Why discrimination against hockey?
Sir, September 24, 2007 is a historic day in the calendar of Indian sport. The grand and spectacular victory of India over Pakistan in the ICC T20 World Cup final should be recorded in golden letters in our sports diary. M S Dhoni and his men have done India proud. Before the beginning of the tournament nobody might have predicted that they would win the title.
Our Indian cricket team could identify a worthy leader in Dhoni, whose on-field energy and off-field calm is the reason behind India’s success in the tournament.
The victory has brought the team huge prizes – Rs 8 crore for the team and Rs 1 crore for Yuvraj Singh for hitting six sixes in an over in the match against England. However, one feels like asking why such prizes were not announced for India’s hockey team who recently won the Asia Cup? Sukumar Talpady
Bangalore
The brand Gandhi
Sir, In appointing Rahul Gandhi as a general secretary of the All-India Congress Committee, the ruling party has given its strongest indication of the impending elections. Indian politics being the gamble that it is, it would be foolhardy to dismiss Mr Gandhi, the fifth generation in the Nehru-Gandhi clan to hold an organisational post in India's oldest political party, as an untried newcomer. He inherits the most valuable brand name that, even in its worst days, commands over a fifth of the Lok Sabha. The AICC is a haven of power brokers and disingenuous intermediaries. The party’s newest general secretary needs to guard against them. K S JAYATHEERTHA
Bangalore
Fans must be balanced
Sir, I understand from one of the TV news channels that Shoaib Malik, captain of the Pakistan cricket team made an unsporting gesture at the end of the finals in the Twenty20 World Cup by apologising for the loss of his team to Muslims around the world (apparently including those in India), despite their prayers.
Statements like this would only divide Indians on the lines of community.
Cricketers must learn to exclude religion from the game. R Govindarajan
Bangalore
ICC must take action
Sir, Shoaib Malik's apology to Muslims of the world after the ICC T20 World Cup is irresponsible and defeats the purpose of an international tournament that tries to reach out to everyone, irrespective of geographical or religious background. The ICC must take action against Malik for mixing religion with sport. J N Mahanty
Puri
Fantastic victory Sir, It was a fantastic victory for India in the Twenty20 world cup, and one cannot say that such and such was particularly responsible for the victory ! R P Singh bowled excellently, Irfan Pathan delivered a deadly blow, Joginder Sharma bowled a slower one when Misbah-Ul-Huq expected a normal delivery and M S Dhoni thought well to bring on Joginder for the final over. It was team work driven by youth power and a bit of luck that finally won the match for India. R G Srinivas
Bangalore
Preach, don’t practice
Sir, Despite DMK's commitment to radicalist ideology propounded by E V Ramaswamy and Annadurai, it never seemed to follow what it preached. When Annadurai suffered from oral cancer in the late 60’s, his followers conducted poojas and abishekams in all major temples across the state for a speedy recovery. Now, Mr Karunanidhi dismisses Ramayana and calls Rama a myth. H N Ramakrishna
Bangalore
Too much for tourists
Sir, KSTDC is about to roll out its first tourist train the “Golden Chariot” that would cover some important destinations in the State. Even as per affluent countries' standards, the rate of $ 300 per night per person is exorbitant. There are budget tourists from affluent countries who would not pay such a high price for a train ride with all its comforts. D B N Murthy
Bangalore
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Why discrimination against hockey?
