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Muthuraman is also the Tata Steel's MD. He noted that two members
of the Indian cricket team which secured a historic win against
Australia yesterday were employees of Tata Steel. They are the skipper
Saurav Ganguly and bowler Ajit Agarkar. " While industrial organisations
are recent they are the wealth generators. A part of this wealth
should be ploughed back towards enriching the society and sports
is one of those areas. Over the decades Tata Steel has supported
games like archery and football where we have academies. If we did
not do this then our bottomline would in fact get eroded."
He regretted the fact that most Indian companies sponsor sport
events with narrow objectives such as their logo getting seen on
television. "The involvement should go beyond donations. Direct
involvement is needed. We at CII have started a programme called
Golden Hopes for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. To this end our sports
group has managed to secure funds and we will be raising more by
holding two corporate sporting events. We will also be starting
an award which will felicitate those companies who have made significant
contributions in the sporting arena."
He also said that other companies could learn from Tata Steel on
how infrastructure can be created. In this manner a successful model
could be replicated such as the running of a sports academy. He
also regretted the fact that sports medicine was an area about which
very little is known in India. Through sponsorship doctors could
be sent abroad for training. As far as funds are concerned he said
that it was incorrect to depend on government agencies as they have
too much of an agenda.
Former chief of the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI)
I.S. Bindra issued a tongue lashing to the Indian sports federations
warning them to get their act together. ""If this does not happen
then the efforts of corporates will yield little. It would be like
taking a horse to the water and forcing him to drink. Many people
who head sports federations have been there for decades. Mr. Gill
has headed the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for far too many years.
A regulation should be put in place so that they can be removed
for non-performance.
"At the moment Indian sports federations are lethargic. Even
if you give them millions of dollars it will simply be frittered
way on lavish foreign jaunts. The Indian Olympic Committee (IOC)
recently sent FICCI and CII a list of fund and sponsorship requirements.
However if the IOC cannot do this themselves then what the hell
are they doing?"
He also said that the federations were extremely unprofessional
in their attitude. He gave the example of the IHF. A few years ago
IHF had signed a contract with ESPN Star Sports. However not long
after the IHF signed a similar contract with another broadcaster.
"How can organisations work with these federations when there is
no guarantee of any kind of commitment? All sports can make money.
It is a fallacy to think that only cricket can be profitable. The
management issues at the federations will have to be sorted out
if they hope to make any headway."
Even today after getting a sponsor in the form of Sahara hockey
players are grumbling over payments. Later on in the evening a panel
discussion was held. Tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi, billiards champion
Geet Sethi, writer Anil Dharkar, Bindra were some of the speakres.
The session was chaired by commentator Charu Sharma. Dharkar opined
that cricket has the edge because it is telegenic. "The cameras
allow you to see the expression of Saurav Ganguly the expressionless
Rahul Dravid. Therefore we connect with their personalities. Hockey
and football are field games and so for the viewer to form an emotional
connect with a player is difficult. They are also faster."
Writer Milind Rege concurred saying that a shot or a catch or a
run out could be seen form different angles. "There are so many
possibilities with each delivery bowled and the viewer gets different
perspectives thanks to around 16 cameras that are used for the replays.
Badminton on the other hand due to lack of funds has just two cameras."
Bindra said that one should not accuse television of making a monster
out of cricket. "Cricket was popular much before television arrived
on the scene. In fact the credit should go to All India Radio. Over
the decades cricket has been marketed superbly and my hope over
the years has always been that other sports would learn a trick
or two."
Bhupathi said that cricket was a game of the masses. Tennis on
the other hand needs investment in terms of club membership, racquets.
"Interest in sports is achievement driven. Interest in tennis has
picked up now that myself and Leander Paes won Grand Slam titles.
Golf will slowly rise with Arjun Atwal making a name for himself
on the international circuit. However sponsors are still very hard
to find. I went around to sponsors for the WTA tournament and was
rejected. The reason was that all the money had gone towards the
Cricket World Cup."
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