sportstar , the premier sports weekly from The Hindu Group of Publications, was re-launched in the form of a magazine here on Wednesday. Former India cricket captain Kapil Dev released the magazine’s bumper issue on London Olympics and handed over the first copy of the new avatar of Sportstar to spin legend Bishan Singh Bedi in the presence of a galaxy of sports personalities.
Eminent sportspersons like Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, Dinesh Khanna, Madan Lal, Indu Puri, Jaspal Rana, Khajan Singh, Surender Khanna, Sunil Valson, Saba Karim and K. P. Bhaskar graced the occasion.
The magazine, launched in 1978 as The Sportstar , underwent a few changes in its format before reverting to its most popular shape now. Bedi expressed his delight saying, “ Sportstar has come back to where it belonged. Subah ka bhula sham ko ghar aajaye to usse bhula nahin kehte! (It’s good that it has come on the right track). I am happy it has come back to the magazine form. Now we can keep it.”
Known for his wit, Bedi drew a comparison of the same Hindi proverb to greet Kapil on his return to the fold of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “Congratulations to The Hindu Group…I am very happy for Sportstar and Kapil Dev,” he said amid applause from the gathering.
Welcoming the change, Kapil said he had grown up reading a few magazines including Sportstar.
“Reading is reading. Writing has the biggest power in sports. I congratulate the entire Hindu Group. The magazine has come back to where it belonged,” he said.
“Today the electronic media has spread widely. But in 30 seconds of news you cannot know much. One can know full details about a story in a magazine. It is a delight to see Sportstar come back as a magazine,” said Kapil. The Captain of the 1983 World Cup winning team shared a personal experience related to the magazine. “A week ago my daughter was going through the cuttings (from the magazine) kept by my wife. She was surprised to see that such a magazine existed during that time and asked, “Why is it not happening today?”
