4th ASBC Asian Women Boxing Championship

‘Asian boxing will provide a good platform for Asom boxers’
Guwahati, Sep 21: Guwahati is all set to host the 4th ASBC Asian Women Boxing Championship which would be held at the Karmavir Navin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium at Sarusajai from September 23.

Talking to The Sentinel exclusively, B Kalyan Chakravarthy, secretary general of the organizing committee assured that it would be one of the most memorable tournament for the participants and they would return home with sweet memories of Asom. Here is the excerpts.
Q. Would you kindly highlight the preparation of the mega event?

A. As we all know that it is the first official international tournament in Guwahati so you can understand the magnitude of the event. Till date everything is going on according to the plan. Several teams have already arrived in the city and rest of the participating teams would reach Guwahati by tomorrow.
Q. How many teams are taking part in the championship?

A. We have received confirmation of 12 countries including Sri Lanka, Nepal, Macaw, China, Chinse Taipei, Vietnam, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Kazaksthan, Indonesia and India. The number of participants would be more then one hundred.
Q. What would the inaugural and closing ceremonies be like?

A. We will organize small functions to showcase the culture of the northeastern region. Asom Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi will attend the inaugural function as the chief guest. On the other hand, we have invited the recent Olympics bronze medal winning boxer Vijender to grace the inaugural function.
Q. There is always a chance to get hurt in boxing. What about the medical facilities?

A. We have already made such arrangement so that we can provide the participating boxers best medical facilities, including ICU, whenever it is necessary. At the same time we have insured the boxers also and if anything happened they will get compensation.
Q. The State Government played a big role in the National Games that was held in Guwahati. What about this time?

A. This time it is completely different story. The host of the meet is Assam Boxing Association and they are doing everything to make it a grand success. This is for your information that except me there is no involvement of Sate Government officials in this championship and Government even not offered financial assistance. Yes, a few ministers including Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi extended helping hand but they too providing helps on their individual capacities, not as a minister.
Q. What about your experience of working with the local sports organizers?

A. It is undoubtedly a big event and I think Assam Boxing Association has done a good job till date to host the meet. However, I found professional attitude missing among few officials which is very essential particularly when you are going to arrange such a big event.

Q. The sports organizers had complained that the response from the Government was very slow when they approached them for different reasons. Your comments.

A. I don’t ignore. But you know we have to make a lot of formalities before we reach to a decision and it needs few times but I feel the problem would be perished when more and more such events would be held in Guwahati.
Q. What response you receive from the sponsors?

A. To be honest except a few big companies, the response from the sponsor is not satisfactory at all. Actually, I think there is a lack of awareness among the local companies. They yet to know what mileage they would get by sponsoring such type of tournaments. Frankly speaking, if we can organize this event in places like Delhi or Mumbai, I am sure that Asom Boxing Association could easily make a good fund for their future expenditure.
Q. It will be the first major international meet in Guwahati. What are the positive things we would get from it?

A. I feel it is the platform for the boxers like Kalpana and Pranamika to start their campaign for the next Olympics. I am very optimistic that if women boxing is introduced into the London Olympic then few boxers from Asom would definitely bring laurels to the country.
Q. Any arrangement to make the championship a memorable one for the boxers?

A. Definitely. We have planned to take the boxers and the officials to Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary and cruise ride in the mighty Bramhaputra. On the other hand will honour them with the finest tea of Asom.

Source: The Sentinel

Earlier Story:

