P U Chitra: I am an ardent admirer of P T Usha and Usain Bolt

As the nation celebrated Sports Day today, Kerala has very special reason to cheer up. This year, the State which has gifted the country some of its finest athletes, has repeated its magic. This time it’s a village-born lean and shy girl from Palakkad who along with her relentless sporting spirit won the nation a gold medal in the 1500-m race at the 22^nd Asian Athletic Championship held in Bhubaneswar in July. P. U. Chitra was on her way back to Palakkad from the State capital after attending a felicitation ceremony organised by the sports council when The Kochi Post got in touch. She speaks about her career, studies, dreams and ambitions.

Though Chitra’s remarkable achievement in the Asian Athletic meet gave her laurels, the Athletic Federation of India did not consider her name for the World Athletic Meet of the year, held in London earlier this month. Chitra, with her characteristic might overcame this backlash, which was quite unexpected, very easily. “Sports is where you will often face such roadblocks. You cannot lose your heart each time. Yes, I was disappointed at first. But very soon I reached back. Sports ensure you this sort of resilience,” Chitra smiled.

Chitra adds, “I am an ardent admirer of P. T. Usha and Usain Bolt. It was in 2010 I won my first ever medal of my career. It was the national school meet. I was a ninth standard student and I won gold medals in both 1500 m and 3000 m race.” Since then she did not have to look back. She had a ‘midas touch’ and won almost all the races she participated. The achievement at the Asian Athletic Championship added a golden feather in her cap.

People, Sports

August 28, 2017

Malayalee naval commander Abhilash Tomy goes the extra mile at sea

Commander Abhilash Tomy is a less-known name to Keralites. But when it comes to the nation’s history, his name is written literally in golden letters. The Changanacherry-born naval commander is the first Indian and the second Asian to circumnavigate the earth non-stop. Abhilash speaks to The Kochi Post about his experiences and future plans.

Abhilash inherited the passion for naval profession from his father V. C. Tomy who was a Lieutenant Commander with the Indian navy. “I joined navy at a very young age of 17. I used to read a lot about expeditions in my childhood. This might have had an impact and as soon as I joined navy, I got attracted to yachting. When I joined the naval academy in 1997, there was a small boat called ‘Énterprise’. I learned the basics of yachting in that,” recollects Abhilash.

It was later in 2004, Abhilash got a coach who moulded him to be a competent yachter. “When I began yachting, it was just a hobby. Then it became my sport and later I realised that I had already become really serious about it.” He began his solo, non-stop circumnavigation on November 1, 2012. It took him 150 days to complete and he reached back on the shores of Mumbai on March 31, 2013. He was received by the President at the Gateway of India.

Life, People, Sports, Travel

February 15, 2017

Help Talented Skier Arif Khan Make it to Winter Olympics

Skiing maybe a less-talked-about sport in India. But for Arif Khan from Gulmarg, it has been his entire life. This youngster dreams of representing India in the Asian Winter Games and the South Korea Winter Olympics in 2018. There seems to be one hurdle along the way- money. But there’s a way to make sure this youth gets there and makes our nation proud.

All you need to do is, click on this link and make a contribution.
Bitgiving- Help Arif

Arif needs 6.81 lakhs to participate in the Asian Games and close to 13.5 lakhs to help get qualified and participate in the Winter Olympics.

People, Sports, Uncategorized

January 21, 2017

Kerala Sets the Bar High with a First-Of-Its-Kind Gender-Neutral Football League

Yuvasamithi, a group of youngsters working for socially relevant campaigns like gender equality, education, etc., under the leadership of Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad (KSSP), is organising a Gender-Neutral Football League as part of its SCRIBES science-cultural fest, which brings together youth from all over the State and includes discussions, film screenings, and performances.

The flag-off for the league-level tournament, the first of its kind, was at the Government High School Grounds at Pilicode in Kasaragod district on January 15, where teams comprising men, women and transgenders played against each other, upholding the true sportsman spirit.

People, Sports

December 18, 2016

Tickets for ISL Final worth INR 300 being sold for INR 3000 in Black Market

The ISL 2016 storm has swept away all Kerala Blasters fans and the anticipation to witness the finals is at its peak after the stupendous and dramatic win of the team against Delhi Dynamos. The match being played at Kochi makes it even more special. Blasters, co-owned by Sachin Tendulkar, will take on Atletico de Kolkata on Sunday in the final match of the Indian Super League season 3 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kaloor, Kochi.

