Asian Cup showing has earned Indian football belief and respect, says Constantine

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January 15, 2019

India may have missed a maiden qualification into the knockouts by a whisker, but former coach Stephen Constantine says the team’s spirited showing in the Asian Cup football tournament has earned them respect, which they never had.

Starting AFC’s continental showpiece event with a stunning 4-1 demolition of Thailand, India’s campaign ended in heartbreak, as Bahrain relied on a late penalty to emerge winners on Monday night.

One of the immediate repercussions was that a heartbroken Constantine announced his resignation.

“We were unlucky, to concede a penalty in the 91st minute is heartbreaking. But it shows everybody in India that we are capable, we have belief which we never had, we have respect which we never had and we have the determination,” Constantine told agencies.

“It’s there for everybody to see. I wish nothing but the best for players, for the Indian federation and for the fans who support us.”

This was Constantine’s second stint with the Indian side after having been at the helm between 2002 and 2005. Though he would have love to advance in the tournament, Constantine seemed content with his players’ effort.

“They passed the expectations. It’s not a question of they didn’t live up to the expectations, they passed all expectations. I don’t think anybody believed me when I said that we would qualify in 2015, I don’t think anybody believed that we could qualify form the group. They believe now,” he said.

Constantine returned to the hot seat after taking over the reins for a second time in 2015 and under him, India reached their second best FIFA rankings of 96 after slumping to 173, their worst ever, before his arrival.

“The performance is a testament to a lot of hard work from a lot of people, players, staff. And of course the memorable win against Thailand I don’t think people will forget that in a hurry,” he said.

“I will head back to India and go and speak to Mr (Kushal) Das (AIFF general secretary) and thank him for his support. And my contract finishes in 10 days so it’s time.

“I am going to go home. Spend some time with the family, lay on the couch and watch the best of Asian Cup. I think it’s been a good four years, tough, difficult.

Indian boxing’s 1st CWG gold-medallist Ali Qamar named women’s Chief Coach

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January 15, 2019

Mohammed Ali Qamar, the man who won India’s first Commonwealth Games gold medal in boxing, has taken over as chief coach for the country’s women pugilists, becoming the youngest ever to get the top job.

Ali Qamar, who turns 38 in a couple of months’ time, was appointed to the position on Monday night, replacing veteran Shiv Singh. Ali Qamar has been an assistant coach in the national camp for more than a year.

In addition, the Arjuna awardee has helmed the Railways Sports Promotion Board’s women’s team for more than three years.

“It has come as a bit of surprise to me, I got to know only last night and I am thankful to the Boxing Federation of India for considering me worthy enough for the position,” Ali Qamar, whose history-making CWG gold came in the 2002 Manchester edition in the light flyweight category, told agencies in an interview.

The diminutive Kolkata native will be working alongside Italian coach Raffaele Bergamasco and will have seven assistant coaches in his team, including superstar M C Mary Kom’s trainer Chhote Lal Yadav.

The man he succeeds is well past 60 and there were murmurs of a possible change in the women’s camp after the BFI named a 39-year-old C A Kuttappa as the chief coach for the men’s camp. India’s previous chief coaches for women — Anoop Kumar and Gurbax Singh Sandhu — were well over 50 when they took over.

Asked what might have tilted the scales in his favour, Ali Qamar said, “May be the practical knowledge I have gained as an assistant coach. I think the focus is also on getting younger coaches in the camp.”

“I might have done something right, could be the feedback from the girls in the camp. Don’t know, all I can say is that I will give it my all,” said the diminutive former boxer, whose career was cut short by a recurring nose injury.

Did he actually expect the position within a year of joining the national camp as an assistant coach?

“No, not so early, not at 37. I had ambitions of going ahead based on performance but not so quickly. Now that I have been given the responsibility, I think I am ready for the challenge,” he said.