Five from NE in national boxing squad

4th Asian Women’s Boxing Championship

Vijender, Akhil to attend opening ceremony

Guwahati, Sep 21: Teams started pouring in since Saturday for the 4th Asian Women’s Boxing Championship which will be held at the Karmabir Nabin Chandra Bordoloi Indoor Stadium in the Sarusajai Sports Complex here from September 23 to 29.
Olympian boxers Vijender Singh and Akhil Kumar will also attend the inaugural ceremony.
The North and South Korea teams were the first to land here on Saturday. Teams from Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Macau, Sri Lanka and Vietnam followed the Koreans. The rest of the teams from Mongolia, Nepal, China and Chinese Taipei will arrive tomorrow.
The Indian team is already in the city after the selection on September 16.
The Assam Boxing Association has completed almost all the arrangements for the mega event.
All the bouts will be organised in one ring, which has been set in the Sarusajai-based indoor stadium today, under the watchful eyes of boxing technicians Deben Gogoi and Padum Boro.
The officials of the organising committee gave all the teams warm reception at the airport.
Cultural troupes took the stage today for the final dress rehearsal for the inauguration ceremony on Tuesday.
Joint director of sports, Rajib Prakash Baruah, who is co-ordinating the programmes, said the low-key opening ceremony would be marked by traditional Assamese flavour exhibiting the Sattriya culture of the host state.
“The 45-minute programme will start with Sattriya dance accompanied by the welcome song by Sangeeta Kakati, followed by bhor-taal nritya and the Bihu dance, which are popular cultural items of the state. Another attraction of the programme will be mime on boxing by mime artiste Mainul Haque,” Baruah said.
“Besides, there will be a demonstration of thang-ta, a traditional martial art form of Manipur, by leading players from the state. This too is expected to be a prime attraction of the programme,” he added. A dressed rehearsal for the opening ceremony was also conducted in the stadium today.
Chief minister Tarun Gogoi will inaugurate the championship at 3 pm.
The closing ceremony on September 29, however, has “something special” kept “secret”, Baruah added.
Sources said singers like Joy Mukherjee and others from Mumbai could rock the stage.

3rd Manipur State League

SSU, Singjamei on top after round nine
Imphal, Sep 21: Goal difference continues to be the deciding factor in the race for the title of the 3rd Manipur State League football tournament with SSU, Singjamei replacing TRUGPU, Nambol on top of the points table at the end of ninth round today while reigning champion NISA, Thangmeiband humbled TRAU, Tiddim Road 4-0 at THAU ground.
NISA would be leaving for Tripura tomorrow to participate in the zonal level Federation Cup football competition.
Hosting USA, Khurai at Lilong Chajing ground today, SSU handed a crushing 4-0 defeat to the visitors with Gaichungam Kamson opening the score account in the opening minute before goals from L Dewan (31st), Kh Ratan (53rd) and AS Thamreishang (67th) took the match from the opponents' grasp.
At Nambol, home team TRUGPU outplayed MPSC 2-0 to tie SSU at 21 points with the Singjamei side pipping their nearest rival on goal difference. Naoton (31st) and Surchand (84th) were TRUGPU goal scorers.
Goals from M Bijen (19th), Benjamin Kamson (75th), S Bikram (84th) and O Pritam (90th) fetched NISA maximum point and the third place in the standing on 21 point.
Playing at home, ESU (Wangkhei) held on its 69th minute goal by Ph Cheitei to edge past PYC, Phoudel.
In the day's other matches NEROCA downed NLYC, Churachandpur at Liberal College, Luwangshangbam ground as YWC, Thambalkhong and AMOFA, Moirang played a 3-3 draw at Thambalkhong.
After taking an 8th minute lead through L Nabachandra, NEROCA fell behind 1-2 as K Thangoulian struck in the 36th and 54th minutes before H Amarjit emulated the rival player's feat to slam in a brace within a span of four minutes (74th, 77th).
In the keenly contested YWC versus AMOFA match, H Roshangliana (10th), Th Inaotomba (28th) and Lalrintvanga (84th) scored for the Moirang side while Palmei Poupangai (42nd), W Daniel (59th) and Lensang Khongsai (88th) led the YWC fightback.
Points Table after Round Nine (Matches played; wins; draws; losses; goals for; goals against; goal difference; points)
1. Southern Sporting Union, Singjamei 9 6 3 0 21 4 +17 21
2. TRUGPU, Nambol (promoted) 9 6 3 0 22 7 +15 21
3. NISA, Thangmeiband (champion) 9 6 3 0 21 8 +13 21
4. Manipur Police Sports Club 9 5 3 1 12 6 + 6 18
5. NEROCA, Laipham Khunou 9 6 0 3 19 14 + 5 18
6. United Sports Association, Khurai 9 3 2 4 7 13 - 6 11
7. Phoudel Youth Club, Thoubal 9 2 2 5 11 14 - 3 8
8. Youth Welfare Club, Thambalkhong 9 2 2 5 10 14 - 4 8
9. All-Moirang Football Association 9 1 4 4 7 11 - 4 7
10. Tiddim Road Athletic Union 9 2 1 6 7 17 -10 7
11. Eastern Sporting Union, Wangkhei 9 2 1 6 5 15 -10 7
12. New Lamka Youth Club (promoted) 9 1 0 8 10 29 -19 3
Source: www.indianfootball.com

