hanraj Pillai does not play cricket. Hence he cannot make Rs. 20 crores a year like Sachin Tendulkar. Nor can he make Rs. 3 - Rs. 4 crores a year like Saurav Ganguly or Rahul Dravid, or Rs. 50 lakhs per year in match fees that a typical Indian cricketer makes. 

Instead, Khel Ratna, Padma Shri and Arjuna Puraskar winner Dhanraj Pillai is starting a hockey development programme in Mumbai, which will be funded by the recycling of empty inkjet and laser toner cartridges used in printers and fax machines.

Dhanraj will be distributing boxes resembling cartridges to around 1000 offices and companies in Mumbai, with the collection being done on a monthly basis. He would then be sending the waste to an eco-friendly organisation, LetsCorp Europe B.V., based in The Netherlands. 

Every cartridge would fetch Pillai 1.25 DM, which is roughly equal to Rs. 25. He needs around 60,000 cartridges a year to meet the expected annual expenses of Rs. 15 lakhs. "Even if each box fetches me 8 to 10 cartridges a month, it would be more than sufficient. The money from this exchange of ‘waste’ will be used to tap and train hockey talent,’’ says Pillai.

Operating under the banner of Players Forum, Dhanraj has already chalked out a plan for an year-round coaching camp in Mumbai. The first phase of the plan, to be held between September 2001 and August 2002, will have 50 trainees (25 boys and 25 girls in the 16 to 20 years category).

Dhanraj has sought permission from the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), guidance from national coach Cedric D'Souza, and the help of senior Olympian of Mumbai like Merwyn Fernandes, Mir Ranjan Negi, Joaquim Carvalho and others.

The Bombay Hockey Association (BHA) has been approached for use of the city’s only astroturf surface on a pay-to-play basis. The BHA managing committee is currently considering the proposal.

Those interested in contributing empty cartridges can either send them directly to Players Forum, 8 Jolly Bhavan No. 1, New Marine Lines, Mumbai 400020, or email playersforum@india.com for further details.

Article Courtesy R. Murali of the Times of India

odagu, the smallest district in Karnataka is known as the Scotland of India. Kodagu is also the hockey hotbed of Karnataka, having produced such illustrious players as B. P. Govinda, M. P. Ganesh, B. K. Subramani, A. B. Subbaiah, K. K. Poonacha, C. S. Poonacha, Jagadish Ponnappa, Len Ayyappa, and Amar Ayyamma.

The Nike Nellamakkada Cup hockey tournament, held in the tiny town of Ammathi in Kodagu from from April 20 to May 13, recently entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest family tournament in the world. 

Every year, the tournament takes on a different name and is held in a different town, based on the family that is organizing it. The tournament committee has already identified hosts among Kodava families till 2010.

This family tournament dates back to 1997, when Pandanda Kuttappa and his brother thought of having a common platform where all the Kodavas could come together and play the game they love most. The tournament has grown rapidly in size from its early beginning, as seen from the table below:

Year Held	Organizing Family	Families Participating
1997	Pandana	68
1998	Kodira	120
1999	Ballachanda	135
2000	Cheppudira	170
2001	Nellamakkada	226

Each team is made up of members of only one, blood-related family. Women can also participate; they have the choice of representing either their paternal side or maternal side. The tourney has brought together fractured families, and helped bury ancient animosities. Uncles, cousins, brothers and nephews who otherwise barely see each other are now part of a team effort. Many of them work in cities like Bangalore, Chennai or Delhi; they time their annual vacation to coincide with the tourney which is the talking point for months together.

On the eve of this year's final, Kodagu, the birthplace of the holy river Kaveri, hosted a cultural evening comprising Ummathat, Peeleatt, Bolakatt and Polakkuatt dances. Each dance symbolised the rich Kodava culture and their ever-lasting love for Kaveri.

Representatives from Guinness were present to witness this unique tournament. The final was held between the Cheppudira and Koothanda families. Spectators started occupying their seats two hours before the title clash, held at the Ammathi High School ground. All sport-loving people of the Kodava community were there to show their undying passion for hockey. Koothanda beat Cheppudira 3-1 to win a hat-trick of hockey titles.

Thanks are also due to title sponsor Nike who made the 2001 edition of this unique tournament possible - not a small task with 226 participating families, 12 matches a day, 4,068 players, 2003 goals, and a daily average of 15,000 spectators over the 24 days of the mega-tournament. 

Hemchandra Jhaveri, COO of the tournament's title sponsor Nike India, summed it up for all by saying, "Nike salutes the zeal and the spirit of the Kodavas."

nion sports minister Uma Bharati has pulled up the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) on various counts of indecisiveness, inefficieny and lack of proper planning.

