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Total Sports Asia plays Futsal with Ten Sports, Tara Bangla Total Sports Asia plays Futsal with Ten Sports, Tara Bangla
MUMBAI: Localisation is the name of the game as sports broadcasters seek avenues outside cricket to build up an audience. Earlier this year ESPN Star Sports (ESS) organised the first edition of the Premier Hockey League (PHL).
Now sports marketing firm Total Sports Asia (TSA) is organising the first of its kind TVS Futsal Championships in Bengal. The football event runs from 19 April to 28 May 2005. It has roped in Ten Sports and Tara Bangla to cover the event.
What is unique is that unlike traditional football in Futsal each team has just five members. Each half lasts for 20 minutes. That makes the game speedier and reduces periods of boredom. This format has been approved by footballs governing body Fifa.
Speaking this evening to Indiantelevision.com Total Sports Entertainment India MD Navneet Sharma says, “The aim is to build further on the passion that football generates and allow an outside a chance to play with the big boys as it were. The event is divided into three legs. The first leg will involve the participation of a total of 16 clubs from each district, with a total of 304 teams across 19 districts. Winners from each district will be further broke down in to zones, following which winners of the respective zones will play each other to identify the best district team.
The district champion will get a wild card to the final round. The second leg is called Para Football and takes place in Kolkatta. Kolkata will be segregated into three zones i.e. North, South and Central. A total of 45 teams will participate across the three zones. Winners fro the respective zones will play each other to identify the best para team, who will get a wild card to the final round.
The two winners will then participate in the Super division of the Futsal Championships. They will be joined by the top six teams of the Indian Football Association (IFA) including Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting. The event is being conducted under the aegis of the IFA and has prize money of Rs. 300,000.
While Tara Bangla will cover the district level games Ten Sports will cover the semi finals and final. According to Sharma this is the first time that two Indian broadcasters are covering a local football event. TVS is the title sponsor. Khadims and Haywards 5000 are the co-sponsors. The company will conduct roadshows across Bengal. TSA will also take out hoardings and the print partner for the event is The Statesman. Sharma adds that this will be a yearly event. Next year the company is looking at roping in teams from Goa, Mumbai, Kerala as well as teams from abroad.
NEW DELHI: Hamdard Laboratories gathered a cross-section of India’s achievers in New Delhi on Friday, handing out the Hakeem Abdul Hameed Excellence Awards to figures who have left their mark across healthcare, education, sport, public service and the arts.
The ceremony, attended by minister of state for defence Sanjay Seth and senior officials from the ministry of Ayush, celebrated individuals whose work blends professional success with a sense of public purpose. It was as much a roll call of achievement as it was a reminder that influence is not measured only in profits or podiums, but in people reached and lives improved.
Among the headline awardees was Alakh Pandey, founder and chief executive of PhysicsWallah, recognised for turning affordable digital learning into a mass movement. On the sporting front, Arjuna Awardee and kabaddi player Sakshi Puniya was honoured for her contribution to the game and for pushing women’s participation onto bigger stages.
The cultural spotlight fell on veteran lyricist and poet Santosh Anand, whose songs have echoed across generations of Hindi cinema. At 97, Anand accepted the honour with characteristic humility, reflecting on a life shaped by perseverance and hope.
Healthcare honours spanned both modern and traditional systems. Manoj N. Nesari was recognised for strengthening Ayurveda’s place in national and global health frameworks. Padma shri Mohammed Abdul Waheed was honoured for his research-backed work in Unani medicine, while padma shri Mohsin Wali received recognition for his long-standing contribution to patient-centred care.
Education and social development also featured prominently. Padma shri Zahir Ishaq Kazi was honoured for decades of work in education, while former Meghalaya superintendent of Police T. C. Chacko was recognised for public service. Goonj founder Anshu Gupta received an award for his dignity-centred rural development initiatives, and the Hunar Shakti Foundation was honoured for empowering women and young girls through skill development.
The Lifetime Achievement Award went to former IAS officer Shailaja Chandra for her long career in public healthcare and governance, particularly in the traditional systems under Ayush.
Speaking at the event, Hamdard chairman Abdul Majeed said the awards were a tribute to those who combine excellence with empathy. “These awardees reflect Hakeem Sahib’s belief that healthcare, education and public service must ultimately serve humanity,” he said.
Minister Seth struck a forward-looking note, saying India’s young population gives the country a unique opportunity to become a global destination for learning, health and wellness by 2047.
The ceremony also featured the trailer launch of Unani Ki Kahaani, an upcoming documentary starring actor Jim Sarbh, set to premiere on Discovery on 11 February.
Instituted in memory of Unani scholar and educationist Hakeem Abdul Hameed, the awards have grown into a national platform that celebrates those building a more inclusive and resilient India. For one evening at least, the spotlight was not just on success, but on service with substance.