This enthusiasm among the fans could be one of the reasons that ‘all the tickets’ got sold. The online ticket sale for the match started on December 7, but all the tickets got sold by next day morning itself. Online portals had to reissue fresh tickets, however, even those got over in no time. Fans from various parts of the state who had come to purchase the tickets and watch their favourite team performing had to go back disappointed as the tickets counters at Kaloor stadium also remained closed.

Sanjai Basheer, a Kerala blaster fan says, “I was really excited to watch the finals. But I could not get the tickets despite trying for days. I have tried all possible contacts to get a ticket but, now I understand why all efforts were vain as tickets are being sold in black.”

People, Sports

September 28, 2016

Interview: C.V. Pappachan on the Glory Days of Indian Football

C.V. Pappachan is a former Indian football player. He has led the Kerala Police football team and the State team. He also scored the only goal for India in a match against Hungary during the Nehru Cup in 1991. In a conversation with Unnikrishnan R., he talks to The Kochi Post about his new role with the Kerala Police football team, ISL, and the future of football in the State.

The Kerala Police football team is one that has literally been formed by you and I.M. Vijayan. A lot of other amazing players were also part of the team in the past. How do you view this opportunity to coach the Kerala police team, which you were also once a part of?

I really look forward to it. What I want is to share the experience I had in the past of playing for the team. When I got the chance to be the coach of the Kerala Police team, the only thing on my mind was that. I always had the desire deep down to be a trainer and pass on the experience to the next generation of players.

Sports

June 23, 2016

The Poli’tricks’ of Selecting the next Indian Cricket Coach

There are unusual proceedings taking place in the Indian cricket circuit these days. The reference is to nothing else but the selection of the Indian senior cricket team’s coach. The seat was vacant for a long time and finally the officials have decided it is time to find a ‘suitable’ person to head the team. The appointment is being done in a way which is unheard of in the Indian scene before. For the Indian coach’s job, the applications were officially called and those who wanted to take up the job could apply directly to The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI has always tried to stay away from being transparent. BCCI, though a national body governing cricket in India, never wanted to see itself as an instrumentality of the State. This was raised before the Supreme Court in Zee Telefilms case, 2005 and the Apex Court held that the BCCI cannot be considered as “State” for the purpose of Article 12 and this prevented the operation of Part III of the Indian Constitution dealing with Fundamental Rights against them. In the limelight of the earlier judgements by various courts, more or less, this move by the BCCI to call for applications for the position of coach can be welcomed with a view that they are trying to provide transparency to the process. It is also to be noted that one of the applicants himself is the chairman of the selection committee.

You may find it funny that one of the terms mentioned by the BCCI was “the candidate should know Hindi or other Indian regional languages.” They may not have stated this as mandatory. But such a clause clearly shows they are interested in an ‘Indian coach’. And in an administrative body headed by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP (Member of Parliament), Anurag Thakur, it is no a wonder that such ‘Sanskritisation’ has taken place. The BCCI is indirectly saying to the candidates that only Indians need to apply for the post of Indian Coach. If this is then way things are headed, then who is to say that the BCCI will not ask that the candidate be affiliated to a certain party.

Sports

June 12, 2016

Anju Bobby George Versus EP Jayarajan

The drama between Anju Bobby George and EP Jayarajan at the Kerala State Sports Council (KSSC) raises questions of responsibility and at the same time of politics in sports.

When it comes to the matter of responsibility, the question raised is whether Anju Bobby George, the first athlete from the country to win a medal in World Championships in athletics, has done her duty with total justice to the post she holds as the state’s sports council president.

When it comes to the politics, is this a deliberate move from the part of the Left Democratic Government (LDF) to swap Anju from the position to give the post to the person they like?

Politics, Sports

June 7, 2016

Sachin Baby, Kerala’s newest IPL star

Sachin Baby – The young elegant left hander from Kerala has marked his presence in this year’s Indian Premier League with the mighty Royal challengers Bangalore. Sachin was successful in keeping a place for himself in a team which has lots of big names.

He may not have the backing of huge runs behind him like Ab Divillers or Virat Kohli. But certainly was instrumental behind RCB’s success story this year. We also saw Sachin, a very under rated bowler taking important wickets. Even Virat showed faith in this young lad from Kerala. The first Malayalee to play the IPL finals, Sachin Baby shares his IPL experiences with The Kochi Post reporter, Unnikrishnan R.

Sachin, it was an excellent more over a memorable season for you with the RCB in IPL this year. How was your experience with RCB?

Sports