The power of a superstar can never be underestimated. Viswanathan did it for chess, Sania Mirza is doing it for tennis in India. Apart from making the game popular they have galvanised a generation to pick up the sport, infuse confidence, given a reference point.
Baichung Bhutia has been the face of Indian football for long. Now, a 23 year old who answers to the name of Sunil Chhetri looks ready to take on the mantle.

"It's a great compliment for me," says Chhetri, who was named Indian NFL player of the year last season after scoring 12 goals. "I don't believe in all the comparisons but the expectations have definitely increased. There is the pressure to perform; it only pumps me up to do better whether I am playing for the country or club."

The suave, energetic player from Delhi, who speaks faster than he dribbles the ball, is, like Bhutia, a fleet-footed striker with a boyish face and floppy hair. Like Bhutia, he has his roots in the foothills of the Himalayas -- his forefathers came from Nepal. "He has the talent to make it big," says JCT Coach Sukhwinder Singh. "Whether he will remains to be seen," says Singh, whose team's colours Chettri currently dons. "We have to understand that people like I M Vijayan and Bhutia played consistently at that level for a long time. Chhetri has to do a lot and work harder." "(As strikers) you can't compare Bhutia and Chhetri. Bhutia is more explosive; they are two different, class players." Singh took Chhetri under his wing more than two years ago when he came to JCT after three seasons with Kolkata giants Mohun Bagan.
"I didn't have to change around with his style; all I told him was what to do and what not to do with the ball. When you talk of skills, there are two parts to it: one is basic talent and second is decision-making. We have helped him in decision-making, the tactical side, and improving his concentration."

"He has football in him," added the JCT coach. "I had football in my blood, since my parents also played it," Chhetri says. "When I started playing football I wasn't aware of the format or what the future holds. It was just a passion; I didn't work too hard for it. "First it was the passion; when he played for Indian schools it was "for a certificate", and then it was the money and fame that made Chhetri stay with football. "Five hundred bucks pocket money for a 17 year old is not bad!" he exclaims at the memory, when he was thrust into a professional set-up when he signed with Mohun Bagan in his teens. "Till then I didn't know football was so big. When I was playing for Indian schools they (Mohun Bagan) saw me and called me for trials. That time it was just fun, but in the past two, three years I have started taking the game very seriously."

Just like the club call-up, an India call-up happened to Chhetri early.
"That felt like a dream come true. I think wearing an Indian jersey, whichever sport you play, gives a different high. Playing in the senior team is a great change, the teams are tougher -- that's where the big boys play!"
"Earlier, I used to be too excited and thrilled and nervous just to be playing in the team. But now that the expectations are greater I am working harder."
For a person whose "dream came true" at 17, he is startlingly realistic. Ask him about his European (the ultimate in football) ambitions and he replies sheepishly, "Indians can't choose! I'll take whatever they give me." After some pushing, he comes up with an answer: "Barcelona!" "I am not thinking too much about it. I want to go out for sure; I am preparing a CV to send out. There are so many things to learn." Though he laments that not many people recognise football players beyond traditional centres Kolkata,

and Kerala , Chhetri says it is time the players, media and public give up the blame game and come together.

"The Nehru Cup was a huge tournament. Football is not very popular from where I come, but the stands were full during the matches. Every time I scored the crowd would go crazy. Zee Sports did a great job telecasting that tournament. It just shows that for football to develop everyone has to come together."
"We are all to be blamed for the condition of the game in India. Football is the best game, it's enjoyed all over the world, but it's not given due respect in India."
"If people stay awake to watch a Chelsea versus Manchester United game late at night, I am sure they'll appreciate if we play good football. Even I would love to stay awake and watch Baichung Bhutia play. We need the right players, the right media, the right television coverage, grounds, jerseys; combine all departments to do well."
Apart from his obvious ball skills, Chhetri's understanding of the arena he operates in is different from the normally myopic football vision. He voices his concerns without an edge of cynicism, and is ready to work on the solutions.
He has the game, the attitude and the marketable 'X' factor.
Move over Bhutia, Chhetri is here!

Wipro launches video interviews to save cost

The next time you get that interview call from India's third largest IT services provider, Wipro Ltd ,you will probably be asked to do it via video.
Wipro has already screened hundreds of applicants through video kiosks it has set up at three of its campuses - two in Bangalore and one in Chennai. The company shortly plans to extend this concept, and install over 1,000 video phones at all its 20-odd campuses across the country. Each campus accommodates over 2,000 people.

