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National Sports Day: What DU has Contributed to the Realm of Sports

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On the occasion of National Sports Day, i.e. 29th August 2018, let us look at how DU has managed to influence and produce sportsmen in various fields.

National Sports Day is celebrated throughout India on 29th August 2018. The day also involves the celebration of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand. Often referred to as ‘The Wizard’ he had incredible hockey skills. To commemorate his birth anniversary, in 2012 the Government of India designated 29th August as the country’s National Sports Day.
On this day, the President gives out all the sports-related awards like the Arjuna award, Dronacharya award, and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna to honour sportspersons and coaches who have made the nation proud with their service in their respective sports.
The University of Delhi is a varsity that recognises the importance of sports in everyday life. The University has produced world renowned sportsmen like Unmukt Chand, who is a graduate from St. Stephen’s College, and plays for Delhi Daredevils in the Indian Premier League, and also plays domestic cricket for Delhi. Naveen Jindal, former Member of Parliament and the Chairman of Jindal Steel and Power Limited, is a graduate from Hansraj College. He is a national record holder in skeet shooting, and has won many national and international awards for the same. Apart from this, he has also excelled in Polo. Gautam Gambhir, the well known cricketer who represents India at the international level, is a graduate from Hindu College. Anjum Chopra, former captain of the Women’s National Cricket Team, is also a graduate from Hindu College. These are a few amongst the many DU graduates and current students who have been achieving international success.
Manish Adhikari, a football player from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) who represented India in the 43rd Asian Football Championship held in China says, “From playing football with my neighbourhood friends to being selected for the school, and then getting selected in my dream college SRCC, football became a huge part of my life. Representing India at the international level was a once in a lifetime experience which I will cherish forever. DU has helped me emerge as a player by giving me a platform to train and compete with the best players in the country. Football has taught me to be a responsible and disciplined individual. It has also helped me understand the importance of teamwork and leadership. Some of the best memories of my college life are on the football ground with my team mates.”
Playing a sport in college is somewhat similar to having a job- if you do not show up to practice, your position in the team is in jeopardy. Sometimes it is hard to choose to stay in when your friends are going out because you have practice in the morning, or you wish you could go to the movies, but you have a game. However, as a college athlete you must be dedicated and committed to the team.
Admission to the University of Delhi through sports quota is a long process. The candidates who apply are given marks based on their certificates. The next step is a fitness test, and later trials, which include both individual skills and team matches. The cut off is then released by different colleges that have vacant seats for the respective games and positions. After the admission, the students are required to go for practice sessions every day. Proper diet coupons are provided by the colleges to maintain the health of the hardworking sportsmen and sportswomen. Despite its questionable sports infrastructure, DU has time and again given great gems to the nation in the field of sports.

 

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat.

Anoushka Sharma

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Spo(r)tlight

Novak Djokovic Wins His Fourth Wimbledon Title

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The Serbian defeated Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-3) in the Sunday final, en route his 13th Grand Slam title.

Novak Djokovic is finally back to the winning ways. This victory comes after his long spell of injuries, which kept him off the court for an entire year, and off the podium for two. His last title came at Roland Garros in 2016. While the tennis world was dedicating it’s attention to Roger Federer’s reincarnation, the Serbian master was slowly looking to find his way back to the court. He started playing tournaments, big and small, keeping off the limelight, just to mark a comeback of this magnitude.
And what a comeback this has been.

He had been playing every major tournament this year. Starting with the Australian Open, he was giving it all against every opponent, but to no avail. He was crushed in the Italian Open semi-finals at the hands of Rafael Nadal. Later Marin Cilic got the better of ‘Djoker’ in the Queen’s Club Championship final. But his fans, in the haze of all these disappointments, could see the gleaming signs of resurgence. Novak was hitting his forehands like always, holding his grounds to tackle the best of serves, and gliding across the court in his trademark style. They believed that a championship point was around the corner. They were right.

However confident his supporters had been, Novak himself was not expecting this prestigious title,more so against the Nadals and Federers of the game, nevertheless, the self-belief, which saw him win 12 slams in the times of absolute Rafa-Federer dominance was still there. “I did not expect to be back in the top shape already here in Wimbledon so quickly,” Djokovic said after the match. “If you asked me after Roland Garros, I would probably maybe doubt that. At the same time, there is a part of me that always believes in my own abilities, believes in my own quality of tennis, what I possess. Whenever I come to the tournament, and a Grand Slam especially, I believe I can have a good opportunity to fight for the trophy.”

