Guwahati ODI: Mad rush for tickets

Oct. 30: A sell-out crowd of 22,000 is expected turn up at the Nehru Stadium at Guwahati on November 5, as the cricket fever surrounding the opening tie of the five-match India-Pakistan one-day international series is catching up fans across Assam.

An Assam Cricket Association official said only about a couple of thousands tickets out of the 8,000 tickets allotted for the spectators in the city are left to be sold. The rest have vanished because of the quota earmarked for all the districts, the other NE states, the BCCI and other dignitaries.

He said the demand for tickets this time around was many times more than what was seen in the last few matches played at the Nehru Stadium.

The Rs 150, Rs 450 and Rs 800 tickets are almost exhausted, while a limited number of those priced at Rs 1,500 and Rs 4,500 still remain after the first day’s of sale of tickets at the city’s Latasil playground. The remaining tickets are expected to be sold out tomorrow.

The counters set up at UCO Bank today (Oct. 30) witnessed long queues since wee hours and the number of ticket-seekers soared as the day progressed even as ACA had hiked the price of the tickets by nearly 25 per cent for this match, taking into account the increase in expenses in hosting the match.

Fans turned up at 4:30 am at the counter and thought worth to skip a night’s sleep if they get the tickets.

In the last two matches that were played here, Sachin Tendulkar opted out. But now that he is coming, fans do not want to miss a lifetime opportunity to see the maestro batting.

Source: The Assam Tribune

Image: Courtesy The Sentinel

Hats off to NE sportspersons: the journey ahead

Like a ‘Lotus’ that blossoms above the muddy water, sportspersons from Northeast India have brought laurels for the country despite their troubled native places.

From legendary footballer Dr Talimeren Ao, Olympian weightlifter Kunjarani Devi (whose saluting of the tricolour during the medal ceremony in the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games evoked the supreme emotion of playing for the country), Dingko Singh (who became toast of the country after winning boxing gold in 1998 Bangkok Asian Games) to women world boxing champions Mary C Kom and Jenny Lalremliani, Baichung Bhutia -- football’s Sachin Tendulkar -- and archer Chekroverlu Swuro, the seven sisters (eight with Sikkim) have been the breeding ground for top sportspersons in India.

In football, Dr. Ao was the first captain of independent India's Olympic men’s football team. Now, five Manipuris are in the current national squad and Baichung Bhutia, a Sikkimese, is the captain and perhaps the most famous in history.

In hockey, Manipuris have been in the men’s and women’s national squads. Olympians Neelkamal Singh, Tiken Singh and Thoiba Singh have been household names in their days. Tingongleima Chanu, Suraj Lata Devi, Sanggai Chanu carried the legacy.

Archery has a big presence of northeasterners, from Assam’s world champion Jayant Talukdar, Sikkim’s Olympian Tarundeep Rai and Nagamese Chekroverlo Swuro to the latest Bombayla Devi of Manipur.

In weightlifting, go to any national championship. Half of women’s participants would be from the northeast, especially from Manipur, and they would turn out for other states -- Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu etc.

Manipuris also dominate the national scene in some other sports like sepaktakraw, fencing, baseball, wushu, canoeing and kayaking, judo etc.

Because of the natural talent the Northeasterners have for sports, I thought it high time that a blog dedicated to sports and sportspersons from this region should come up. That was my raison d’etre of authoring this blog. Hope the blogosphere has a place for these worthy sportspersons who are truly ‘Lotus in the Mud.’

Here, you will find important news/views on sporting events happening in Northeast India, on the performance of sportspersons from the region in events held anywhere inside and outside India, and the profiles of these sportspersons.

Image courtesy: rediff.com; tribuneindia.com