Justice for Monika

SAI official RK Naidu transferred

New Delhi, Sep 18: Less than a week after T S Krishnamurthy submitted his report on the Monika Devi doping saga, a top Sports Authority of India official was today removed from his post at the SAI headquarters here and sent packing to Bhopal.

R K Naidu, who was the SAI Director (Team Division), has been transferred to Bhopal and would be replaced by SS Roy, who is the Director of SAI Northern Centre in Sonepat.

Monika was about to board the Beijing flight before she was charged to have flunked a dope test. After a lot of drama and protest wave, the lifter was cleared by a review committee set up by the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF).

But the reprieve came too late and the Olympic door had been shut on her face by then.Krishnamurthy was less than impressed by the role played by SAI in the entire episode and was particularly annoyed with the inordinate delay between Monika's dope tests and intimation of the results to the lifter.

"There is no doubt that there has been a considerable delay in completing the test of the sample of Monika Devi taken on June 6, 2008 and in communicating the same to the athlete. Had the testing been done within the stipulated time and the result thereof been communicated immediately thereafter, the disappointment and the mental shock the athlete had by the sudden and abrupt communication especially through the media first could have been easily avoided," the former Chief Election Commissioner had observed in his report.

Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)

Other Stories:

IWF welcomes Krishnamurthy report

Government accepts Krishnamurthy report

Sports Ministry issues anti-doping guidelines

Anti-doping guidelines and procedure

Guidelines for selection of athletes, coaches and efficient management of camps

Justice for Monika

Krishnamurthy report blames none

New Delhi, Sep 12: The one-man inquiry committee to probe the Monika Devi controversy on Friday ruled out any malafide intentions by the authorities to bar the Manipuri lifter from Beijing Olympics on dope charges but came down heavily for the delay in communicating the test results to the lifter.
Former Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy, who submitted the probe report to the Sports Ministry on Friday, did not find any violation of procedure in the whole testing process but stated the delay in conveying the test results was "unpardonable".
He also said the controversy could have been avoided had there been unity of purpose among the authorities concerned.
"I must state that I did not come across any concrete evidence of any malafides on the part of any individual although it is very clear that there was lack of unity of purpose among all these persons... it had no direct nexus to the issue of dope testing of the athlete," Krishnamurthy said in his 18-page report.
"I am quite clear in my mind that the whole controversy surrounding this episode could have very well been avoided had there been a better management of the procedures," he said in the report, which was prepared after recording the versions of SAI, Ministry, IOA, NDTL and Monika.
The report said Monika was subjected to four sample tests out of which two results -- of the first on June 6 and of the last on July 28 -- were found to have returned with "adverse analytical findings".
After the disclosure of the dope test results, Monika had alleged the Sports Authority of India had "deliberate and malafide" intentions behind preventing her participating in the Beijing Olympics.
Krishnamurthy also suggested to rename SAI to Sports Development and Regulatory Authority for better coordination so that such instances of lapses and delay could be avoided in future.
Krishnamurthy particularly found fault in the delay in conveying the result of the first sample taken on June 6 in Pune and for not communicating the same to the lifter.
"The July 10 report of the first sample (of June 6) mentioned 'suspicious case' and 'report to be submitted'. This was conveyed by SAI to the IWF but there is no indication of it having been communicated to the athlete.
"The same sample was subject to CG-IRMS analysis (for confirmation). This analysis report dated July 25 stated 'there is likelihood of exogenous (synthetic) origin and recommended for follow-up/longitudinal studies'.
"Two other samples dated June 29 and July 15 sent by SAI centre, Bangalore to NDTL found 'No banned substance detected'.
"Another sample taken on July 28... and the report on this on August 5 with the finding 'adverse analytical finding for use of endogenous steroid or its precursors'," it said.
"There is no doubt that there has been a considerable delay in completing the test taken on June 6 and in communicating the same to the athlete. Had the testing been done within the stipulated time and the result thereof been communicated immediately thereafter, the disappointment and the mental shock the athlete had by the sudden and abrupt communication could have been easily avoided," it said.
"Such a delay (in the dope result of first test) is indeed unpardonable as it is not in any case in the spirit of WADA code even assuming that NDTL was not aware that the sample related to a priority case relating to an international competition."

Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)

Full Report

Ministry to take action based on findings

Report rules out mala fide intent

Probe panel flays delays in Monika case

Probe panel advised Monika to test B sample

Monika keeps mum

'Controversy could have been avoided’

Monika Issue

Ban on national, international meets suspended:

Imphal, Sep 8: Giving a breather to the sportspersons of the state, the Coordinating Committee Against the Conspiracy to Exclude Monika from Beijing Olympics by Government of India has temporarily lifted the ban on participating in Zonal, National and International level competitions.
The decision was taken after a meeting of the Co-ordinating Committee at Khuman Lampak sports complex here on Monday, announced Manipur Olympic Association (MOA) president and the Co-ordinating Committee's convener Elangbam Binoy Singh while talking to mediapersons after the meeting.
"Since the Centre has responded to the people's demand by entrusting CBI to begin inquiry into the matter related to deliberate exclusion of Manipuri weightlifter Laishram Monika Devi from the Beijing Olympic squad, we have resolved to lift the restriction so that the State athletes can continue excel in sports and bring more laurels' Binoy said adding "Our players will fight for the sake of justice".
Stating that sports has become a mass movement and that it survives because of the people's contribution, the MOA president said the whole people of Manipur have shown their united strength in demanding justice.
However, the Committee may resume its restriction if the guilty officials involved in pulling out Monika from the Olympics are not punished, Binoy informed.
The whole of Northeastern region and Manipur in particular has been in turmoil after Laishram Monika Devi, who hails from remote Nachou village of Bishnupur district, was withdrawn from the just concluded Beijing Olympics on doping charge, though the charge was cleared afterward.
On August 11 last a public meeting organized by the Committee at Khuman Lampak sports complex here and the meeting resolved that athletes of the State should stop participating in all sporting competitions beyond the State until the Centre tenders an apology to the people of Manipur, stops all forms of discrimination against sportspersons and punishment of the guilty officials.
Endorsing to meeting resolution, sportspersons of the State skipped from various Zonal and National sports competitions in different disciplines including Hockey ( sub-junior), athletes (zonal), Judo ( national), Kabadi ( zonal at Imphal), weight lifting ( National) and Sepak Tekraw ( National) and Subroto under 14, Binoy said.
The State athletes will, however, get the chance to take part in the Eastern Zone Badminton Championship to be held at Meghalaya, the MOA president added.
Monika, who is currently in Manipur, has expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the Committee for struggling for her cause.
A rally will be staged at Imphal by representatives of various sports and students bodies in addition to Meira Paibi (women vigil groups) on Wednesday to exert pressure for bringing justice in the CBI probe and book the errant officials, the MOA chief informed.
On Wednesday last around one hundred womenfolk picketed Manipur Youth Affairs and Sports (YAS) office at Khuman Lampak sports complex demanding announcement of the Krishnamurthy probe report and punishment of the guilty officials.

Source: The Sangai Express

Other Stories:

Manipur to resume participation

Boycott withdrawal comes too late for junior lifters

Justice for Monika

CBI launches probe into Monika allegations
New Delhi, Sep 7: The CBI has launched an enquiry into allegations by weightlifter Monika Devi that she was barred from taking part in the Beijing Games because of deliberate lapses on part of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).

The CBI registered the Preliminary Enquiry (PE) against "unknown persons" after a request was made by the Manipur Government to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for a thorough probe into the entire incident.

While during the PE, the CBI will summon records of IOA, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and the statement of Monika in front of the one-man commission set up by the Sports Ministry, it cannot go in for questioning of any individual till the case was converted into a regular case.