The victory on Sunday was anything but a challenge for Djokovic. Anderson had certainly given it his best, and  it shows in the quarter final marathon against Roger Federer and the semis showdown against John Isner, but in the final he looked out of gas, while Novak had saved his best for the ends. The champion breezed past his opponent in his very own fashion, reminiscent of his heydays. By the time Anderson could chart his dominance in the third set, the game was all but over.

After the game, once again he ate the legendary Centre Court grass, this time he even found it sweet.

Throwback? Rightly so.

 

Feature Image Credits: Sky News

Nikhil Kumar
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DUB Speak

The Carnival of Indian Cricket: Indian Premier League

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The eleventh season of the Indian Premier League is set to start from the 7th April. One can admit that it has been no less than a festival, celebrated for almost two months every year since the past decade.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a sensation in the world of cricket. The much beloved tournament has completed ten successful years, and is about to enter in its eleventh year on the 7th of April.

Idealized by Mr. Lalit Modi, the introduction of the event was a massive hit among the viewers since the very beginning. After all, who thought that players from different countries rivalling each other at the international level could play together? It was a big example of sportsmanship, friendship, and fraternity.

Over the years, it has served one of the major purposes it was introduced for. The tournament has been significant in terms of helping talented young players earn fame and money while benefitting Indian cricket simultaneously. A lot of players having good seasons in the IPL have gone on to represent the national team. The success of this sporting contest to help identify future stars has led various other nations to introduce similar tournaments, some of them being the Pakistan Super League, and the Caribbean Premier League.

But it has not been a smooth ride for IPL all the way. There were cases of match-fixing by players and team owners, which put the tournament in jeopardy. Experts and pundits all over the world criticized the level of corruption in the league that was defaming the spirit of cricket. One shocking incident was the suspension of two teams, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) for two years due to match fixing allegations. Also, the engagement of players from various nationalities in such a hectic and tiring tournament raised concerns over their fitness and commitment towards their national team.

But against all odds, IPL has made its way through to the 11th season, much to the delight of cricket lovers. This season is highly anticipated, particularly because of the return of the two suspended teams. Also, there has been a complete revamp of the teams in an auction that was held in January. Fans are excited to see new players playing for the teams they are rooting for, while a shuffle in the team composition means that many players will fight it out against their older franchises in the upcoming season.

A lot has been said, done, and discussed up to this point. But all eyes will now lay on the tournament which is expected to deliver to the hype with thrilling matches and some good cricket. As it has always been the case with IPL, viewers can now just wait and witness all the different surprises the tournament will unfold in this season.

 

Feature Image Credits: India.com

Karan Singhania

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Campus Central

Sports Quota Entrants in DU: The Victims of Poor Facilities?

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Come January, and you’d mysteriously find the basketball ground refurbished and gentrified with new forward-looking basketball paraphernalia, something that you couldn’t get the sports department to do since months. Come January, and you’d find the most avant-garde gadgetry in the gym with goods and chattels that you had no idea even existed. Come January, and you’d find the worn-out and frayed tennis balls being replaced by newer, winsome looking ones.

Ask me what’s so special about January. The sports quota entrants of colleges across the University of Delhi (DU) would have a uniform answer: Tournament Season. January for a sports quota entrant is like the Regina George of the average American high school, it screams ‘high maintenance’ and ‘flashy’. In the first month of the year, these sports quota entrants are given optimum treatment, for they have to win tournaments and bring laurels to their college. Once the tournament season is over, these entrants go back to being the proletariat, being swindled and hoodwinked by the class of bourgeoisie, the college administration.

If I were to give you an unorthodox analogy, I would compare inter-college rivalry and contention with today’s National media channels vying for TRP ratings. Just like the prime-time news channels have abandoned all pretense of neutrality, becoming the drum beaters of a state narrative aimed at its laid out propaganda, even colleges try to win tournaments by hook or by crook. As a result, we have Motilal College taking in swimmers even when they don’t have a swimming pool, we have the Centre of Vocational Studies (CVS) taking in entrants for badminton even when they don’t have a proper badminton court, and we have Rajdhani College taking in recruits for gymnastics even when they don’t have a gym.

The question being flagged by thousands of sports quota candidates of DU is, why do these colleges accept these students when they can’t provide them with the requisite facilities? Arjun, a footballer from Kirori Mal College, asserted, “Our college is in a crisis when it comes to sports.” Speaking about the poor maintenance of the college football field, he commented, “When we go for practice, it feels like we’re in a beach, there’s so much sand and so little grass. The gym is functioning, but the equipments are in a pathetic condition.” Disclosing certain anomalies in the administration, he added, “The college is supposed to allocate a certain amount of fund for sports facilities, but it gets siphoned off before it can reach us.”Alleging a gross under a provision of facilitates, he observed, “While a team of footballers at least requires 10 to 14 footballs, we are provided with only two to three.”

