Sometimes there are some happening which STUNS one by
MYSTERY and it also bring about some memoirs of the misery. One such occasion
was the Asian games in 1954 when the performance of the CHINESE nation, which
was UNIFIED to participate as
CHINA, had performed so
miserably that the Government of China decided that FOR
ABOUT 25 YEARS CHINE WOULD DO ALL RSERACH ON VARIOUS OLYMPICS EVENTS OF SPORTS
AND THEN AFTER IT WAS SATISFIED, IT WOULD ENTER THE GAMES PLAYED
OINTERNATIONALLY.
With this intention China stopped participating in the Asian
games from 1958 to 1974.It did all its research, it built infra-structure after
infrastructures within their country and pumped the YOUTHS in sports. It then came
out with a condition that those who finds it very hard to participate for China
, can help themselves by participating for HongKong and the Chinese Government
would give them all help and clearance to do so. Later in between them with
some understanding, the Chinese Taipei was also given this benefit to avail for
themselves courtesy the GOD GRACE
of China. There are many for Singapore who represent them but are trained at
the Chinese Sports Academy for this.
1978 :: Bangkok
Asiad – China Sends A Strong Message For The World
|
Rank |
Nation |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
1 |
Japan (JPN) |
70 |
59 |
49 |
178 |
|
2 |
China (CHN) |
51 |
54 |
46 |
151 |
China's performance at the Asiad since 1978 has been
exceptional and it’s growth could be termed as unimaginable. It always finishes
as the one which stands FIRST in the Asiad and this it has been doing since
1982.
Here under in the table below one cpould visualize the
TREMENDOUS impact that China created in the Asian Games ever since 1982 at New
Delhi .The table is listed below - ::
|
Rank |
Nation |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
|
1 |
China (CHN) |
61 |
51 |
41 |
153 |
|
2 |
Japan (JPN) |
57 |
52 |
44 |
153 |
The feature to be noted is
BOTH HAD WON 153 MEDALS BUT
CHINA CLAIMED THE HOT SPOT AS IT WON MORE NUMBER OF GOLDS. Ever since 1986, CHINA HAS BEEN WINNING
THE TOP SPOT IN ALL THE ASIAN GAMES THAT ARE BEING HELD.
PHENOMENAN:: CHINA
TOUCHES 200 GOLD MEDAL IN 2023
If you look into the table of the medals won by China in
1978 and at Hangzhou in 2023, one would find that China has FOLDED its medal tally of the GOLD MEDAL by as many as FOUR times, and this time in
2023 it ended with 200 GOLD MEDALS.
That exemplifies about the tremendous rise of China as a POWER HOUSE OF SPORTS IN ASIA.
It was rare and it was very hard to BELIEVE. Two Bengalis, both owning the surname MUKHERJEE , both coming from
NAIHATI near Kolkatta at Bengal and hailing from very poor family, the
Mukherjee’s outsmarted their Chinese opponent in the quarter finals, to reach
the semis and win a Bronze for their nation. What was more one would ask.
IT WAS FOR THE FIRST TIME
IN THE HISTORY OF TABLE TENNIS THAT CHINA HAD LOST TO INDIA IN ANY EVENT OF TABLE
TENNIS.
Pic - : Pak Yun Soun Kim, The WORLD CHAMPION Of 1977, WORLD TT CHAMPIONSHIP
It was NOT
the FIRST time in the annals
of Table Tennis that an Indian had beaten a WORLD CHAMPION RANKED ONE AND
WINNER. Public memory is SHORT and it is limited to boast about
what it remembers about the past deeds if that is the case. However let me tell
one and sundry. Way back in 1978, Indu Puri of India had scaled
Park un Sung Kim , the WORLD CHAMPION of TABLE TENNIS of the 1977 edition of WORLD T.T then in an event
international, that was held in 1978. However , it was not
the Asiad or at World or Olympics.It was an invitational Table Tennis
championship in 1978 .
Pic - :: Indu Puri, The ONLY Indian In Singles In T.T Who Defeated A World Champion In Table Tennis representing India, that happened in 1978
Ever since that NOBODY FROM INDIAN TABLE TENNIS COULD
DEFEAT ANY WORLD CHAMPIONS, EITHER IN OLYMPICS OR AT ASIAD OR AT WORLD TABLE
TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP.
This is for the FIRST time that an Indian pair, in any CONTINENTAL International meet, at the Asiad defeated the WORLD
NUMBER ONE pair of the Chinese paddlers . THIS WAS UNIQUE AND UNBELIEVABLE.
Observation During
The T.T game in the semis against North Korea -: Coaches werren’t Wary
Having played this game in the school and the College and
having played in the district level of tournament, what I could see and feel
when the Indians werte playing their semis against the North Korean team, the
opponent was smashing at everything that was thrown to them by the Indian pair
, in their FOREHAND arena of smashes.
