Sethi vents ire at sport officials

By OUR CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai

June 8: Eight-time world billiards champion Geet Sethi, put the blame of sportspersons’ poor performance and lack of Olympic medals to the "conscious and systematic" efforts by officials of various Indian sports federations to not give athletes their due respect.

"I had gone to watch the 2000 Sydney Games when I had floated a sports website and at a party hosted for the 200 odd Indian sportspeople, I could clearly sense dejection, depression and defeat in them other than the tennis players," Sethi said of his experience with the Indian contingent.

"I saw federation officials strolling on the boat as if it was their own and boasting around with flamboyance and arrogance, while athletes bowed before them. I recall this was when Karnam Malleswari had won her bronze in weightlifting," he said.

"We need to make players heroes, those who have qualified for the Olympics. They also need our full support now and not through any long running processes."

As a part of the ‘Olympic Gold Quest’ that Sethi has set up with badminton great Prakash Padukone he said, "Everyone I have met in India, from businessmen to doctors and other professionals want our athletes to win medals at the Olympics. They are willing to commit themselves financially. It needs only one gold medal to open the floodgates."

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Age staffer wins SJFI tourney

Mumbai, June 8: Sundari Iyer from The Asian Age clinched the women’s badminton championship held as part of the Sports Journalists Federation of India’s annual convention on Saturday.

Sundari defeated Deepti Patwardhan of Indian Express , also of West zone, 15-4, 15-6, in the final of the tournament held for the first time. Deepti ousted Sanasi Kelkar 15-4, 15-9 while Sundari blanked Pooja Mehta 15-0, 15-0 in the semifinals.

The putting championship for the SJFI delegates at the Bombay Presidency Golf Club was washed out because of the heavy rains that lashed the city.

— PTI