 Lizza Talukdar, a swimmer from Motilal Nehru College, has had a strenuous experience which costed her a significant amount of money. Due to the absence of a gym and a swimming pool in her college, she had to spend INR 5,000 every month to practice in private gyms and swimming pools. Jahnavi, a tennis player from Miranda House, through a phone call conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, elucidated on the sanitation facilities in her college. A lack of proper hygienics in a girls college can be an authentic torment, for the use of a better term. While her college has no showers or washroom in the gym, she admitted to sneaking into the hostel to take a bath after practice. Her teammate, Isha, complained about the lack of maintainance of the tennis court and said, “As our court is surrounded by foliage, the leaves fall on the ground. Because the surface gets packed with leaves, we slip and end up hurting ourselves.”

Vibhan, a handball player from Rajdhani College, revealed that one of the grave problems that he and his team members face in summers is the absence of a water cooler near their practice grounds. As an outcome, the team has to go to the college time and again to get water. This might sound like a juvenile argument to make. However, for a sportsperson who has to spend hours toiling on the field and battling with the scorching heat, even this anomaly is a grave deceit on part of the college. Eshita from CVS shed light on the negligent attitude of the college administration as she discerned, “While shuttles are decreed to be given to badminton players, we are often provided equipment of unsatisfactory quality.”

Come admission season, the sports quota aspirants would compete with each other to grab the coveted seats in the University of Delhi. Providing them anything less than the best facilities would be deceiving them, beguiling them into a trap. When they have to devote three years of their academic lives to play for the college then don’t they deserve a certain amount of accountability from the colleges?

 

Feature Image Credits: Praveen Negi

Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
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DUB Speak

A Monthly Football Round Up

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As the top football leagues across the world take a break while their players are busy with international duties, we take a look at the major developments before it all gets to the final rounds.

  1. City the new Kings of England

Pep Guardiola’s side will be having mere formalities left to lift the elusive premier league title once the match days begin. Sitting at the top sixteen points clear of the second place Manchester United, the silverware is quite under their radar. They would be giving it all in their European campaign now, as they face Liverpool in the Champion’s league quarter-finals.

 

  1. Unstoppable Barcà

When Madrid crushed Barcelona over two legs last September, even their mouthpiece, Gerard Pique conceded that their team felt inferior to the Madrid giant but has since changed their statement. The Catalans transformed their playing style, relied on their talisman in Lionel Messi, and it has been a fairytale since then. Once the play resumes, they would look well set to lift the Spanish league, once again.

 

  1. The Madrid resurgence

Madrid had the dream start of this season. Beginning the season with the formidable win over the Catalans, they were widely regarded as the best in the world. On the back of this confidence, they let Morarta and James Rodriguez on loan and found confidence in Asensio and Lucas Varqueuz, something which did not quite turn up according to the expectations. But then, it all always depends on Ronaldo. Cristiano’s form dipped, and so did Madrid’s. And as the knock-out stages came, the Los Blancos were back at their royal best. When the house opens up again, expect the whites to win it all and claim the Champion’s league trophy for the record third consecutive time. Once again, on the back of the form of their Midas- Cristiano Ronaldo.

Feature Image Credits: Metro

 Nikhil Kumar

[email protected]

 

 

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Events

Spardhaa: Sports fest of Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women

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Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women, University of Delhi – organized its second Sports Fest “SPARDHAA” on 18th-19th January 2018 on the college campus. Spardhaa – which signifies healthy competition, served as a significant platform for the participants to exhibit their sports talent, leadership and comradery. The Chief Guest for the Opening Ceremony was Shri Ram Niwas Goel, Speaker, Delhi Legislative Assembly and the function was also graced by Shri Manoj Kumar, Member Legislative Assembly, NCT of Delhi. The guest of Honor was Mrs Santosh Yadav, Padma Shree Awardee and the first woman in the world to scale Mount Everest twice within a gap of less than a year. The festival started with a March-past of fourteen Departmental Teams and two teams of Students Council and Sports Council respectively. The Department of Physics bagged the first Position in March-past for their well-coordinated and energetic presentation.

In the Intercollege category, there were nine events including Aerobics, Rhythmic Yoga, Yoga, Volleyball, Kho-Kho, Table Tennis, Badminton, and Tug of War. Chess and Carom were specially kept for Para- athlete category to encourage equal opportunity. A vibrant participation by around 800 athletes from 43 colleges/Institutions of University of Delhi and NCR was witnessed in “SPARDHAA” to make it a grand success. Though these events were primarily for girls but Badminton, Tug of war, and Table Tennis were open for boys also.