In this aspect and during that moment, the Indian coach that
was there for the team should have called the girls, ie, the Indian girls in
the pretext of break, and should have-:
1). Told them to put the returns always in their backhand
area,
2). Extend the rallies of the game by playing the returns of
the Koreans, ie , opponents in the backhand area,
3). Go in for the kill when you are sure of it by 100%
rather than trying to take a CHANCE
for the same,
It was here that the STRATEGICAL TIPS that should have come
from the Indian T T coach to these two aspiring young Indian doubles pair of
the Mukherjee sisters, and if they had been told to do so, perhaps India would
have entered the finals of the events which would have been a TREMENDOUS achievement in the
arena of WORLD T.T for India
and that could have brought on a brilliant revolution in the game here at
India. That was not to be AND
I TOTALLY BLAME THE INDIAN COACHES FOR THE SAME.
The Indian Coaches
:: NOT THAT MENTALLY ACQUIRING TECHNICAL BRILLANCE ::
Over the years, I have noticed it. There have been a lot of
example where I have found that the Indian coaches in whatever field they coach
the Indian contingent of games and sports, they are totally unbalanced to read
the game situation and bring about that LITTLE change in the TECHNO – STRATEGY which
brings about and PULLS in a MIRACULOUS victory.
I can go about bringing examples after examples with the
photos and the pictures. ONE OF THEM AS A PROOF IS OF THE PICTURE
OF PAK YUN SOUN KIM that I have put here as a proof.
However I choose this T.T. event as a PRIME
EXAMPLE. When the match
situation had reached to a point where the set was squared at 2-2 and when the
Korean pair were smashing everything when the T T ball was put at their
forehand, the Indian coach should have
taken the stance. THEY DID NOT. They gave it out to the Koreans to enrich
themselves with SUPREME confidence and that was enough for the Koreans to KILL
the Indian pair without much ado.
If this had happened to the Chinese or the Korean, by this
time the Coach would have been brought to the committee for explanation and
could be that he or she would have LOST his or her job. However
this is India. Here it cannot be.That is the REASON that we BOAST
even if we win a BRONZE. The
other nation come over there to win the GOLD and they DO NOT COMPROMISE.
The mentality of the Indian coaches have to change. YOU CANNOT BE SATISFIED IF YOU ARE NOT PLAYING THE FINALS OR MISSING IT. The
STRATEGIC – TECHNICAL – UPGRADATION is accumulated by observing the leading
players all over the world playing their game, and applying the mind to
appropriately change it during the most critical moment of the game.
In
this matter the Indian coaches lack in
the ideas because THEY DO NOT WATCH THE PLAYERS PLAYING ALL OVER THE WORLD EITHER ON THE U-TUBE OR ANYTHING AS SUCH.
They are FIXED to their playing days, and those OLD days of the
game DO NOT find any place in
the ERUPTED CHANGING DYNAMICS
which keeps on changing and altering itself now-a-days in the game. This is one
arena, where the Government of the day will have to really think about,
especially the SPORTS MINISTER
who is a person who knows nothing about the games and sports.
The T.T team will keep on bragging that the Indian pair had beaten
the WORLD
NUMBER ONE but the fact is they should have made it to the finals
after that. The wrong creation and the hype will just do the act of bringing DISASTER and NOT any revolution in the game
and it is here these two ladies would be lost in the WILDERNESS in the days to come.
How Would This Victory Would Have Revolutionised The Indian T.T :: B .K . Arun Kumar Is example
This victory in the semis which India lost to the North Korean pair of the eves, would have TREMENDOUSLY brought about a GREAT revolution in the HISTORY of Indian sports. NEVER HAVE ANY INDIAN, EITHER IN SINGLES OR IN DOUBLE OR IN ANY FORM OF PAIR HAD EVER MADE IT TO THE FINALS IN ANY INTERNATIONAL EVENT OF TABLE TENNIS OVER THE LAST FIFTY YEARS.
Pic - :: B . K . Arun Kumar with his MEDAL and the Trophy Which He Won In 1974 After He Lost His Boys' Singles Final In The Asian T.T.Championship Held At Yokohama.
The LAST when an Indian played a FINALS of the Table Tennis was in the singles in the Boys' singles finals , against the TOP POWER HOUSE, against a Chinese , was in 1974 in the Asian Table Tennis Championship, in 1974, losing in FIVE sets, the final set by 19-21 to be a RUNNERS-UP .
Ever since that we had the pair of Sharath Kamal and Manika Batra winning a BRONZE in the Asian games T.T championship but they did not play a Chinese , or a Korean , or a Japanese for that matter to win that.