India’s passenger traffic to touch 1.1 billion under ‘Vision 2040’: Aviation Ministry

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January 15, 2019

India’s air passenger traffic is expected to grow six-fold to 1.1 billion and the number of operational airports increases to around 200 in 2040. The passenger traffic is expected to grow six-fold to around 1.1 billion. India has one of the largest aircraft order books currently with pending deliveries of over 1,000 aircraft, according to Ministry of Civil Aviation’s vision document released on Tuesday.

India was the seventh largest aviation market with 187 million passengers travelling to, from and within India in financial year 2017-18. The ‘Vision 2040 for the Civil Aviation Industry in India’ document released at a summit here also said that the country would have its own aircraft leasing industry, with tax structure and repossession processes being equally or more attractive than those in leading global jurisdictions.

The fleet of commercial planes is likely to rise to 2,359 in March 2040 from 622 in March 2018. India may have around 190-200 operational airports in 2040. Its top 31 cities may have two airports, and the cities of Delhi and Mumbai three each. The incremental land requirement is expected to be around 1,50,000 acre and the capital investment (not including cost of acquiring land) is expected to be around USD 40-50 billion, the document said.

The government may consider establishing a Nabh Nirman Fund (NNF) with a starting corpus of around USD 2 billion to support low traffic airports in their initial phases. The concept of land pooling may be used to keep land acquisition costs low and to provide land owners with high value developed plots in the vicinity of the airport, the document added.

Govt to manufacture domestic aircraft: Suresh Prabhu

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January 15, 2019

The government is working on a blueprint for the domestic manufacturing of aircraft and also looking at aircraft financing from within the country. Speaking to the media at the Global Aviation Summit 2019, organised jointly by the civil aviation ministry, the Airports Authority of India and Ficci, the minister emphasised on carrying out of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work domestically, Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Tuesday.

He also said that, we will soon roll out a road map for manufacturing of aircraft in India. Stating that the country needs 2,300 new aircraft to meet the future air travel demands, we would like to join hands with top players from across the globe. The government wants aircraft financing to be done by domestic players. We are already working on financing of aircraft and how that should happen from India. We are losing out lots of resources to outsiders. The government wants aircraft MRO to happen in the country. There are so many planes and the maintenance and repairs that can be done in India.

Prabhu warned that if MRO work is not carried out in the country then the government will be losing out lots of money, besides job opportunities. The domestic passenger traffic has been growing at 17-18 per cent. The government is also now focusing on cargo and has for the first time unveiled a policy to boost the growth in the segment. The government has recently launched a drone policy and would like to make sure that drone becomes one of the preferred uses for many sectors such as agriculture and disaster management, among others. We will make sure that drones are manufactured in the country.

Kohli, Dhoni star in series-levelling win for India

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January 15, 2019

M S Dhoni pulled off a tight finish for India just like old times to silence his critics after captain Virat Kohli laid the foundation for a series-levelling six-wicket win against Australia with his 39th ODI hundred here on Tuesday.

Chase master Kohli could not take his team to the finishing line this time but Dhoni (55 off 54) and Dinesh Karthik (25 off 14) rose to the occasion with an unbeaten 57-run stand off 34 balls, taking India home with four balls to spare. Australia scored 298-8 after opting to bat.

Man of the match Kohli was dismissed in the 44th over after making 104 off 112 balls with five fours and two sixes. Dhoni, who has been coping a lot of criticism for his waning finishing skills, turned back the clock and took India past the finish line with a final over six.

The third and final ODI will be in Melbourne on Friday.

India got off to a frantic start with Shikhar Dhawan hitting five boundaries in his 28-ball 32 runs. He put on 47 runs for the opening wicket with Rohit Sharma (43).

Kohli meanwhile was in cruise mode, rotating strike and picking the odd boundary with ease, as he reached fifty in 66 balls. The star batsman stayed in the same mode as the asking rate climbed.

But it was Rayudu who tried attacking the bowling and perished instead, caught in the deep off Glenn Maxwell (1-16) in the 31st over.

