Clash of Departments is an inter-department sports event organised by the Business Economics Department of Aryabhatta College. With the recent conclusion of the world’s most iconic sports event, the Business Economics students of Aryabhatta College were able to frame the first ever ultra sports event in the college. The students of the department took a bold initiative and planned to organise an inter-departmental sports event named Clash of Departments (COD) across its campus. A week-long event, it was initially to be conducted in the last of August, but was postponed to the first week of September due to monsoon rains. The three-day event was organised without any kind of permission from the administration of the college. Ten courses participated with ten to twelve students in each departmental team. The event included sports like – football, cricket, volleyball, table tennis, and carrom. The inaugural football match was kicked off in rain, charging the atmosphere of the campus. There were more spectators than anticipated; even the professors missed their classes to catch a glimpse of the game. Amidst the nail-biting game and adrenalin rush, it was difficult even for the referees to penalise the players. The games progressed and winners were announced. After being on their toes the whole match, students of Hindi honours won the cricket finals. Business Economics students won the football finals against economics students with a score of 2-0 in the penalty round. A duo from B.Com honours won the table tennis finals, whereas a team of three clinched the carrom title. Students from Business Economics were on fire as they stole the show in the volleyball match as well. “This huge game plan was not an easy task to handle, but the efficiency and dedication of the organisers and their team effort turned it into a reality. I think it was the best we could do to relieve ourselves from the study load and look away from the entire election nuisance. It exceeded expectations as for the first time in my college life, I could see the college united as one.” said the mastermind of this event, Sandesh Choudhary, a second-year business economics student. The initiative was appreciated by the participants as well, “It was a great step by the business economics department. The best part was the variety of sports and the excellent organisation in such a short period of time. However, more time should have been allotted for the teams to prepare and practice. Then again, sometimes adrenaline overcomes preparation,” said Syed Shabee Rahman, a first-year economics student. Banking on the success of this event, the department students are looking forward to putting together a sports fest in the month of October too. Gerush Bahal gerushb@dubeat.com]]>
While Indian female athletes shine at the global platform in the Rio Olympics, back home, a girls college in DU cancels popular physical education course.
Delhi University’s Bhagini Nivedita College has cancelled its physical education course, dealing a severe blow to the 24 students currently enrolled in this elective course, as part of the 3Y-UG BA Programme. As per the notice issued by the college on 17 August, the students have been asked to opt for other electives instead, like mass communication and creative writing.
Introduced in 2011, the physical education course has suffered an uncertain fate ever since the controversial Four Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP) was set up. Unfortunately, like the FYUP, even the current system of Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) doesn’t bolster this course, thereby becoming a prime reason for its cancellation.
College authorities said that other reasons for withdrawing this elective are the changes in workload under the new system and unavailability of equipped teaching staff. But the concerned teacher, Mamta Sahrawat, alleged that the course was being unfairly targeted, in spite of a fair number of students showing interest for this course.
The students are the worst hit by this decision, because it is their future that hangs in the balance. Teachers from other departments of the college have sent an application to the principal, Purbi Saikia, asking her to allow the course to run. But response to the proactive pleas of teachers and students alike, is still awaited.
With inputs from Hindustan Times.
Featured Image Credits: www.hindustantimes.com
Kriti Sharma
kritis@dubeat.com
The Olympics which start from 5th August, 2016, at Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, will have three Delhi University (DU) students competing in different events. DU is the only university to send three participants to the Olympic Games in the same year.
Lalit Mathur from Sri Guru Nanak Dev Khalsa College will be competing in the ‘4×400 metres relay for men’, Manika Batra and Apurvi Chandela from Jesus and Mary College in ‘table tennis’ and ‘shooting’, respectively.
Lalit who claims to have been the body double for Farhan Akhtar in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag quoted in an interview, “It is a big responsibility. It is scary and I am nervous. I just know I have to do my best.” He is not allowing anything to divert him at this point. “Gold lana hain country ke liye, uski poori koshish hain,” says the Delhi athlete.
Paddler Batra, who has won three golds in the South Asian Games plus two silver and two bronze medals in the Commonwealth Games this year, is a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. Measuring 130th in world ranking, the Delhi based player is confident she will bag a medal in the Olympics. She had already started working for Indian Oil while being a third year BA programme student at JMC.