Monika, in her deposition before the T S Krishnamurthy Commission, had alleged that the actions of SAI as "unreasonable and malafide" and also that she failed to go to Beijing Olympics because of the "deliberate lapse" on the part of the IOA.

The weightlifter hailing from Manipur, in her petition had blamed the SAI for the whole controversy which led to her withdrawal from the Indian Olympic contingent just hours before her scheduled departure to Beijing.

"If the report (dope test) was at all positive, why did the SAI not inform the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) 48-72 hours prior to the departure as required under the provisions of WADA?" she questioned.

Monika said the SAI, being an institution, ought to have acted reasonably and fairly and the sports body's "ill treatment" to her was "highly condemnable".

"The actions of SAI were unreasonable, malafide as a result of which my reputation and career had been damaged for which SAI is to be blamed," she told Krishnamurthy in her written submission.

The weightlifter said a day after the news of her dope test report being found positive was published by media, the IWF on August 6 had received a letter from SAI which stated that out of the four tests conducted during the training period on June 6, June 29, July 15 and July 28, the report of the test conducted on June 6 was found to be positive without mentioning the name of any prohibited drug.

The CBI would be examining all the test reports during its probe before deciding on whether the case could be converted into a regular case or not.
Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)

Earlier Stories:

Northeast sportspersons neglected: Monika

Monika's name not on 2010 CWG list

IWF chief denies probables list release

Biren seeks to allay fear

Manipur Breeding Ground of Top Footballers

Six Manipuri footballers in India squad:

New Delhi: Renedy, Surkumar and Gouramangi Singh have become vital cogs in the Indian football team but the Manipuri trio feel that they were lucky to get the break at a young age in big clubs of Kolkata, Goa and Mumbai.
All three hail from nondescript places in Manipur but thanks to age group tournaments and TFA talent scouting they rose to become key members of the Indian team which booked an 2011 Asian Cup berth after winning the AFC Challenge Cup.
"Six Manipuris were in India's AFC Challenge Cup squad of 23 and lots of Manipuris are playing in other top clubs of the country. But in absence of corporate sector to sponsor clubs in Manipur, you have to play outside the state to get noticed. The passion for football and chance spotting by talent scouts had taken me this far," said Renedy, the seniormost India player after captain Baichung Bhutia.
Born at a football family at Sekmai near state capital Imphal, Renedy tried his luck at the U-12 National Talent Search tournament in 1989 where he caught the eyes of TFA talent scouts which changed the course of his life.
"I was a bit lucky to have got the breakthrough at a young age without much difficulty. I owe my success to TFA in a big way," said the 29-year-old, the first Manipuri who played regularly for India.
He spent six years from 1990 at TFA and got the break in a big club when he joined Mohun Bagan in 1996 as a 17-year-old before spending three years from 1997 with East Bengal. He debuted for India senior team at the age of 20 in the Asian Cup qualifiers in 1999 against UAE.
India right back Surkumar's tryst with stardom began at 14 when he was scouted by TFA after a national U-16 tournament in Allahabad in 1997 and he confessed he was initially not considered a good prospect in Jamshedpur.
He spent three years at TFA before joining East Bengal in 2000. He returned to the same club in 2003 and is playing for the club since last season. In between he was with Mahindra United of Mumbai for five years and debuted for India in the World Cup qualifiers against UAE in 2001 when he was just 18.
"My uncle was instrumental for my making it to state squad for U-16 Nationals in Allahabad and there TFA scouts spotted me," said the 25-year-old Manipuri from Khurkhul near Imphal.
Surkumar now feels that youth of the country can now take up football as a career with the players getting good salary these days.
"A footballer's career is short no doubt, but with 35-40 lakh salary a year we can also have a career. Some other footballers are getting more than this," he said.
Young India central defender Gouramangi Singh, who hails from the same place as Renedy, was picked by a TFA talent scout team in 2000 when he was just 14 years of age.
From TFA, he went to Dempo in 2004 where he spent one year and was with Mahindra in 2005 and with Churchill Brothers since 2006-07. He debuted for India as substitute against Indonesia in 2003 in a friendly match.
Gouramangi was not a India regular for a couple of years and he shot into limelight in the Nehru Cup last year and in the recent AFC Challenge Cup with he and Anwar doing a fantastic job at the backline in the absence of seniors Mahesh Gawli and Deepak Mondal.
"If you are in TFA and you have the talent you can make it big. It happened to me and I am indebted to TFA for my achievements," said Gouramangi who is now 22.
Having tasted success, the youngster now wants to play abroad if any such offer comes, an idea coach Bob Houghton had been encouraging his charges.
"The Asian Cup in 2011 would be a big stage, we will be watched by the agents of top clubs of Asia and I will be game to join one of them if offered though I have to take advice of seniors," said Gouramangi, the youngest of the trio.
All the three have one more common thing -- they spoke highly of coach Bob Houghton.
"I have been in Indian team for nearly ten years and played under different coaches but he is the best. Frankly, many a times I don't want to go for training for my clubs but not for a single day I had not felt like that under Bob," Renedy said.

