From the publishers of THE HINDU Vol. 24 :: No. 52 :: Jan. 19, 2002 - 25, 2002	Home Contents
	LETTERS Not sportive Sir, - When Tendulkar was charged with ball tampering by Mike Denness, Steve Waugh was in a hurry to support the punishment. But when he gets the punishment for dissent, he has sought a review of the system. Come on Steve, be sportive and accept the verdict. Steve Waugh should know that sitting in a glass house, he should not throw stones at others. N. MAHADEVAN, CHENNAI Good coverage Sir, - Yes, indeed, the year 2001 was really an excellent one for the Indian chess, with lots of admirable performances from our youngsters. But Anand bowing out at the semifinal stage of the World championship turned out to be a disappointing one. Anand should have played his natural game against Ivanchuk, rather than being overcautious. As 'expected' the other Indians in the fray turned out to be good and soft targets for their opponents. Good performers of the year 2001 like Harikrishna, Sasikiran, Kunte and Vijayalakshmi should learn the important lesson of being consistent, when it matters most. By claiming the world women's title, Zhu Chen of China asserted the dominance of China in women's chess. The coverage of the World championship (Jan. 5, 2002 issue) was really good. Thank you Sportstar, for giving importance to the chess events across the globe. We expect this good coverage to continue in 2002 also. VIMAL KUMAR, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Ganguly should remain as captain Sir, - Should Sourav Ganguly step down or be removed as India captain is a million dollar question. Some feel that he should not continue. I feel one should not have doubts about his captaincy credentials. He is an able leader. We should not forget that under his captaincy we won the series against Australia at home. To lead in an away series is a difficult job. The main concern now is his batting failure. Sourav is an ideal man to lead India at the moment. If he is removed from the captaincy then Rahul Dravid should be given the reins. SHIRISH J. BUCH, RAJKOT Give credit to England Sir, - Sidhu need not talk about spirit. I think England did extremely well in the recently concluded Test series against India. If we cannot win, you cannot blame the opponents for negative tactics. You got to have it in you to force a win. The need is to thrive on the opponent's mistakes. Why don't the Indians play more innovative and improvising game and negate the negative tactics of the opponents. CHAGANTI PHANISHANKAR BY E-MAIL A nice piece Sir, - The piece "Dateline Down Under: Sports defines Australia" by Rohit Brijnath was really thought- provoking. When our cricket team loses a match we cry and make a big noise but when Viswanathan Anand lost in the semi-finals of the World chess championship we forgot the whole show. It was really nice to recollect the media coverage that Anand received last year when he won the world title and good that only positive aspects are written. But that should be maintained consistently and not prejudiced. As mentioned in the article we should look into the positive aspects of our country and sports and support our players. Let's not compare our sports performance with the Australians or for that matter with anyone. We have to improve and that is very much true. Let's try to do that. In the meanwhile let's be proud to be born in a country rich in culture and history. Let's hope our sportspersons continue to keep our flag flying. S. SUJATHA, CHENNAI How can you forget Langer & Hayden Sir, - I read N. Sidhu's recent column in The Sportstar and disagree with his choice of opening pair in Test cricket. Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden have opened in six Tests and have amassed runs together. No other opening pair has achieved this and that too in such a short time. Statistics and not perceptions should be the criterion. I have enjoyed reading your magazine while growing up in India and continue to do so now online. Keep up the good work. WINSTON MATTHEWS, AUSTRALIA Lack of quality pacemen Sir, - Why are we not winning Test series abroad? Is it because we are not used to pitches and conditions outside India? No. I don't think so. I feel we lack preparation, mental and physical toughness. I think India should strengthen its bowling department as well. We need to have pace bowlers of class, apart from spinners, Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. Indian batting looks good. It is only the bowling which lacks variety. The Indian captain Sourav Ganguly is going through a lean trot. It is only a temporary phenomenon. We have seen best of Ganguly. In form he is a bowler's nightmare. Now he is under tremendous pressure to come out of the bad patch. He should open the innings along with Shiv Sundar Das. Opening the innings is not new to Sourav Ganguly. He should start playing his natural game, rather than worrying about his poor form. KARAN JIVRAJANI, RAJKOT Contents • Daily Sports • The Hindu • Business Line • Frontline • Home Copyrights © 2002 The Sportstar Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Sportstar.