The Sports Fest was yet another platform to display women power. It also catered to community sports activities for the non-sports students and staff of the college in order to promote fitness, wellness, and a sense of socialization. The community sports activities included 50 M Race, 200 M Race, Discuss Throw, Shot Put, Long Jump, 4×100 M Relay Race, and Three Legged Race and some fun-based activities for staff. The community sports activities proved to be very popular among the in-house students/staff and showcased their sports potential.

Spardhaa received overwhelming support from our sponsors, Chief among them being the ONGC Ltd. and the Delhi State Aids Control Society, Govt of Delhi. Other sponsors like vki fotographie, Sega Shoes, Parle Agro, and Delhi Sports also chipped in and contributed to its success. Our media partners like Samachar Nirdesh, DU Express, DU Vibes, DU Beat, DU Khabar etc. covered the events and helped us in reaching out to all our stake holders.

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Events

Hansraj College Inaugurates its First Sports Council

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The Department of Sports and Physical Sciences of Hansraj College organised a Sports Orientation on 29 August 2017. The event also marked the 102nd birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand, a day which is celebrated as National Sports Day. The highlight of the event was the felicitation of the Sports Council which came into being for the first time in the history of Hansraj College.
The Principal, Ms. Rama, inaugurated the event with the lighting of a lamp with Dr. M.P. Sharma, Head of Hansraj Sports Department. This was followed by speeches by the two professors. The Principal, along with the Sports Department, felicitated the first Sports Council of the college.
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The Sports Council will seek to organise and regulate several sports-related events for the college throughout the academic year. This will include organising an annual Sports Day in the college and several sports meets and interactions. Events like circuit training, boot camps, and walkers groups are also a part of the Council’s vision.
Along the lines of their motto, “Come and Play”, the Council hopes to facilitate student participation in different sports. The Council also announced that an annual Hansraj Sports Magazine will be published by the its editorial board.
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Shri Ram College of Commerce

Sports facilities offered in various University of Delhi colleges

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The University of Delhi (DU) is regarded as the academic powerhouse of the country. The talented student fraternity, experienced faculty and the incredible exposure that it offers to its students, makes DU what it is. Yet, for all the hype around DU, most people assume that its colleges lack adequate sports facilities. This stereotype is widely spread, despite there being a little truth to it. In fact, most DU colleges offer resources like swimming pools, tennis courts, basketball courts, cricket grounds, etc. Hence, it’s high time we break off this age old myth!

1) Hans Raj College

Shah Rukh Khan’s alma mater offers its students an indoor badminton court, shooting range, lawn tennis court, pistol shooting range, basketball court etc. Often students from other colleges after having acquired adequate permission from the authorities are allowed to practise here and use these resources.
What makes it special – It has a state-of-art gym which can be accessed by Hans Raj students at the cost of 1000 per month. Hans Raj also offers immense opportunities and resources to those dedicated to shooting and archery, an extracurricular that only a few colleges offer.

2) Indraprastha College for Women (IPCW)

IPCW offers a swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court, fitness centre, squash court, badminton court, climbing walls and walking track to its students.
What makes it unique – The swimming pool and lawn tennis facilities can be accessed by students from other colleges for a nominal fee of around 300 per month. IPCW also has a playing arena for differently-abled students, a move which other colleges should adopt as well.

3) Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC)

SRCC is one of the most well-equipped colleges in Delhi University, as far as sporting facilities are concerned.  It is home to a centrally air conditioned indoor stadium with a seating capacity of 1200 people. It has been designed for games like badminton, basketball, table tennis and judo.
What makes it unique -The college also offers multiple gyms, a sports injury and rehabilitation centre and a medical room. Students from other colleges can access the swimming pool facilities for a nominal cost.

4) Sri Guru Teg Bahadur (SGTB) Khalsa College

SGTB Khalsa nurtures its athletes exceptionally well. It has a very talented cricket team that has won many laurels.
What makes it unique -a cricket academy also operates on its grounds during the evenings. This academy provides students with an excellent training in cricket, available to non-Khalsa college students as well, for a cost of 1500 per month.

5) Kamala Nehru College (KNC)

KNC offers sports like football, cricket, judo, athletics, basketball and aerobics.
What makes it unique – It has a gym inside its campus which students from Gargi College can access for a reasonable cost of 300-500 per month.

6) St. Stephens College

Stephens has a badminton hall, basketball court, shooting range (10mts air pistol and air rifle), squash court and a swimming pool.
What makes it special- The badminton and squash courts have wooden flooring while the basketball court has synthetic flooring.