Source: Press Trust of India (PTI)

Asian Women Boxing Championships

12 countries confirm participation:

Guwahati, Sep 4: Till date 12 countries, including China, Vietnam, Kazakstan, Nepal, Indonesia, Lebanon, Sri Lanka and host India, have confirmed their participation in the 4th Asian Women Boxing Championship which will be held here from September 23 to 28 at Sarusajai’s Nabin Ch Bordoloi Indoor Stadium.
China will send a full strength 20-member team for the mega event. Around 150 women boxers from 25 countries are likely to take part in the Assam Amateur Boxing Association organised meet.

As it an important tournament before the world championship, all the participating countries will send their best boxers.
Meanwhile the final camp to prepare the Indian team will be held here from September 6. The Indian Boxing Federation has short-listed 40 boxers for the final camp. Organisers here informed that the selected boxers will arrive here from tomorrow onwards.
Four Assamese boxers-Kalpana Choudhury (representing Indian Railways), Jahnabi Gogoi, Pratibha Kachari and Pronamika Bora have been included in the list for the final camp.
Source: Assam Tribune

Subroto Cup

Nagaland beat Uttarakhand 2-1

New Delhi, Sep 4: Nagaland under-17 team on Thursday registered their second consecutive victory against MP Sports College, Dehradun, Uttarakhand in the Subroto Cup here.

Seoengdie (8th min) and Avilie (60th) scored for the Nagaland side while Shankar Dobhil found the target in the 21st min for Dehradun team.

Coming after a victory against Tripura (4-0) in their opening match, the Nagaland team continued with their winning momentum. They will now face Assam on Friday.

Meanwhile, Nagaland u-14 (sub-juniors) team, last year's runners-up, play their opening match against the winner of Group B on September 10.

Results of Matches on Sep 4:
Sub-juniors (U-14):
Assam beat Sainik School 2-1; Scorers: PP Deka (52nd min); Juliananiush (59th); Thinley Dhendup (11th)Meghalaya beat Chhattisgarh 9-0; Scorers: Readytone Nongbri (2nd, 7th, 10th, 16th, 40th min); Tyngshain Umdor (32nd, 44th, 55th)

Sikkim beat IPSC 10-0; Scorers: Dillu Ram (15th, 30th, 37th, 43rd min); Crama Sindm (6th, 11th, 33rd); Ricaro (58th); Youma (59th)

Maharashtra beat Sri Lanka 6–0

Haryana beat Gujarat 4-0

TAFS beat Goa 2-0

Army Boys beat Delhi 7–0

Juniors (U-17):

Assam beat AFBBS 2-0; Scorers: Shyam Mareh (36th, 46th min)

Mizoram drew Orissa 0–0

Nagaland beat Uttarakhand 2–1; Nagaland: Seoengdie (8th); Avilie (60th)Uttarakhand: Shankar Dobhil (21st)Bangladesh beat Maharashtra 2-0

Chhattisgarh beat Gujarat 2–1

Sainik School beat NCC (WB&S) 3-0

TAFS drew IPSC 2-2

Chandigarh beat Bihar 12-0