Apurvi Chandela has already won a gold medal in the 2014 Commonwealth games at Glasglow. In an interview with DU Beat, she said that she was inspired when Abhinav Bindra won the gold in the 2008 Olympics and that is when she started shooting. Spending a minimum of six hours in training everyday, she likes to spend her free time with her dogs and an occasional book. “Sports is a good field to take up. It helps in all-round development. It keeps you going at all times. It’s important to put in all your effort and do what it takes to reach your goal,” said the youth icon.
DU is proud of such young stars and DU Beat wishes them all the best for the Olympics 2016 and their future endeavours!
Inputs from: Sportskeeda.com, Timesofindia.com
Image credits: newindianexpress.com, Pressreader.com, Konkanworld.com
Arindam Goswami
In an admission season of many firsts for Delhi University (DU), a centralised system of sports trials was followed, with different trials being held in the various colleges. However, the preceding fitness trials were no longer centralised but, also held in various colleges with applicants being allowed to appear in any college and use the same certificate everywhere.
An astounding 10,238 applications poured in this year for the 5% seats that the university allots for sports and ECA category. Currently, applicants from 43 disciplines are welcome, including, those from exotic sports like kayaking and canoeing.
Controversy had ensued prior to the sports trials with the High Court demanding DU to explain its sports admission process, after a petition was filed by NGO Child Health Organisation, calling for a centralised and transparent recruitment system. Moreover, 50 aspirants were barred from fitness tests on the very first day of trial as their certificates were deemed ineligible, with many of them blaming the University for not informing them earlier. However, according to grievance committee member, Dr Tarun Routhan, “Many applicants hadn’t checked the status of their admission on the varsity website. Almost 300 doubts and issues were addressed by the grievance committee within the 3 day allotted grievance period. Since the fitness tests were already underway, the issues of the barred candidates couldn’t be solved.”
Indoor sports persons had to clear one fitness test as opposed to two for outdoor players. At being asked about the fairness of this system, Dr Amita Rana, Head of Sports and Physical Education Department at Miranda House, maintained, “A basic level of fitness is expected of every applicant regardless of the sport. Even a player of chess needs enough stamina to perform for prolonged periods.”
At Miranda House, where 31 students were admitted this year, Dr Rana shared some grievances about the new system. According to her, the colleges weren’t given any funds by the University for arranging the centralised trials. Moreover, off-campus colleges have to wait until the latter lists to fill in their seats. Currently, almost half the seats are still vacant in such colleges, while popular colleges have already closed admissions. Also, colleges have to blindly admit students on the basis of the marks given by the judging panel. They cannot personally assess the performance and ability of the applicants.
The centralised system was met with mixed responses, and some aspects need to be altered for the admission process of 2017. The new sports recruits of DU will now be expected to participate in National and Inter-University Games and attend regular practices.
Image Credits: newsworldindia.in
Swareena Gurung
Cluster Innovation Centre (CIC) celebrated its annual sports on Friday, 18th March, in the University Stadium. Unlike other colleges where sports are majorly a student affair, in CIC the teachers are in fact a major participants in the events. The day started with the inauguration of the sports day by Dr. Madan Mohan Chaturvedi, Director of CIC. He reiterated the need of sports in the overall well being of a student.
The first event of the day was a football match between the students of B. Tech. and B.A (Hons.). The players of both the teams were cheered by teachers and students of the respective courses. The match was won by the B. Tech. team with a score of 4-3. Siddharth Nandan a student of Humanities said “Loss and win are a part of the game. It’s the game in itself which brings us closer.”
The next event that followed was a throw ball match between the female teachers and students’ team. The game was won by teachers with a match point of 2-0. This was followed by the most popular game of the subcontinent- Cricket. The match was played between the team of students and the team of teachers and non-teaching staff and saw a lot of sixes, fours and wickets too. The students won the toss and chose to bat. They put up a huge score of 131 in just 10 overs for the teachers to chase. The teachers tried their best but couldn’t chase the total. The match was won by the students’ team by 51 runs. Kumar Gandharv Mishra, a student of Masters of Mathematical Education (MME) was one of the star players of the event who took 2 wickets in the same over.
The long rally of games then came to a pause when students departed for lunch. After lunch the students, teachers and non-teaching staff gathered for the event of Musical Chair. The event was won by Raja Pandit of MME.
The sports day ended with a group of photograph of teachers, students and non-teaching staff to mark the uniqueness of the day. It was a day when students and teachers came closer to each other breaking the academic hierarchies and fulfilling the tagline of CIC which reads evolving senses, dissolving boundaries.
