Chairman for 24 hours"Shri Madan Lal, national selector, has been appointed chairman of the national selection committee. Further, DDCA has been allotted representation on two important sub-committees, i.e. Ranji Trophy and technical committee. It has been decided in the AGM of BCCI held at Jaipur today (September 22, 1999).''That's what the statement read on the notice board on Wednesday morning (September 22) and since the official news had not yet come in from Jaipur, it seemed Delhi, or rather DDCA, had really managed to get a great deal more than expected from the Annual General Meeting of the Board. What made it all the more `credible' was that the statement was signed by the DDCA Administrator, Pankaj Bhardwaj. Obviously, it was done at the behest of the DDCA representative who attended the AGM.Packets of `burfies' were also distributed among DDCA employees in the morning to `celebrate' the occasion. The letter remained pinned on the notice-board as late as on Thursday evening, morethan 24 hours after Chandu Borde was officially named the chairman. Did someone jump the gun and a last-minute deal saw Madan making way for Borde, or was it mischief?100 gold and hurtingSebastian Xavier, the swimmer with a Kojak-look, is still upset. Upset, not at the sport which has seen him gather 70 gold medals at the National level, another 18 at the South Asian Games - the Kathmandu edition will be his fifth SAF Games - plus another six in the Asian Pacific Championships. But the award he covets most io the Arjuna Award, which has been given to many swimmers with far less achievements. The soft-spoken Keralite, married to former distance runner Molly, does not take any names, but clearly the hurt is on account of the award which went to Delhi lad Bhanu Sachdeva. But the question that comes immediately to mind: Are low-profile sportspersons from the South forgotten when it comes to recommendations? After in the past, many others like Rosa Kutty, SD Eashen, Mercy Kuttan among others havecomplained about being left out of the list.Kapil ko kab gussa aata haiFor a better part of the half hour that he gave the media, Kapil Dev adopted the policy: Few words, fewer promises. Appointed as the new coach of the Indian cricket team, the former captain and still world-record holder of most Test wicket, Dev parried away most questions. The stock answers: "I have just been appointed"; "You'll know after two years" or "I'll tell after two years." And he sported that famous smile all along, till one scribe asked if his new role would mean more representation for Haryana. That's when the nornmally unflappable Dev lost his cool. "I am a national coach. I don't belong to any state unit," he thundered said. But when the journalist persisted with his question, the Haryana Hurricane shot back: "Haven't you understood what I said. Aaap kaun si bhasha samajthe hain." The `wise' journalist then simply faded into the bakground. Just as well.A picture with KapilStill on Kapil,who was apppointed Special Ambassador for the SAF Games in Kathmandu. The man drove straight from the venue of his press conference to the Nehru Stadium, where some members of the Indian contingent for the South Asian Federation Games were gathered. "They are representing India and I just wanted to wish them, so I came over," he added. Oh, by the way, there was not a single IOA representative. The swimming team, apart from a few athletes were the only ones around. And all of them had a whale of time getting their pictures clicked with Kapil. "Can I have a copy later," asked swimmer Nisha Millet shyly. And why not, or Kapil is not only favourite with fans, but even sportspersons.