The 1st Afro-Asian Games as well as the Champions Trophy are being held on the same dates (November 3 - November 11). This has resulted in the top two teams of Asia - South Korea (world no. 2) and Pakistan (world no. 4) skipping the Afro-Asian Games hockey competition. In their stead, Japan and Bangladesh, far lower in world rankings, will be participating in the tournament.

Uma Bharati was livid with IHF secretary Jyothikumaran for his failure to point out the clash of dates to the Government well in advance, and for his inability to lobby the FIH to postpone the Champions Trophy. 

Uma Bharati pointed out that there was a similar clash between the Afro-Asian Games and the World Doubles tennis championship. However, Vijay Amritraj was taking up the matter with the ATP to put off the doubles championship to the third week of November.

In a move that will put the IHF on the defensive, Uma Bharati pointed out that federations must be made accountable for the performance of their teams. "Just as I am made to answer in parliament for performance of Indian teams at international competitions, I want the federations to stand up and take responsibility in case their teams fail to live up to expectations."

It may be noted that the IHF conveniently fired hockey coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran after the Sydney Olympics debacle. However, none of the IHF officials found it prudent to resign. On the other hand, if the Indian team had made it to the medal round, the officials would have strutted about as if they were responsible for the Indian team's performance.

Uma Bharati also wanted the federations to give details of the money they collect from various sources, noting that all donations to sports bodies are exempt from income-tax. "I would like to know how much of the money is actually spent on the athletes, particularly juniors. and how much is spent on officials.''

The minister interrupted Jyothikumaran's presentation to ask him when the IHF elections are scheduled. At first Jyothikumaran ignored her, but when she asked again, Jyothikumaran gave a curt reply "2002."

The minister hit back saying "I'm asking you this because the problems within the Indian Hockey Federation affect the Indian team's performance more than anything else."

Not satisfied with Jyothikumaran's pedantic presentation, Uma Bharati asked him to send the IHF president K. P. S. Gill instead for a meeting with the Sports Ministry.

he 4th junior (u-21) Women's World Cup was held from May 14-26 at the National Hockey Stadium in Quilmes, Buenos Aires, in Argentina. The tournament saw sellout crowds on many days, with the fans rooting heartily for the 'Young Lionesses' of Argentina.

India did not send its best team, and its record of 1 win, 1 loss, 1 draw and 1 goal conceded was not sufficient to qualify for the championship round. India eventually finished 9th in the 15-team tournament. India's match results were as follows:

Stage	Date	Score
Main Round	May 14	Holland 1 India 0
	May 15	India 2 USA 0
	May 17	India 0 New Zealand 0
Minor Placings	May 22	India 4 - Wales 0
	May 23	India 6 - Canada 0
	May 24	India 4 - Chile 0
	May 26	India 5 - Spain 1

Tehelka.com sports has pointed out that 4 of India's best players - Suraj Lata Devi, Sunita Dalal, Neha Singh and Surinder Kaur - were left out of the team. These girls were part of the Indian team that won the silver in both the Asian Games and the Asia Cup.

As writer Shanti Kumar Arumugham put it, "The average age of the team for the u-21 tournament was 19 years, two players were below 16 and Class X students. 13 of the 18 players have not played a single match at the senior level. In contrast, the Dutch and Korean teams had all but one player over 18 years."

The top 4 teams in the Junior World Cup were Australia, Argentina, Korea and Netherlands. In the first semi-final, hosts Argentina knocked out defending champions Netherlands 2-0, while in the other semi-final, Korea beat Australia 1-0 off a sudden-death penalty corner scored in the 82nd minute.

In the final, Korea came back from a 0-2 half-time deficit to Argentina to first tie the game, and then win the penalty shootout 4-3 to take the 2001 Junior World Cup. Korea beat defending champion Holland, runners-up Australia, and hosts Argentina en route to its first Junior World Cup title.

ndian hockey's first ever international tour was the 1926 Indian army tour of New Zealand and Australia. That was the hockey world's first exposure to the Wizard of Hockey - Dhyan Chand, who would dominate the hockey scene for the next 3 Olympics.

On that New Zealand tour, India had a 18W-1L-2D record in the 21 matches played. India scored as many as 192 goals against the 24 scored by the opposition.

On a subsequent visit by the Indian team to New Zealand, the Maoris - the original natives of that land - presented the Indian team with a shield in appreciation of India's hockey wizardry. This Maori shield became the official trophy of the national hockey championship. The Maoris always had a special affection for India.