Image Credits: Priyankesh Dixit
Srivedant Kar
srivedantk@dubeat.com]]>
The events included athletic events, chess, archery, shooting, lawn tennis, badminton, basketball, volleyball and table tennis, with participation from both men and women across ten sporting events. LSR, in fact, is a pioneer in this feat, by being the only women’s college which hosts a tournament catering to both men and women. From the very commencement of the tournament, adrenaline ran high, and the excitement was clear on the faces of both the participants and the volunteers. The tournament began with an opening address by the current NSO President and international swimmer, Vandita Dhariyal. Justice Gita Mittal, alumna and ex-NSO President gave the chief guest’s address. An interactive yoga display, a musical performance by the LSR Western Music Society and a dance performance by Eshna Kutty followed, pepping everyone up for the upcoming matches in the various events.
Men and women battled it out in their respective match-ups, which spanned across sports as well as the sexes- the table tennis match witnessed a mixed doubles match, embodying the spirit of egalitarianism. As formal matches spanned out, volunteers ran to make the tournament smooth sailing. As Ms. Meenakshi Pahuja, Assistant Professor,Physical Education, Lady Shri Ram College, noted, “In the entire college, the biggest engagement is that of the volunteers. Even students in the college with no sports background participate and help us.” The event had truly entered the arena of non-sportsmen also, as the Cricket match that was held for the non-teaching staff, and the Faculty games proved. At an informal level, a soccer tournament was also held. The winners for various events included Dayal Singh College (morning) for Shot Put for men, and Tanya Sharma from the host college for women. The first place for Singles Lawn Tennis was bagged by Rohan Punj and Bhavya Wadhawan, who are both from SRCC.
As the NSO President of Lady Shri Ram College, Vandita Dhariyal said, “Dr Bharat Ram Open Sports Meet is an event which captures the sporting spirit of young aspirants. We try to give a platform to everyone who comes and wants to display their skill. Our theme is to keep the sportsperson in you alive.”
Stuti Pachisia
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Miranda House hosted its annual sports event Erobern over the course of three days, from 10th to 12th February, 2016. With participation from over thirty teams from colleges like Lady Sri Ram College for Women, Jesus and Mary College, Daulat Ram College and most women colleges of Delhi University, along with women teams from co-educational colleges, the winners’ position for all events was well fought for. Erobern saw five main competitive events- Netball, Ball Badminton, Basketball, Chess and Taekwondo.
The three day celebration of women-in-sports started off with an opening address by Dr. Pratibha Jolly who voiced her support for the event. She was accompanied to the opening ceremony by Professor Pasquale Sgro, the head of the Department of Economics of Deakin University, Australia, who was in the college for delivering a lecture. The opening ceremony was followed by a yoga demonstration by the students of Miranda House and a rope-skipping presentation by the Dutch Dragon Crew who enthralled the audience with over 450 styles of rope-skipping.
Tapasya Changkakati, the president of the Miranda House Sports Society, was happy with the turnout. When asked about her experience with Erobern, having been a familiar face from the previous year’s event, she said, “It’s a great experience to host fellow sportspersons. We always learn a lot from them. We hope all participating teams take away good memories of a fair and fun event from Erobern 2016.”
While Day 1 mainly saw knockout matches, the second day was full of action with Chess and Taekwondo being the main attractions, along with the league matches for Netball, Basketball and Ball Badminton. Proving that playing on home turf is indeed advantageous, Miranda House took the first position for both Chess and Taekwondo. The second and third positions were grabbed by the teams from LSR and Laxmibai College respectively for Chess, and Daulat Ram College and Aryabhatta College respectively for Taekwondo.
The finals of Netball, Ball Badminton and Basketball took place on the third day. After a well competed match between LSR and Miranda House, the latter emerged as the winners of the final. LSR took the second position, followed by the team from Kirori Mal College in the third position. It was a special moment for the Miranda House team as they had earlier lost to LSR in the basketball event at Kirori Mal College. Komal and Meena, two first-year players on the team were all glee as they said, “We were nervous about the match but our seniors were phenomenal and we had an 11 point lead in the first quarter itself!”
The Miranda House team again reigned supreme in the finals of Netball, fighting off competition from JMC for the first position. The teams from JMC and Maitreyi College followed, making up the top 3. The winners for Ball Badminton were the teams from Gargi College, Miranda House and Maitreyi College respectively.
