Hockey in India
Hockey in India, the first hockey club came up in Calcutta in 1885-86 and soon Bombay and Punjab followed suit. Making its Olympic debut at the 1928 Amsterdam Games, Indian hockey team cruised home to its first Olympic gold, without conceding a single goal. The hallmark of Indian hockey was - Dhyan Chand, who mesmerized the Amsterdam crowd with his dazzling skills. Indian hockey juggernaut won 8 Olympic gold medals, while winning 24 consecutive matches. India scored 178 goals conceding only 7 from 1928 to 1956.
1928 to 1956 was the golden era of Indian hockey, when India loomed large in world hockey and produced some of the finest players the game has ever seen. During this dominance, one name that clearly comes to mind is Balbir Singh. For almost three decades, Indian team had about five players with the same name. The first Balbir Singh played with the great Indian teams of 1948, 1952 and 1956. He reached the pinnacle of success at Helsinki in 1952 when he scored five goals in a 6-1 gold medal victory over the Netherlands. The four later Balbir Singhs played with the later Indian champions.
The Indian stranglehold over the Olympic hockey gold came to an end, when Pakistan defeated India in the final of the 1960 Rome Olympics. However, the record created by India is likely to stand strong through ages, as no other country has ever managed to come close to it, leave about beating it. Talking about some of the legendary and outstanding players of Indian hockey, Dhyan Chand, K.D. Singh, Dhanraj Pillay and Dilip Tirkey are some names that come to mind instantly.
Sansarpur, Punjab is famous for its hockey players and India got many gems from this village.
Thanks to their exceptional gaming technique and enduring enthusiasm, the position of India in the field of hockey achieved new heights in past.
Now a days Indian hockey is on the edge of its death and the National Game of India is struggling to make its presence in this country where people are more keen towards cricket and forgot the this legend game.
Recently Indian goalkeeper got hurt in practice session and could have lost his vision but no body cares about him and if it could be a small injury news for a cricket player people could have been crazy on that and Indian Media will be continuously showing that.
If this condition will be continue I am sure soon people will forget about Indian Hockey and its legends.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Hemant Karkare
Karkare obtained a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. After graduation he worked for Hindustan Lever Limited, India's largest consumer product company.
He joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) as a member of the 1982 batch. Among the posts he held in the IPS was that of Additional Commissioner of Police. He served seven years in Austria in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency. On his return in January 2008, he was appointed the head of Maharashtra's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS).
On September 29, 2008, three bombs exploded in Modasa, Gujarat and Malegaon, Maharashtra killing eight persons, and injuring 80. Several unexploded bombs were found in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Hemant Karkare, as the chief of the state Anti-Terror Squad, led the investigation into the 2008 Malegoan blasts.In late October the ATS arrested eleven suspects, and alleged that some radical Hindu groups were behind the blasts.
Opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janta Party and Shiv Sena, and Hindu organizations alleged that the arrests were made under the pressure of the incumbent government, in an attempt to appease India's Muslim population.Karkare came under intense political pressure during the investigation, and some BJP, RSS and VHP leaders accused the ATS of being used as a tool to attack the Sangh Parivar and of using illegal detention and torture.
Hemant Karkare was killed in action by militant terrorists during the Mumbai attacks, on 26 November, 2008.
India Express quotes statements by Constable Arun Jadhav, who was with the officers Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte when they died.The three officers and four constables had received information that Sadanand Date had been injured in the gunfire at the Cama and Albless Hospital for women and children. Located at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), a ten-minute drive from the hospital,they took a Toyota Qualis and proceeded in that direction. Salaskar was driving, Kamte in the passenger seat, Karkare in the second row, and the four constables, including Jadhav, were in the back row of seating. According to Jadhav, five minutes later two terrorists stepped out from behind a tree and opened fire with AK-47 automatic rifles. The six policemen, other than Jadhav, were all killed quickly in the gunfire. The wounded Jadhav had no opportunity to render assistance. The two terrorists approached the vehicle, dumped the bodies of the three officers on the road and, leaving the constables for dead, proceeded to Metro Cinema. Upon arrival, they aimed three bursts of automatic fire at police and journalist vehicles drawn up at that location, then drove off towards the government offices (Vidhan Bhawan) in South Mumbai. Here again they fired several times. While attempting to leave the area, one of the tires of the vehicle burst, so the terrorists departed to obtain another. At this point, Jadhav was able to contact headquarters. The bodies of the dead were promptly recovered and taken to St George Hospital.
His bravery was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra on 26 January 2009.
He joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) as a member of the 1982 batch. Among the posts he held in the IPS was that of Additional Commissioner of Police. He served seven years in Austria in the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India's external intelligence agency. On his return in January 2008, he was appointed the head of Maharashtra's Anti-Terror Squad (ATS).
On September 29, 2008, three bombs exploded in Modasa, Gujarat and Malegaon, Maharashtra killing eight persons, and injuring 80. Several unexploded bombs were found in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Hemant Karkare, as the chief of the state Anti-Terror Squad, led the investigation into the 2008 Malegoan blasts.In late October the ATS arrested eleven suspects, and alleged that some radical Hindu groups were behind the blasts.
Opposition parties, including the Bharatiya Janta Party and Shiv Sena, and Hindu organizations alleged that the arrests were made under the pressure of the incumbent government, in an attempt to appease India's Muslim population.Karkare came under intense political pressure during the investigation, and some BJP, RSS and VHP leaders accused the ATS of being used as a tool to attack the Sangh Parivar and of using illegal detention and torture.
Hemant Karkare was killed in action by militant terrorists during the Mumbai attacks, on 26 November, 2008.
India Express quotes statements by Constable Arun Jadhav, who was with the officers Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar and Ashok Kamte when they died.The three officers and four constables had received information that Sadanand Date had been injured in the gunfire at the Cama and Albless Hospital for women and children. Located at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), a ten-minute drive from the hospital,they took a Toyota Qualis and proceeded in that direction. Salaskar was driving, Kamte in the passenger seat, Karkare in the second row, and the four constables, including Jadhav, were in the back row of seating. According to Jadhav, five minutes later two terrorists stepped out from behind a tree and opened fire with AK-47 automatic rifles. The six policemen, other than Jadhav, were all killed quickly in the gunfire. The wounded Jadhav had no opportunity to render assistance. The two terrorists approached the vehicle, dumped the bodies of the three officers on the road and, leaving the constables for dead, proceeded to Metro Cinema. Upon arrival, they aimed three bursts of automatic fire at police and journalist vehicles drawn up at that location, then drove off towards the government offices (Vidhan Bhawan) in South Mumbai. Here again they fired several times. While attempting to leave the area, one of the tires of the vehicle burst, so the terrorists departed to obtain another. At this point, Jadhav was able to contact headquarters. The bodies of the dead were promptly recovered and taken to St George Hospital.
His bravery was honoured with the Ashoka Chakra on 26 January 2009.
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