The process is simple, according to Dhananjay Ganjoo, vice-president (enterprise), Nortel India. The kiosk comprises a video phone, provided by Nortel Networks, with a 4x4 inch screen. The cost of each phone is around $250.
The candidate walks into a video kiosk and dials a pre-determined number at the given time. The human resources (HR) person or panelist at the other end picks up the phone and the interview starts.
"We implemented this to save on costs, time and eliminate impersonations, given that we recruit nearly 5,000 candidates every quarter," explains Jethin Chandran, GM (IT Planning & PMO), Wipro.

The Gartner Group estimates the procedure can reduce companies' travel costs for recruitment by 15 to 20 per cent.
Video phones also appear to solve the problem of impersonation or fake r�sum�s that have plagued the IT industry in particular, which loses crores of rupees in the bargain.

Last year, IT majors like IBM India, Wipro, Satyam , Infosys and TCS had to terminate the employment of thousands of such candidates. And a 2006 KPMG study revealed that 15 to 24 per cent of resumes in India are fake and one out of three r�sum�s mis-represents facts. The study noted that the IT, financial, entertainment and telecom sectors face the highest risk.
"To avoid impersonation, the video phone is equipped with a memory card that can capture the photograph of the interviewee," explains Chandran. The photo of the candidate and the interview results are then digitally sent to a central database.

Technology, note analysts, has been providing firms with innovative ways to cut hiring costs, and save time. Take, for instance, the video r�sum�s from Reliance World and Monster.
Reliance World, in association with Ilaza VDO, has VDO Resume - an online system that integrates a video file into the candidate's r�sum�. RWorld has over 240 outlets across the company.

Then we have video conferencing, which is done by companies like IBM, HP, Cisco, Nortel and Nike the world over.
"At Cisco, we use a lot of technology including TelePresence, IP phones, video conferencing, wikis, blogs, etc. to increase employee productivity," said Subash Rao, Director, HR, Cisco India.

He added that, till date, over 37,000 meetings were held, out of which nearly 8,000 meetings included participants who avoided travel by attending meetings over TelePresence, which meant savings of $62 million in travel avoidance.

Marion Jones:Glory gone

October 9, 2007

After years of denying the use of steroids, Marion Jones finally came clean last week.
The American sprinter, one of track and field's biggest stars after winning five medals at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, has long denied that steroids played a role in her success.

But she pleaded guilty in the Federal court in White Plains, New York, on Friday, to lying to federal investigators about her steroid use and admitted using performance-enhancing drugs.
Jones told the court she swallowed tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG, also known as "the clear," which she said had been given to her by her former coach Trevor Graham.

She has subsequently relinquished the five Olympic medals she won at the 2000 Sydney Games and retired from the track.

Why was Farhan Akhtar's Don better than RGV's Aag?

While many filmmakers boast of doing things out of the ordinary, some of them are drawn back to the age-old magic of Sholay, Don, Umrao Jaan , or then others are trying to bring to the audiences the once-upon-a-time black-n-white box office rockers in colour. But it is the Naya Daur , and it's best that age-old classics remain untouched on their thrones of gold, than adapting them to current day and age situations, and then going ballistic about their new avatar, which is hardly new at all.

And that, we think, is the mistake RGV made. The film was an exact replica of Sholay , but remained unmatched in class and performances. Farhan Akhtar, too, was tempted to make a tribute to the movie he had grown up watching – Don. And though we bashed it for casting SRK as Don in it, let us tell you that his twist-in-the-tale was far more exciting than the picking up of Sholay and placing it on a new canvas. The old wine in new bottles, is just not working! And more so if you have the exact same story to tell.


Take Umrao Jaan as yet another example. We watched it on a television channel recently and vowed that the film should've fared better than what it did. It was simply told and beautifully executed, but the shaan and ada of that era, was obviously missing. But our filmmakers won't understand, or maybe they do but are just trying their luck shooting in the dark. What was a success story once, may just create history again! But dear Directors, only if told with the same charm, magic and panache.

Of all the re-makes and colour re-releases, Farhan Akhtar's Don seemed to have 'donned' more colour than the rest. Reason? It had enough commercial value to hold the audience' attention. And the story left even the yesteryear audiences stunned at the end of it. The masses didn't feel cheated, and were happy to have got a whole new experience when they walked out of the theatres. This old wine in a new bottle was tweaked. And that made all the difference.

New cars at used ones' rates!