Dhoni then joined Kohli, and the duo put on 82 runs for the fourth wicket, with clever rotation of strike as India crossed 200 in the 37th over to keep pace with the asking rate.

Kohli changed gears as he hit two immaculate sixes through pure timing, and reached his hundred off 108 balls. It was his sixth ODI hundred against Australia.

The turning point came in the 44th over though, when Australia masterminded Kohli’s dismissal through some clever field placement in the deep. He holed out to Maxwell off Jhye Richardson (1-59).

Dhoni then took over and put on match-winning partnership with Karthik. In doing so, he turned back the clocks to lead India to a tense finish, and completed his second consecutive half-century in as many matches, 69th overall, off 53 balls.

The veteran’s running between the wickets, laced with two sixes as the only boundaries, finished things off in style for India.

Won’t return to films, new generation doing a better job, says Gulzar

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January 15, 2019

Eminent lyricist-filmmaker Gulzar says there is no need for him to return to film direction as the new generation is making movies “more cinematic” and better than him.

Gulzar has helmed several celebrated films in his career such as “Ijaazat”, “Aandhi” and “Angoor”. His last directorial was “Hu Tu Tu” in 1999.

When asked if he plans to return to direction, Gulzar told reporters, “I don’t need to return to films because the ones who are walking ahead of me, whose fingers I am holding, they are Shilpa (Ranade), Meghna (Gulzar), Vishal (Bhardwaj).

“They are making good films, Vishal has made a film on children, Meghna had made films on relevant topics too.”

The writer, who last penned dialogues and screenplay for “Mirzya” in 2016, said now is the time of young filmmakers.

“Let me sit back. They are making films which are better than me, cinematically. I might’ve had some thoughts earlier in my films but they weren’t so cinematic and good as these films are now, made by this generation. I think they are much ahead of me, I can’t pace off that fast.”

Gulzar, 84, said he is doing his own by penning books and writing for children.

‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ to release in Pakistan after getting clearance from censor board

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January 15, 2019

“The Accidental Prime Minister”, featuring Anupam Kher in the role of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, is all set to hit the theatres in Pakistan after the censor board of the country cleared the film.

Producer of the movie Jayantilal Gada said the film will release in Pakistan on January 18.

“PEN Studios is happy to announce that our one-of-a-kind political film, ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, has got a green signal from our neighbouring country, Pakistan. Pakistani moviegoers will be able to enjoy the film as it is set to release there.

“I always admired Imran Khan as a brave cricketer, and now I respect him as a Prime Minister, too. I’m also thankful to Pakistan’s Censor Board chairman for approving our film,” he said in a statement.

The film, which is based on a book of the same name written by Sanjaya Baru, released in India on January 11.

Baru was Manmohan Singh’s media adviser when the latter was the Prime Minister.

Idea tops in upload, Jio 4G dips in download: TRAI

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January 15, 2019

The download speed plays an important role when a user watches any video, browse the internet, access e-mails; and a good upload speed is required when a user wants to share data such as images, videos and any other files through e-mail or social media applications.

Reliance Jio’s 4G download speed declined by about 8 per cent in December to 18.7 megabit per second (mbps) but still continued to lead the chart for the past 12 months in a row, according data published by telecom regulator Trai.

Jio network recorded an average download speed of 20.3 mbps in November. Performance of Bharti Airtel’s 4G network marginally improved in December to 9.8 mbps from 9.7 mbps in November, according to the data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on MySpeed Portal.

Though Vodafone and Idea Cellular have merged their businesses and now operate as Vodafone Idea. 4G download speed on Vodafone network declined slightly to 6.3 mbps from 6.8 mbps in November, while the spped of Idea dipped to 6 mbps from 6.2 mbps. Idea, however, continued to top the chart in terms of 4G upload speed despite dip in network performance. The upload speed on Idea network declined to 5.3 mbps in December from 5.6 mbps in November, Trai published their network performance separately.