Image Credits: Jasmine Chahal for DU Beat
A plastic disc sails through the air and an agile player deftly plucks it out of the air in one fell swoop, to fling it halfway across the field again. The sport that revolves around these ‘flying discs’ is currently the fastest growing sport in the world. To learn about this non-contact sport that is taking Delhi University by storm, DU Beat catches up with a few students of St.Stephen’s College who have constituted ‘Hawabaaz’, an Ultimate Frisbee team.
Dias Mario Antony, a MA student of History and captain of Hawabaaz, is quick to tell us that the sport, though popularly known as ‘Frisbee,’ is officially named ‘Ultimate,’ while ‘Frisbee’ is the name of the flying disc manufactured by the Wham-O toy company. Having watched previous batches of St. Stephens’ College, a group of students came together, resulting in a cohesive team-Hawabaaz that conducts intensive team practices every morning, along with their coach, Suhani Bedi, who plays for the Indian National Ultimate Frisbee team. Hawabaaz has played at tournaments such as the one held by the Ashoka University, with individual players participating at the Hat Tournament 2015, Delhi.
On the skill sets that the sport helps them to pick up, the team stresses upon stamina, endurance and agility. Each member contributes a different skill, forming an efficient team. “At least three female members are required to be a part of every team and there is no discrimination,” says Maria Benny, a second year student. A concept known as the ‘spirit of the game’ ensures that Ultimate is the only sport that is not supervised by a referee. This demands that conflicts are resolved immediately and peacefully on the field, requiring patience on the part of the players. Abi Thampi, a third year student, emphasizes on the stamina that the sport has helped him build. The team concurs- one does not require a certain level of fitness to begin playing the game.
Hawabaaz is hoping to get more students from Delhi University involved in this game that means the world to them.
Featured Image Credits: www.thesportsarmy.com
I ran my first race at the tender age of five. I was in upper kindergarten (UKG) and my school was celebrating its Annual Sports Day. It was a ‘Banana Race’: one had to eat a banana at the initial line and then run 50m to the finish line. Technically, I never even ran the race because the tubby little me, cared only for the free banana. So after eating the banana, satisfied and content, I just stood at the initial line.
That was ‘then’. Fourteen years later, fast forward to the present year, ‘now’. I participated in the Vizag Marathon and came first in the ‘Open Women’s Category’. I won a certificate, a gold medal and a cheque of Rs.10,000. Who could have ever thought that the ‘Banana Girl’ would grow up to become a ‘Champion Marathoner’?
The journey wasn’t easy, of course. And the transformation took it’s time. But I honestly feel that ‘running’ is a sport that can be embraced by anybody and everybody. It comes naturally to human beings- it does not need to be taught, because it is innate and self- evident. Unlike golf, tennis and swimming, it does not require a special environment (course, court and pool, respectively). It also does not need expensive equipment- just shoes, comfortable clothing and a steely will.
If you’ve ever felt like breaking the pattern of your sedentary lifestyle, doing something healthy and becoming active, then I urge you to take up running. You can start small- maybe walk, then take it up a level and jog and then go on to full-fledged running. But, you must find that determination and START!
Once you start, you can follow these steps and soon, you’ll be running long distances like a pro. You can then challenge yourself and participate in marathons. And who knows, maybe even win them!
STEP 1: START AND REMAIN MOTIVATED
‘Running’, like all other sports, requires commitment. Once you start training yourself, you need to muster up all your perseverance and keep at it. You’re not going to turn into a runner in a day, week or month. Accept that and don’t give up. Monitor your progress and stick to your regime. You’ll get your results over time. But when you do, you’ll look back and realise it was all worth the wait and persistent effort.
STEP 2: EAT HEALTHY
You can fasten your journey by embracing healthy eating habits. The deadly cocktail of diet and fitness guarantee long-term benefits. When you eat nutritious food, your internal health improves. This gives a boost to your stamina and energy levels, enhancing your performance. So, chuck the fries and soda. Grab an apple and watch your overall fitness levels skyrocket to unimaginable heights!
STEP 3: CHALLENGE YOURSELF
When you feel you’ve achieved your goal of running 500m without panting, crank it up a notch and try doing the same for 1 km. And then 2,3 and 4kms. Don’t follow stagnated goals. It is very important to keep moving forward. So you need to review your goals, increase speed, increase distance and then ensure that you’re meeting these goals within the given time frame. Remember, the key is to keep moving!
STEP 4: CHANGE THE SCENE
Your journey of transformation asks for your ‘patience’. Keep yourself going by changing your environment every now and then. If you’ve been running on your college tracks for over 6 months, try going to a park and practicing there. Or try a treadmill at the gym. Update your running playlist. Run with a friend. Jazz up the scene and make running fun! If you succeed in doing so, you’ll never have to come up with excuses to bunk training.
