Busan - 2002
On
October 15, 1932, a light single-engined de Havilland Puss Moth took off
from Drigh Road Airport, Karachi on its flight to Mumbai via Ahmedabad. At
the controls of the tiny plane was Jehangir Ratanji Dadhabhai Tata
(1904 - 1993). He
landed with his precious load of mail on a grass strip at Juhu. Thus was
born Tata Airlines, Asia's first private commercial airline.There were no runways then, no radio facilities in the aircraft or on the ground. There were no air hostesses, no aerodrome officers and no airport buildings. In 1933, the first full year of its operations, Tata Airlines flew 160,000 miles, carried 155 passengers and 10.71 tonnes of mail, achieved 100% punctuality, and earned a profit of Rs. 10,000. Tata Airlines was renamed to Air India in 1946.
Athletes: 6,700 athletes from 44 countries
Debut Sports: Pentathlon and Body Building
Top 3 Countries: China (150G, 84S, 74B), South Korea (96G, 80S, 84B), Japan (44G, 74S, 72B)
- It is the first time in the history of the Asian Games that all 43 member nations of the Olympic Council of Asia
participated. That included North Korea and Afghanistan, which returned to the Games for the first time since the
Taliban came to power nearly a decade ago.
The Indian men's hockey team's match results were as follows:
Date India - MEN Goal Scorers - India Sep 30 India 5 - Hong Kong 1 Gagan Ajeet Singh (6m, 44 m)
Daljeet Singh Dhillon (10 m)
Jugraj Singh (39m, 47m)Oct 2 India 3 - Japan 0 Deepak Thakur (11 m)
Dhanraj Pillai (46 m)
Daljeet Singh Dhillon (55 m)Oct 4 India 1 - South Korea 1 Daljeet Singh Dhillon (45 m) Oct 10 India 4 - Pakistan 3
(Semi-Final)Dhanraj Pillai (6m, 21 m)
Daljeet Singh Dhillon (41 m)
Gagan Ajeet Singh (67 m)Oct 12 South Korea 4 - India 3
(Final)Jugraj Singh (48 m, 60 m)
Gagan Ajeet Singh (53 m)
The Indian women's hockey team's match results were as follows:
Date Match Goal Scorers - India Oct 5 China 2 - India 0 Oct 7 South Korea 5 - India 0 Oct 9 Japan 3 - India 2 Suman Bala (59 m)
Jyoti Kullu (65 m)Oct 11 Japan 2 - India 0 India Finish Last First in the Commonwealth Games, last in the Asian Games, not qualified in the World Cup - that summed up the below average performance of the Indian women's hockey team in 2002. While India's victory in the Commonwealth Games was very creditable, the world powers in women's hockey are non-Commonwealth countries. Note that the top 3 positions in the 2002 Women's Champions Trophy were bagged by China, Argentina and Netherlands, while the defending Asia Cup champion is South Korea - all 4 being non-Commonwealth countries. Indian women's hockey has a long way to go, for hockey, unlike cricket, is not just a Commonwealth sport.
Indian Team (Men):
Goalkeepers Devesh Chauhan, Bharat Chetri Defenders Dileep Tirkey (captain), Jugraj Singh, Kanwalpreet Singh, Dinesh Nayak Midfielders Viren Rasquinha, Vikram Pillai, Ignace Tirkey, Bimal Lakra Forwards Dhanraj Pillai, Deepak Thakur, Prabhjyot Singh, Daljeet Singh Dhillon, Gagan Ajeet Singh, Tejbeer Singh Officials Rajinder Singh (chief coach), Narender Singh Sodhi (assistant coach), Ranjeet Singh (goalkeeper coach), Hardeep Singh Dhillon (manager), Sampath Kumar (physical trainer), Raj Kumar Jaipal (doctor)
Indian Team (Women):
Goalkeepers Tingoleima Chanu, Helen Mary Defenders Amandeep Kaur, Suman Bala, Kanti Baa Midfielders Suraj Lata Devi (captain), Sumarai Tete, Seeta Gossain, Masira Surin Forwards Mamata Kharab, Manjinder Kaur, Pritam Rani Siwach, Jyoti Sunita Kullu, Sanggai Ibemhal Chanu, Saba Karim Anjum, Adline Kerketta Officials Gurdayal Singh (chief coach)