The Maori shield is now the symbol of hockey supremacy in Pakistan. This is because in 1947, when Pakistan was created out of India, the Maori shield happened to be in Lahore, as undivided Punjab had won the national championship in 1946 and 1947. After partition, the West Punjab authorities refused to return the shield to India.

The present chief executive of the New Zealand Hockey Federation, Ramesh Patel, and the manager of the Kiwi hockey team, Arvind Jasmat, are both of Indian origin.

In the current Kiwi national team, there are 4 players of Indian origin - Mitesh Patel, Umesh Parag, B. Hari and Dharmesh Puna. 6 other players of Indian origin, Alpesh Puna, Hemant Lala, Umesh Hari, Troy Hari, Roshan Parag and Sanjay Patel, made the probable list.

The New Zealand hockey team prepares to take on India in a 4 test series, with matches at Dunedin on June 16, at Ashburton on June 18, at Wellington on June 21, and at Auckland on June 23.

fter the success of the no-offside rule, more new rules will be introduced by the FIH after the 2002 World Cup to discourage over-crowded defences and increase goal-scoring chances.

According to the proposed rules, a goal can be scored from any part of the 25 yard line, and a maximum of 8 players of the defending team can be in their 25-yard area at any given time, including during the taking of long corners by the rival team.

This was announced by the head of the FIH Rules Board, Brig. Manzoor Husain Atif, who stated that sometimes teams pack their defences, and there were often cases of 18 to 20 players in the 'D', leading to more fouls than goals.

Satish Kapoor is this edition's Visitor of the Month. He is the chairman of the hockey steering committee of the Indian Gymkhana Hockey Club in London.

This is what Satish Kapoor wrote to BharatiyaHockey.org

It is my task to take our club, which is considered to be the leading Asian Hockey Club in Europe, back to the heights of the Premier Hockey League in the UK. We want to achieve that objective in true Indian style - by playing hockey with the dazzling skills of the Asian players, but with the fitness of the European players.

Our club is looking for 2-3 young players (national standard). They will be sponsored for their trip and stay in the UK. It is a good opportunity for a youngster who is keen on hockey and wishes to travel to the UK.

I am also looking for a good coach on the same terms. Can you help? Can you put me in touch with those who can help?

reg Nicol of South Africa, with his phenomenal strike rate in both international matches as well as in foreign leagues, has emerged as the premier goal scoring machine among the hockey forwards of the world.

Greg scored 16 goals (including 3 hat-tricks) in a recent 5-test series against Italy, with the following breakup:

Date	Test	Score	Goals by Nicol
May 1	1st Test	SAF 5 - ITA 0	3 (hat-trick)
May 2	2nd Test	SAF 4 - ITA 1	4 (hat-trick)
May 4	3rd Test	SAF 3 - ITA 1	2
May 6	4th Test	SAF 4 - ITA 3	2
May 8	5th Test	SAF 8 - ITA 2	5 (hat-trick)

South Africa's highest goalscorer, Greg has scored 183 goals from only 135 matches. No other modern-day hockey forward in the world can match Greg's strike rate.

abib Bank Ltd. (HBL) has agreed on a 1-year sponsorship deal worth Rs. 100 lakhs with the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF). The deal was signed on May 5 between HBL President Zakir Mehmood (left) and PHF Secretary Brig. Musarratullah Khan (center), shown in the picture above.

The first installment of Rs. 30 lakhs was released forthwith, the second installment of Rs. 30 lakhs will be released in September, while the final installment of Rs. 40 lakhs will be released in January 2002.

Meanwhile, the sports ministry has issued a cheque amounting to Rs. 200 lakhs to the PHF, to be used primarily for installing 5 astro-turf pitches. This grant was announced by Pakistan's Chief Executive, General Pervez Musharraf, after the final of the national hockey championshp held on February 24.

Brig. Musarratullah Khan will be giving a presentation to the PHF on a scheme whereby the PHF will profitably invest the Rs. 200 lakhs, and use the interest accrued for monthly payments to an astro-turf manufacturer to get 1 or 2 astro-turf pitches built every year. His plan is to build more than the 5 astro-turf pitches that the money has been allotted for.

nternet solutions provider MBD has signed up as English Hockey's Internet partner in a 3-year sponsorship deal worth £30,000. MBD will be responsible for the hosting and web content of Hockey Online - English Hockey's online presence at http://www.hockeyonline.co.uk

Apart from revamping the existing Hockey Online site, MBD will also develop a new Game Zone area targetted towards the youth, and a new Club Net area designed for club players, coaches and umpires. English Hockey's recently launched retail brand - Roar Material - will also move online as part of the agreement.

Hockey Online currently enjoys an average of 47,600 site visits per month, of which 28,000 are from unique visitors.