Listen to The Hindu's Sports Editor Nirmal Shekar speak to our Sports-Writer Arun Venugopal about India's tour of England and the Commonweath Games. Reach out to us @thehindusports and #SaturdaysWithShekar. Editing: Lavanya Prabhakaran
Arun Venugopal: Welcome to Episode 4 of Saturdays with Shekar. This is Arun Venugopal saying Hello and with me, as always, is Nirmal Shekar, The Hindu Sports Editor. Pleasure having you here, Shekar.
Nirmal Shekar: Pleasure being here.
AV: There’s been plenty happening in the world of sport over the last couple of weeks and as a result, we have quite a number of topics to munch on in today’s show. Let’s begin with the Commonwealth Games first. Last night, Sanjita Khumukcham Chanu and Mirabai Saikhom Chanu, both from Manipur, won gold and silver in the 48kg category while Sushila Likmabam bagged a silver in the womens judo 48kg category. C’mon guys, I deserve some applause for getting the pronunciation right! But apart from the obvious elation that many Indians felt at these wins, I had a personal triumph to savour. I had made a bet with Shekar just last evening that India’s first medals would come from the state of Manipur. There is something about Manipuri women and a hatful of medals, Shekar; Mary Kom, Sanjita Chanu and now Mirabai Chanu.
NS: First of all, congratulations on getting it right. I was pretty sure myself that it was going to come from the Northeast, if not exactly from Manipur. I’ve always said this in several of my columns over the last several years that we have to look Northeast, as a sporting nation. Northeast is a place with tremendous potential, not only with weightlifting but also with many other sports.
AV: Very true Shekar. Also making the headlines yesterday was a tweet from Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra. The star shooter has said this is going to be his last Commonwealth Games. Your thoughts on him, Shekar?
NS: He will always be remembered for being India’s first individual gold medal winner at the Olympics. He is a great sportsman, a great ambassador for Indian sport overseas and he’s done his best for India in shooting. I think that if he has taken a decision that this is going to be his last Commonwealth Games, it’s perfectly right by him and we should accept that.
AV: Now India had an impressive medals tally last time around. Where do you think the medals are going to come from this time Shekar? Who do you reckon will do well?
NS: I think the medals will pretty much come from the sports in which India won medals last time, like weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, Sindhu and others in badminton. These are the sports in which India can expect to do well in the Commonwealth Games. However, when you have a tally of 100 plus medals in your home Games (Commonwealth Games Delhi), it gives rise to unreasonable expectations. Also, there is no archery in these Games and the number of medals in wrestling has actually shrunk, so we can’t expect that kind of a tally this time. Still, I think India will do reasonably well this time as well.
AV: So far so good at least as far as the controversies are concerned. Do you think it will stay that way for the duration of the competition?
NS: I don’t see too many controversies cropping up at these games. They have been well organised. It’s too early to say, though, considering that it is just the second day of the Games; third if you count the opening of the Games, so we have some way to go. But I think this Commonwealth Games will be enjoyable for all of us.
AV: Moving on from the Commonwealth Games to some leagues that have sparked the attention of sports buffs in India: the ISL and the pro-Kabaddi league. The ISL now has players like Robert Pires and Freddy Ljungberg on its roster, not to forget Andy Cole and Mikael Silvestre are also in the draft. There are also quite a few celebrity owners ranging from Sachin Tendulkar to Salman Khan, Sourav Ganguly to Ranbir Kapoor. How do you react to such a development Shekar? This looks like major churn happening in sports that have erstwhile been neglected; is it going to be good for the world’s most popular game now, football?
NS: I’ll answer that in two parts. Yes I think leagues on the lines of the Indian Premier League (cricket), in other sports like kabaddi, football and hockey and other sports as well are definitely moves in the right direction. They are going to do a lot of good for these sports, especially since some of these sports have been neglected and will now come to the forefront. There’s a lot of attention from television. Plus, the fact that superstars like Salman Khan and Sachin Tendulkar are getting into the arena will attract lots of attention. As for myself, I would love to see the day when India is, if not a superpower, atleast a team good enough to play in the World Cup. It’s my ambition to see India play in a World Cup and I think it might happen, maybe in the next 20 years… let’s see!