Dealers of leading car manufacturers, including Maruti Udyog,Hyundai, Ford, Fiat and Tata are tying up with used-car owners to liquidate old stocks of car models that have been phased out or replaced by upgraded models.

The popular models in the market include the Hyundai Sonata (replaced by the Embera in August 2005), the Maruti Baleno (replaced by the SX4 in December 2006) and the Hyundai Accent Viva (production of which has stopped), among others (see table).

Prices of premium models like the Honda Accord and the Toyota Corolla were also expected to fall once the company launched upgrades, people in the know said.
"I have been contacted by car company dealers across the country to help dispose of their line of stock generated ever since car manufacturers phased out the older models.

The dealers are ready to offer huge discounts for the vehicles," confirmed Aarif Fazulbhoy, director, Fazulbhoy Motors, one of the largest car dealers in the city.
Due to restrictions imposed by car makers, dealers cannot advertise on their own for either discount offers or freebies on phased-out models that are hard to sell. The dealers then have no option but to sell these models through used-car outlets.

"Offers start to come in from all over the country as soon as a car maker launches an upgraded version of a model," said another reputed used car dealer. Such used car dealers generally get offers from cities like Delhi, Lucknow, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, and states like Rajasthan and Haryana.
Generally, the commission charged by a used-car dealer varies between 10 and 15 per cent of the total cost of the car.

Bhajji makes his case for Twenty20

Here's an interesting poser for the Indian selectors. Should they go in for specialist spinners or opt for bits and pieces players who double up as spinners for the Twenty20 World Cup?

While the selectors' mind will be known on Tuesday, one of the contenders, Harbhajan Singh, has already put his hand up to be counted. India's No 1 spin option until recently, the 'Turbanator' is currently toiling in English county cricket for Surrey. The shortest format of the game is considered to be cruel to bowlers in general, and spinners in particular, but Harbhajan told TOI from London: "In Twenty20 there are a lot more chances to take wickets than in any other form, especially if you are a spinner. The batsmen are forever looking to hit and that gives you a chance to take wickets. You just have to keep hitting the right spot." What might impress the Indian selectors is that the highest wicket-taker in English Twenty20 cricket for the last two seasons has been a spinner.

Left-arm spinner Nayan Doshi, son of former India spinner Dilip, has topped the charts and has made a case for slow bowlers. Nayan, incidentally, was Harbhajan's teammate at Surrey till he walked out of his contract. "Most wickets are taken by spinners even now. (Chris) Schofield (a leg-spinner) is doing well this time," added Harbhajan of his teammate. According to Harbhajan Singh, two seasons of Twenty20 cricket in England have provided him with the right ideas on how to go about playing in this format. "Obviously your mindset changes a bit. Remember, in Twenty20 you are going to be hit. But your mind has to be sharp all the time because of the fast-paced nature," opined Harbhajan. While most teams, including India, hedge on picking specialists, Harbhajan bats for his tribe. "Taking wickets is the best and only way to win matches whether it is Tests, ODIs or Twenty20. Even in Twenty20, if you score a lot of runs it is of no use if your bowlers do not bowl well. At the end of the day batsmen still get out the same way."

Baroda's off-spinning all-rounder Yusuf Pathan, brother of India discard Irfan, is considered an option. Yusuf is a clean striker and a tight offie, making him a perfect combination for Twenty20. But Harbhajan is not one to be cowed down by such threats. "Even I can bat. I have a good record in Twenty20 as I showed in the domestic tournament. I can also hit the ball a long way," said Harbhajan. As Harbhajan waits to know his fate on Tuesday afternoon, he presented his case one final time in his own style. "And in any case this is a World Cup, not any small tournament. You have to pick your best players," he said.

India's Sania reached a career-high ranking of 30 on the latest WTA list released Monday following her recent exploits at the US Open hard court series.

Sania, who was ranked 31 the previous week, reached the quarter-final at the Acura Classic, before going down 6-1, 6-2 to eventual champion Maria Sharapova.

The 20-year-old Hyderabadi maintained her doubles ranking of 26. Rohan Bopanna, who has won three Challenger titles with Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi in as many weeks, broke into the ATP doubles top-100 for the first time, to be ranked at 92. The Indian, though, suffered a setback in the singles rankings. He lost seven places to be come down to 222 while Davis Cup teammate Prakash Amritraj slid six places to 268. Karan Rastogi came down a rung, to be ranked 340. Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi held on to their positions at number eight and number 21 respectively in the doubles.