STEP 5: GET REST AND SLEEP WELL
Over-training can derail all your sincere efforts. Over-training can lead to muscle break-down, aches and serious fatigue. So if you over-train for a week and then need a week to recuperate from the damage, you’ve done yourself a huge disservice. It’s advisable to train only 5-6 days a week and keep at least 1 day of rest, when you let your body replenish prepare itself for next week’s training. Don’t let ambition blind you to the fact that you’re working with a human body, not a machine.
Now is the perfect time to add ‘running’ to your Resolution List. So get ready to get fit in 2016! Here’s to a ‘Healthy’ 2016! Hip, hip, HURRAY!
Image Credits: Kriti Sharma
Kriti Sharma
kritis@dubeat.com
In an event where speakers were talking about the meaning of ‘passion’, it was Kaustubh Khade who had me sync a beat with his. I was so glad to have heard his speech. He talked about dolphins and dangers which were a part of the splendour of his passion.
Khade has been Kayaking for five years and has many accomplishments to his name including having represented India in two Asian Championships; finishing 5th at the Asian Sea Kayaking Championship for solo kayaking and winning two silver and one bronze medal at the Asian Dragon Boat Championship. In March 2015, he achieved an exceptional feat by Kayaking (Paddle Hard) from Mumbai to Goa to raise money for Magic Bus, a non-profit organisation for underprivileged children and youth.
I couldn’t let go of the moment to fuel up my passion with an account of his journey.
Here is what I asked, and what he said:
Question – 1.) When did you happen to come across kayaking?
It was in 2010 when I went to Goa with my friends. We took a motorboat because we wanted to see Dolphins but, then we realised that the motorboat was scaring away the Dolphins. So, we decided to take a double Kayak. It was then that I had it in me, I started liking it. Although, I never saw the dolphins, but my friends did.
Question – 2.) Kayaking doesn’t seem to a layman anymore than just a source of recreation. But, how was it that you started pursuing it as a sport?
During the same trip to Goa, I happened to see a boat shore with Kayaks in Panjim. So, I went there and decided to buy one for myself. I wanted it to be delivered to Bombay. However, everyone was taken aback and they asked me, “Do you even know how to kayak?”
And so, they suggested a centre in Bombay for me to first learn kayaking.
Now that I come to think of it, I think that I was lucky enough to make an acquaintance so quickly. I started it off as an experiment but it blew up into a whole new array of passion.
Question – 3.) When you pursue your passion, you need to convince a lot of those who are close to you, especially your family. Your passion for Kayaking was both risky and dangerous. It is a very rare kind of passion. How did your family respond to that?
I have been lucky to have parents who have been very supportive. They are really pro sports. In fact, when I was studying in IIT, they used to ask me to give some time to sports. As far as Kayaking is concerned, in order to convince them I had to fake it a bit. Initially, I did not to tell them how risky it was. In fact, it is only when they saw the videos of my expeditions, that it had them exclaim, “Oh! It looks like it’s dangerous!”
But then, they have been with me through this and have been really supportive.
Question – 4.) Indians are very passionate about cricket. Do you think you faced some problems because of the uniqueness and rarity of the sport you were pursuing? How well did the government support you?
Most of the sports which are not cricket need attention at the grass-root level. Yes, to some extent bureaucracy and corruption eats up the sport. And indeed, we need some recognition for Kayaking. People are not aware of it. However, trends have changed too. Comparatively now, more people are showing interest in Kayaking.
Question – 5.) Pursuing mainstream jobs will lead you to mainstream success professionally. Passion is not considered to be feasible unless it makes you meet certain ends. In this context, is it important for your passion to fund you?
It is quiet tough to answer that. I try to keep my passion fuelled up and I think that’s something important. And also, it comes down to a certain mind set. You really need to weigh what is more important to you. For me a 9 to 5 stable job wasn’t as important as kayaking.
Question – 6.) Even after being an IIT-grad, nothing could keep you from following your passion. What is your message to some of those students who have their minds elsewhere? Those of us who are probably reading a book which they never wanted to read and would rather have their lives doing something they love?
The students should realise that it is okay to be different. It is very important at the academic level that you realise your talents and interests. Because, it is at this level that some students are staled-off. Hence, we need to discover a lot. In college particularly, exploring is imperative.
Image Credits: http://i.ytimg.com/