It was B.K.Arun Kumar who achieved that feat in1974 in the Boys'Singles Final at Yokohama in 1974 and I lay down his photo here for the readers to read it and know it, beside to see how that COOT would appear when he was just 15 years of age.
Arun Kumar after this win, won a SPORTS SCHOLARSHIP at US to complete his studies in Engineering which he did it to say GOOD BYE to Table Tennis as it had NO FUTURE for him in India.
C ) . Kabaddi :: A
“ BRONZE ” SALUTE TO THE NEPALI EVES
They hardly have any facility back at home. In the entire
country of Nepal, there is ONLY ONE stadium , the DASHRATH STADIUM which was
built way back in the ‘70s
.It was here in this stadium that the inaugural S.A.F games were held during 1985. It is this stadium which holds
every events of the games that are held at Nepal.This is situated at Kathmandu
.
Pic - : A tense moment in the India-Nepal Kabaddi Women's Semis whih India won by 55-17
Nepal for that matter has produced a few names that any
sportsperson could be PROUD of. There has been
Ganesh Thapa, the footballer who also played for EAST – BENGAL football
club of India. He was a CLASS ACT
as far as the standard of SOUTH ASIAN
football is concerned.
Nepal for that matter could BOAST about BAIKUNTH MANADHAR who was THRICE MARATHON RUN champion in the 1985 the 1987and 1989 S.A,F games. He has won three consecutive gold medals in making a record in the South Asian Games .
Pic - :: Baikunth Manadhar Of Nepal Moving Through In Last Lap To Win The S.A.F Marathon Event In The 1987 S.A.F Games Held At Kolkatta
His record was broken by Deepak
Bista by securing four gold medals consecutively in Taekwondo,
which was limited to the S.A.F games. But
these names could hardly spring any surprise when it came to the Asian Games to
cite as an example. The allowance and the fund that the Nepal Government puts
in the sports, could be equal to the money that one who puts on his horse that
runs a derby at India. This is the difference and this is all about Nepal when
it comes to sports.
How many medals have Nepal won in the Asian games is not
known to me. Bangladesh has won SIXTEEN, as far as I can
know. Hence taking this into consideration it was highly impossible to think
that Nepal would do any wonders in these Asian Games. However they did. They
sprang surprise when they made it to the semis of the eves Kabaddi event,
losing by 55-17 to India and ultimately winning the BRONZE for their
country.
Devoid of any sporting facilities, back at home and woithout
any substantial food allowance that is required to keep the body in trim and
shape to play the game,
THIS IS A HUGE BIG ACHIEVEMENT BY THE NEPALI EVES. If at all
there is a EVE KABADDI PRO-LEAGUE held at India soon,
these girls from Nepal should be kept in the eye and India should offer them a
chance to improve.
D ) . The GOLD MEDAL SHARED :: Athletics Does The Wonder
In the athletics one saw the GOLD medal shared
in one of the event . The timing was equal and the organizer SPLITTED
the GOLD
medal .This was an act repeated after the last Olympic games where the Gold
medal in one of the event of the track and field was splitted between the two
athlete. This was for the FIRST time that it was
witnessed at Asian Games, and this is something that could be considered as
unique by itself.
E ). Javelin
Throw-:: THE WORST THAT HAPPENED BUT
THE BEST IT PROVED FOR INDIA.
Bereft of Nadeem ashraf of Pakistan taking part, this event
had lost it’s sheen. Last time around a Chinese Javelin thrower, in the last
Asian games, with a throw of 91.96 metres had raised many a eye brow. He was
expected to win it in the last Asiad but it was Neeraj Chopra who won it with a
throw that toppled the Chinese athlete. THIS
CHINA COULD NOT DIGEST AS A NATION.The result of the Chinese athlete as
against Neeraj Chopra is seen herewith-:
|
|||||||||
|
Rank |
Athlete |
Attempt |
Result |
Notes |
|||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
||||
|
01 . |
83.46 |
X |
88.06 |
83.25 |
86.36 |
X |
88.06 |
||
|
02 . |
82.22 |
78.58 |
81.43 |
75.69 |
75.51 |
71.04 |
82.22 |
||
Pic – Table that
reflects Neeraj Chopra’s performance in the 2018 Asian Games
Neeraj with a throw of 88.06 won that event and a GOLD
for India. This Chinese who had come to the WORLD of Javelin
with a throw of 91.96 metres ever since then has gone to oblivion. THAT
WAS A HUGE LOSS FOR CHINA AS THEIR GOVERNMENT HAD SPEND A VOLUPTUS AMOUNT ON
HIM FOR OLYMPICS.
Neeraj ever since then has gone from strength to strength.
He won the Olympics title, he won the World Title, he won the Diamnond League
and he has been winning titles after titles all over the world but that Chinese
now in an unheard name.