7) Lady Shri Ram College for Women (LSR)

LSR is a pioneer in the field of sports. Sports like archery, basketball, air rifle shooting and volleyball and squash are all prioritised here.
What makes it special- The Dr. Bharat Ram Sports meet. It is not only a prominent sports meet but also the only one hosted by a women’s college that caters to both men and women.

These colleges are not an exception. Most Delhi University colleges have unique sports facilities. If certain colleges lack certain resources, they tie up with other colleges to ensure that their students have access to the same. These grounds have produced athletes and sportspersons who have won laurels at various international platforms and it is the time that they are given their due recognition.

 

Kinjal Pandey

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Admissions 2017

SGTB Khalsa College torments young cricketer trying to secure admission

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In another case of carelessness on the part of college administrators, a 17 year old champion cricketer Ajay Guliya was denied admission into the college of his choice due to carelessness of the authorities. Ajay scored 79 out of 100 in the varsity’s sports trials, which was claimed to be the highest for a left arm spinner. However, the student was shocked to know that he was not shortlisted by the top college of his choice, Shri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College, in the first merit list which was released by the college on Sunday.

The reason behind his name not being in the merit list, as given by the college authorities stated that his form was misplaced. This new came as a shock to Ajay and his family because hundreds of students compete to get into University of Delhi from across the country and the university admits about 54,000 undergraduates every year. Five percent of all college seats are reserved for students under the sports and extracurricular activities quota. Ajay was confident about his chances as he had displayed his talent as an all rounder cricketer in the Under 19 team at the national level, as well as the Under 14 and Under 16 teams from Delhi state.  He was surprised to know that students who scored lower than him were selected, in place of him. Now Ajay has been asked to wait for the second merit list, even though he has easily made the cut in the first list.

Ajay Guliya was later contacted by Anil Kalkal, the Sports Council Director, assuring him that a seat would be given to him in the second list of SGTB Khalsa College.
An official of the sports admission committee at Khalsa College admitted that the form was misplaced. On conditions on anonymity, he stated that the action was an unintentional mistake and the college has not denied him admission. They have assured him that a seat would be given in the second admission list, but he is adamant to rake the issue. It was further on added that SGTB Khalsa College holds the reputation of sending the maximum number of cricket players on the University level, hence the mistake is unintentional.

Rakesh Guliya, Ajay Guliya’s father believes that this is no way to treat a national level player who is trying to mould his future. He believes that his son’s admission process has been full of hurdles, and now Khalsa College is taking his son’s future for granted.

On Monday, Guliya finally secured admission in Hindu College. However, this incident threw light upon the faulty mechanisms of college administrations. Does this call for more transparency in the field of admissions under the sports and ECA quota?

Feature Image Credits: India Today

Joyee Bhattacharya

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Admissions 2017

The Great College Debate: ECA & Sports Quota Vs. General Admission

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All the colleges under the University of Delhi have at least 5% seats reserved for students who wish to take admission through the extracurricular activities (ECA) and sports quota. The ECA quota in DU includes eleven categories of activities: dance, vocal, instrumental, theatre, creative writing, debating, fine arts, digital media, quiz, NCC, and NSS. The applicants are judged by an ECA admission committee constituting at least two experts. Under the DU sports quota, candidates can secure admission at Delhi University colleges in two ways – direct admission without sports trials or admission with sports trials. All candidates who have represented India in any international sports competitions like the Olympic Games, World Cup, etc. are eligible to secure admission at DU without undergoing the sports trials. The benefit of the ECA and sports quota is that it aids you with gauging chances of getting enrolled in top colleges even if you have a percentage lower than the cut-off. If you are passionate about any ECA field or sports, it is guaranteed that it will be nurtured at the college level after you join the respective societies. There is direct entry into the society, without any auditions, if you get through the respective ECA quota.

On the downside though, students have to miss their classes and go for long practices during inter-college fests and sports meets. While attendance for the missed classes is provided by the college for the quota students, important work is missed out on, which may impact the understanding of the subject.

For general admissions, students have to follow the cut-off lists and take admissions wherever their percentage equals the cut-off percentage. This goes on from the first to the last cut-off list and students withdraw from one college to another, or swap courses. The general admission requires higher percentage vis à vis ECA and sports quota as there is no rebate on the marks obtained. Getting admission through the general category gives one the option to choose any society or team or to even not get involved in co-curriculars, whereas getting admission through ECA or sports requires determination and dedication towards the chosen field. Each side has its pros and cons but both admission processes require substantial patience.

 

Feature Image Credits: Alex Arthur for DU Beat

Radhika Boruah
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