Eternal India Encyclopedia

encyclopedia Eternal India

SPORTS

The fielding side can either accept and concede the stake or challenge it. If challenged, the distance will be measured with the danda and if the stake is approximately correct to the distance measured then the fielding side will have to concede the stake. If the batting side has made a mistake in claiming its stake then it will have to suffer some punishment, which may even include the forfeiture of its innings. An innings is complete only when all the players of a batting side have had their say. Similar variations of the game are popular in Pakistan and Sri- lanka. The comparable game in Srilanka is called 'gudu' and the 'gilli' is known as the 'kuttiya'. The game of 'gilli' 'danda' has some affinities with the old English games of 'Tip-cat' and 'Kit-cat'.

Indian players - Chitra Gangadharan, Nile Ghosh and Judy D’Silva - earned the distinction of representing all-Asian teams. The following tournaments are a part of the annual football calendar: The Begum Hazrat Trophy for the senior nationals (1975-76); the Sanjay Trophy for the junior nationals (1980-81); Federation Cup (1979-80); the Kamala Nehru Trophy (1975-76); Inter-zonal league; K.D. Singh Babu Trophy (1978-79); Champion vs Rest of India; Kittu Cup for the sub-junior nationals and the Rajmani Devi Trophy (1978-79). On the international scene, while the First Asian Cup was held in August 1975, the first women's World Cup football championship for the M&M Trophy was held in China in 1991 and in the final USA beat Norway 2-1. Arjuna Award: Shanti Mallick

GOLF

GANJIFA

Originating from the Roman game of ‘Pagan- cia”, modern golf had its beginnings in Scotland. It is believed that the Romans, who occupied parts of England and Scotland from A.D. 43 to A.D. 400 played ‘Pagancia’ with a bent stick and a leather ball stuffed with feathers. The honourable company of Edinburgh Golfers,

An old complicated, Indian game, needing application of intelligence and thought. Origi- nated by King of Vishnupur (Bengal) in 8th century, earliest reference is in Babutsana (1527); there were different forms of the game, one set comprised 144 cards (divided into 12 suits), another 96 cards (divided into 8

established in 1744 in Scotland is recognised as the first organised golf club that set down the first written rules of the game. Subse- quently, the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of Andrews, Scotland, founded in 1754, became the leader in establishing golfs regu- lations and standards. The Royal and Ancient (popularly known as the R&A) set the standard round of golf at 18 holes. Golf came to India about 175 years ago with the Britishers and the first golf course established outside Britain was the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, Calcutta, which was established in 1829. Though the Indian Amateur Championship for men was staged from 1892 and the Ladies All India Amateur Golf Championship from 1906, the promotion of golf as a competitive sport took a concrete step with the formation of the Indian Golf Union (IGU) in 1956 with Mr. A.D. Vickers as the first president and Maj. L.B. Hirst as the first honorary secretary. The Indian Golf Union Ladies Section (IGULS) was founded in 1970 with Mrs. Shyam Batra as the first convener. The Armed Forces too have had a fairly large share in the promotion and development of the game in the country. Of the 140 golf courses that exist in the country today, nearly 40 belong to the Armed Forces. A number of tournaments are now held throughout the year in different parts of the country by the Professional Golf Association (PGA) under the aegis of the IGU, both in the professional and amateur categories. The IGU with sponsorship from the ITC Ltd., conducts the Indian Open, Golf Championship in which over 120 foreign professionals participate. The total prize money of this tournament was enhanced to 200,000 dollars from 1993. India’s caddie turned professional, Ali Sher, won the 1993 championship and an individual prize of Rs. 10 lakh. Ali Sher had won the championship in 1991 also. The Indian team of Lakshman Singh, Rajeev Mohta, Rishi Narain and Amit Luthra did the country proud by winning the team gold in the IX Asiad in New Delhi in 1982. Lakshman Singh also took the individual gold medal.

suits). Cards were circular, oval or rectangular, hand-made and hand painted being made of metal (gold), ivory, wood, paper & stiffened cloth.

GILLI DANDA

A highly indigenous and in terms of equip- ment a very simple sport, the origins of this game is traced back to around 3000 B.C. Mostly played on the streets between two opposing groups of players, the game is still played in India, both in cities and rural villages. With no official organisation or code of rules,

'gilli danda' in some respects is akin to cricket with, a batting side and a fielding side. The scoring can be either in the form of points or monetary stakes, which is measured depending on the distance to which the 'gilli' is struck. Sometimes the losing side may have to suffer some sort of punishment. The 'gilli' is a small stick pointed at both ends and the 'danda' is the bigger stick with which the’gilli’ is struck. During play, a player from the batting side strikes the 'gilli' beyond a specific boundary either all along the ground or over it. It the 'gilli' is caught in flight or if it does not cross the specified boundary, then the player is out. If the player succeeds in the above first step, then follows the second step. In the second step the player places the danda across the 'gucchi' (a small hole dug in the ground) from which he has struck the gilli. then a player from the fielding side tries to hit the danda with the gilli, if he succeeds then the player from the batting side is out and next player will step in to repeat the process from the first step. Otherwise, the game proceeds to the third and the final step. If a player from the batting side is not out after the first two steps, then he gets three strikes at the gilli to send it as far as possbile from the 'gucchi'. He can either take the strikes in a multiple go or individually. When the final strike is over the batting side will claim its stake as a measurement of the distance travelled by the 'gilli'.