This time around, when the event took place at Hangzhou,
Neeral threw the first throw which easily which we could visualize , was over
the 89 metres mark. However his throw was not recoreded.The explanation put was
the FAILURE
OF THE SERVER..How could this be ?.
If one traces the history of the servers and it’s
functioning, one would find that NEVER the servers go out of the way before a
minute of the event and came back immediately after the event to record one’s
mark, had to be recorded.
After Neeraj had thrown his Javelin, which was not recorded
on the pretext of the server failure, the next
thrower and his throw of 65 metres plus was recorded. How did the server swing
back into action .Agian to make the matter WORST for the Indian, Kishore Jena’s
next throw which was legal was marked foul by the recorder. A miffed Neeraj
then ran to the organizer and the technical officials to put the thing back
into perspective and it was done.
Neeraj psychologically was fighting two battels single
handedly. One was to defnd his GOLD of the last Asiad and the other was all
agisnt the corrupted technical personalities who were out to destroy him in
this Asiad.
What ever the officials of the Javelin events, those who
were doing their duties were doing it all wrong. These kind of acts are INADMISSABLE, UNCONSTITUTIONAL
, and UNETHICAL by every means and by every standard. Neeraj
was asked to RETHROW his first throw which was not marked. NOBODY AND NO ATHLETE IN THE WORLD WOULD
HAVE AGREDD TO THAT BUT NEERAJ DID. He showed a TREMENDOUS SPORTSMANSHIP of the HIGHEST class, which are NOT
seen anywhere in the professional field of sports . Never would an American or
an European, or even any Koreans and Chinese would have accepted that, but
Neeraj did.
If it were any event at any place, there , for this, an ugly
act and an ugly scene would have been erupted. However Neeraj like a TRUE HINDU , a TRUE INDIAN and a TRUE SPORTSMAN , let these to
hang over his head. He was finding it very hard to break the barriers laid by
the Chinese, and his compatriot, Kishore Kumar Jena was making his life, a HELL for him.
It was the FIFTH
throw of 88.88 metres which
set the record straight for Neeraj and his GOLD.
Till then, Kishore Kumar Jena of India was leading the field with a personal
best throw of 86 metres plus. Looking at his Gold slipping away he
produced his personal best and it came to about 87 metres plus which was a
metres less than Neeraj, but WORTH
to get him a SILVER .
This kind of an act which nearly saw Neeraj losing his GOLD medal was NEVER witnessed in any of the
meet that takes place in the world for the Javelin.
CONSECUTIVE TWO
GOLD BY INDIANS IN THE ASIAN GAMES :: GOLD
OF THE GOLD
It was Milkha
Singh ( 1958, 1962 ) in the Asiad, then it was Hawa Singh ( 1966, 1970 ) , it was Sriram Singh in the 800 metres ( 1974 , 1978 ) and
in the team event it was the Women’s
4x400 metres and the Men’s
4x400 meters in the Asian Games where India won TWO CONSECUTIVE GOLD MEDALS
. Now it has been Neeraj who did that to repeat this feat. The difference is THOSE DID NOT HAVE TO BREAK THEIR HEAD WITH
THE OFFICIALS OFFICIATING , THEN , BUT HERE NEERAJ HAD TO DO
THIS WAS THE MASTER PIECE OF ALL THE GOLD THAT WAS WON BY A WINNER
IN THIS ASIAD AND IT STANDS OUT THE GOLD OF THE GOLD .
Regards and Thanks
Shyamal Bhattacharjee
Mr Shyamal Bhattacharjee, the author was born at West Chirimiri Colliery at District Surguja, Chattisgarh on July 6th 1959 He received his early education at Carmel Convent School Bishrampur and later at Christ Church Boys' Higher Secondary School at Jabalpur. He later joined Hislop College at Nagpur and completed his graduation in Science and he also added a degree in B A thereafter. He joined the HITAVADA, a leading dailies of Central India at Nagpur as a Sub-Editor ( Sports ) but gave up to complete his MBA in 1984 He thereafter added a Diploma In Export Management. He has authored SIX books namely Notable Quotes and Noble Thought published by Pustak Mahal in 2001 Indian Cricket : Faces That Changed It published by Manas Publications in 2009 and Essential Of Office Management published by NBCA, Kolkatta in 2012, GOLDEN QUOTES on Inspiration, Sorrow, Peace and Life, published by B.F.C Publications, Lucknow, and QUOTES:: Evolution and Origin of Management Electives by Clever Fox Publishing, Chennai and From Dhyan To Dhan :: Indian Hockey - Sudden Death Or Extra Time published by Clever Fox Publishing House . He has a experience of about 35 years in Marketing .
Signature Of Shyamal Bhattacharjee
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