Vodafone continued to show improvement and recorded increase in upload speed at 5.1 mbps in December from 4.9 mbps in November. Jio upload speed declined to 4.3 mbps in December from 4.5 mbps in November. Airtel too, recorded marginal dip in upload speed at 3.9 mbps from 4 mbps during the months under review. Both Jio and Idea have continued to maintain their leadership in their respective segments for the past several months.

The average speed is computed by Trai based on data it collects with help of its MySpeed application on a real-time basis.

Allegations against Soumik Sen were shocking: ‘Why Cheat India’ actor Shreya

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January 15, 2019

Actor Shreya Dhanwanthary, who is making her Bollywood debut opposite Emraan Hashmi in “Why Cheat India”, says she was shocked when allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced against the film’s director Soumik Sen.

Last year, Sen was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour by three women in the wake of India’s #MeToo tsunami. Post the allegations, the director excused himself from the film promotions.

The actor said she stands by the survivors and takes the movement seriously.

“It is shocking when you find out that it’s somebody you’ve worked with, especially because I’ve had a perfect time. Everyone was warm towards me so it was a big shock.

“I stand by what my producers said that they stand with the survivors and take this movement very seriously,” Shreya told an agency.

“Why Cheat India” focuses on the malpractices prevalent in the Indian education system.

Shreya, who debuted with the 2010 Telugu film “Sneha Geetham”, says she bagged her first Hindi project after a struggle of nearly eight years.

Though she was into theatre, dance and music since she was four, the journey to acting was not lyrical.

Produced by Emraan Hashmi Films along with T-Series and Ellipsis Entertainment, “Why Cheat India” releases Friday.

Dia Mirza, Sharman back Rajkumar Hirani, call for due process

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January 15, 2019

A day after Rajkumar Hirani was accused of sexual assault by a woman who worked with him on his 2018 film “Sanju”, his frequent collaborators Dia Mirza and Sharman Joshi Monday described was one of the most decent persons to work with in the Hindi film industry.

In an article on HuffPost India, the woman, who calls herself “an assistant”, alleged that Hirani sexually abused her more than once between March and September 2018.

She detailed her allegations in an email dated November 3, 2018, to Hirani’s frequent collaborator and “Sanju” co-producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

Dia, who has worked with Hirani on films “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” and “Sanju”, said she was “deeply distressed” by the allegations as the director was someone she respects a lot. The actor said she hopes a due official enquiry is conducted in the matter.

“I am deeply distressed by this news. As someone who has known and respects Raju Sir for 15 years I can only hope that a due official enquiry is conducted. He is one of the most decent human beings I have ever worked with and I think it would be grossly unjust on my part to speak on this as I do not know the details.

“As for the #MeToo movement it rightfully encourages women to speak up and seek due process,” Dia told an agency.

Sharman, whose portrayal of Raju Rastogi in Hirani’s blockbuster “3 idiots” became immensely popular, hoped the phase the director is going through currently will pass.

“Raju Sir, is a man of immense integrity, character, honour, compassion and truthfulness, all the virtues one would imagine are non existent in people today, someone I am absolutely inspired by and have learnt from and because of whom I believe I have gone onto being a better person.

“All I want to say is that this too shall pass and I can imagine how demeaning it might be to even stand up for yourself in a situation such as this,” the actor told the agencies.

After the HuffPost India article went viral on the Internet, the filmmaker released a statement in which he said he was “shocked” when the claims were brought to his notice two months ago.

He said he suggested the case be referred to a “committee or a legal body” but the complainant chose to go the media instead.

“I was completely shocked when these allegations were brought to my notice about two months back. I had suggested immediately that it is essential to take this matter to any committee or any legal body.

“The complainant has chosen to go to the media instead. I want to very strongly state that this is a false malicious and mischievous story being spread with the sole intention of destroying my reputation,” Hirani said in a statement.