Mumbai Masala

Air-India coach Bimal Ghosh wore a sorry and despondent face after each of his team’s recent games. Against Mohun Bagan, when they were clearly undone by the referee, he said: “I am helpless against such supervision.”Shabbir Ali of Salgaocar chose to blame his players; he did bemoan the officiating, but only reluctantly. Indian Bank manager DV Sunder complained of the one decision that affected them. “The referee did not want to show the card; only when the Mahindras players pressurised him did he flash the yellow card.”

But Dempo coach TK Chatunni had the most debilitating criticism. He complained of technical flaws by the referee, and in his booming voice, venomously derailed one official: “And he comes from Kerala!”Done in by one from his own state? Unpardonable.

Troubled trophy

The organisers of a golf tournament in the city seem to be encountering a strange problem…ensuring the safety of their coveted trophy.

The glass trophy given to the Crompton Greaves All-India Matchplay Golf Championship winner is making a habit of getting into trouble.

Last year, while it stood pretty on the display table when a strong gust of breeze loosened an advertisement board hanging just above the table to send it crashing. The glasswork was considerably damaged. Fortunately it was the first day of the tournament and the organisers could repair it in time for the presentation.

Learning from experience, the organisers took care no boards were kept hanging anywhere near the trophy this year. But fate is known to undo the most careful plans. This time, the display table gave away. Fortunately, while people around froze in horror, an alert being standing nearby grabbed the crash-bound trophy just in time.

Talk aboutaccident-prone trophies!

Star’ sports

That children of sportspersons often follow their parents’ footsteps and take to playing one game or the other, is common. But in the last couple of seasons, we have often come across children of film stars and businessmen turning out for their school or college teams. Last week, Seemab Khan, the late Amjad Gabbar Singh’ Khan’s son, claimed crucial wickets in Rizvi College’s title triumph. Last year too, Seemab had scored a ton and claimed seven wickets for Maneckji Cooper in the inter-ICSE schools cricket tournament.

Hema Malini’s daughters Esha and Aashna have both played handball for Jamnabai Narsee in the past, while Sunny Deol is said to have turned out for the school’s football team selections. This year, Anil Kapoor’s daughter Sonam, Boney Kapoor’s son Arjun, and Shakti Kapoor’s son took a bow on the basketball court in the inter-school tournament. A source said mother Shivangi Kapoor nee Kolhapure was a prominent athlete in her schooldays. RajBabbar’s son Sajjad is also said to have a preference for the hoop game.The trend is not limited to film stars, either. Kirloskar scion Aditi played basketball for Pune in the state championship last May, while Dharam Hinduja’s daughter Satya and Aishwariya Nair, daughter of Leela Kempinski owner Capt. Nair are both in the Jamnabai handball team.

Contributions by Anand Venkatraman, Girish Karkera and Shankar Ramchandran