AV: I’m sure that’s a dream that millions of Indians will want to see come true. Moving on, back to a sport that is very Indian in nature and origin — kabaddi — it’s been the lament of a lot of sports fans that kabaddi has been neglected in terms of sports coverage. Now you see kabaddi being marketed so aggressively. Good to see that?
NS: Definitely very good to see that. Kabaddi has always been thought of as a rural sport as opposed to urban sports like tennis and cricket and football. So, Kabaddi making an impact in urban areas in the form of a professional league is great to see. I think with the kind of penetration that television has in rural areas today in India, the
Kabaddi league will definitely catch on. I am very, very happy for the sport and the players who are playing it. I think it will do a lot of good for players who are very good at that sport, and India has always been good at Kabaddi.
AV: With such huge leagues coming up one after the other, what do you think should be done to sustain interest in these leagues and to make such leagues sustainable and marketable not just in the near future but also in the long run?
NS: One, they have to be packaged well, professionally. Two, you have to make it interesting for the viewer -- not just people who flock to the venue but also the millions of viewers on television. To make it a nice package for viewers in the evening, in prime time. I think that will happen. I think a lot of these leagues have tremendous potential.
AV: Not very often do we have cricket in the last segment of the show, but it’s indeed a gladdening phenomenon, so to say. Now, India’s famous Test victory at Lord’s. Your thoughts, Shekar? I am sure you have watched the 1986 team as well led by Kapil Dev. What are the similarities and differences that you see firstly?
NS: First off, I must say that there’s been a lot of hype about this victory. It’s definitely a very good victory and, I thought Dhoni led the team very well towards the end. And, he had a plan in place for Ishant Sharma and Ishant carried it out very well. Hats off to both Dhoni, Ishant, and others who did well at Lord’s. But, this is an English team in decline, and without Kevin Pietersen there is a huge hole in this English team. So it’s not comparable to some of the other great victories we have had overseas in the past. I particularly remember the win at Leeds in 2002 when Tendulkar, Dravid, and Ganguly made hundreds. I also remember the great win at Adelaide in 2003 and that was Steve Waugh’s last series. Waugh himself had to play a great innings of 80-plus in his last innings to save the Test match and the series for Australia.So, India has had some great wins like the one in Multan in Pakistan where Virender Sehwag got a triple-hundred. Also, the win at Johannesburg where Sreesanth bowled very well. India has had some very good wins but this will be somewhere in the middle not right up there.
AV: Would it be a little premature to say that this probably marks the beginning of a new golden era of Indian cricket with some of the great talents that you have there in Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahane, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar?
NS: I am definitely very excited about this new set of players, but we shouldn’t overburden them. We should be careful not to compare people with [the] past golden generation. It’s very difficult on the Kohlis and the Pujaras and the Bhuvneshwar Kumars when you start comparing them to Tendulkars, Dravids, and Kumbles. People like Tendulkar and Dravid and Kumble don’t happen in every generation. But, I hope this new set of players continues to do well for India in the near future, and perhaps, in the distant future, too.
AV: Time for a listener question now. This is Chandan with the Twitter handle @Chandan3 . He wants to know why there’s no spare middle-order batsman in India’s squad. And, also why has India been choosing Binny in the eleven. Clearly not a Stuart Binny fan! What’s the ideal eleven?
NS: I don’t know what’s on Dhoni’s mind but he has stuck to his eleven in two Tests and he pulled it off at Lord’s. You can’t say too much about Binny after having watched him only in two Tests. But, I personally feel there is space for another full-time spinner in the squad. Perhaps, in the place of Binny, I would play Ravichandran Ashwin, who can bat a bit as well, who has got a Test hundred. So, my choice would be Ashwin in place of Binny for the third Test.
AV: Alright, Shekar, thanks so much for your time. Thanks much for joining us as always. And, we have come to the end of today’s show. I am sure it’s going to be a really thrilling weekend ahead as far as sporting action is concerned what with the ProKabaddi beginning today, and also the India-England third Test match beginning tomorrow. Do also stay tuned to the Commonwealth Games, and do, most importantly, stay tuned to Saturdays With Shekar . Until next episode, this is Arun Venugopal signing off. Take care. Have a wonderful weekend.
