CM’s Cup is on the right track

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The Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu may rewrite the eligibility rules to take part in the Chief Minister’s Cup tournament.

SDAT member secretary M. Vijayakumar told reporters on Wednesday that the CM’s Cup events might be postponed to third week of August to avoid a clash with the London Olympics.

Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa is an avowed sports fan. She is determined to make the state No.1 in the country.

From constructing the Nehru Stadium in record time to awarding chess ace Viswanathan Anand Rs 2 crore for his fifth world title, Ms Jayalalithaa has always ensured that Tamil Nadu remains in the forefront of sports development.

The CM’s Cup, a brainchild of Ms Jayalalithaa, is a revolutionary inter-district open competition in five team sports (basketball, hockey, football, volleyball and kabaddi) and athletics with unprecedented cash prizes. Events will be conducted for both men and women.

The finals in all disciplines will be staged in Chennai. The preliminary matches in team events will be conducted on a knockout basis and the semifinals will be a league affair.

Each member of the winning district will get Rs 1 lakh each in team sports. In athletics, champion in every event will be richer by Rs 1 lakh. The prize money mentioned above is unheard of in an inter-district tournament in India.

Originally, the CM’s Cup was scheduled to start from June 29 and end in the third week of August. But confusion regarding selection and eligibility of players has forced the SDAT to postpone the event. The SDAT is keen to conduct the tournament professionally.

“We want to ensure that the best players of the state benefit from the event,” Mr Vijayakumar said. The SDAT member secretary is willing to rework the eligibility criteria to pave the way for a level playing field.

Many players — past and present — told Deccan Chronicle that Chennai would sweep all the titles if the SDAT doesn’t reframe the rules for participation.

They feel that district teams without established players in their ranks will struggle to put up a decent show. Some said excluding employed stars from the event will not be a bad idea.

“In that case not only will the competition be more interesting, the tournament will also give an opportunity for youngsters to showcase their talent,” they added.

Former Indian volleyball player M. Kumaran said there wouldn’t be any competition for Chennai in all the sports.

“Even though talented players emerge from districts, they ultimately make Chennai their base because it is where employment opportunities are available with departments such as nationalised banks, Income Tax, Customs, Central Excise, Southern Railway and ICF.

Not surprisingly, Chennai will be virtually unbeatable because the district has a lot of international players in basketball, hockey and volleyball. The contests will only be for second and third places,” he added.

Another former volleyball international J. Natarajan also echoed the sentiments of Kumaran.

“The competition will lose fizz if all the big players represent Chennai. Fans need some interesting matches to come to the ground. The CM’s Cup is a great idea that can transform the sporting landscape of Tamil Nadu. At the same time, the SDAT must ensure that the tournament doesn’t lose its charm in terms of competitiveness,” he said.

Selection is bound to be a headache in Chennai because players are desperate to get into a side that is certain to win the title.

The selection of the Chennai football team has already caused anguish among the players. Even though the state football team that had finished second in the Santosh Trophy last month had 18 players from Chennai, not all of them have made the cut for the CM’s Cup.

Former state basketball players S. Gokulakrishnan and A. Gnanavel, both employees of BSNL, said it would be better if the SDAT asked all department players in Chennai to turn out for their native districts.

Gnanavel said many districts had already selected their teams before Chennai. “As a result, those who didn’t make the cut in Chennai are also not able to represent their parent districts. There is a lot of confusion about eligibility,” he added.

Mr Vijayakumar promised to look into all the pressing issues. “I’m planning to constitute an organising committee soon to make the CM’s Cup a premier event.

The SDAT will consult various parties such as former players, coaches, associations and current players to arrive at a solution.

“The SDAT has left the choice to players. They can choose their native district or the district where they are employed. But many are scrambling to get into the Chennai squad, ahead of their native place. Maybe there is a necessity to alter the rules. We will come out with new stipulations after a thorough examination. We are keen to start off well,” the member secretary added.

Conversely, coaches want more representation for Chennai in athletics, as it is the practice in the Tamil Nadu Athletic Association inter-district meet.

“Unlike team games, Chennai is home to a number of top-class athletes. So it should have more places than other districts,” one athletic coach said.

Prize money for each member in team sports: Winners: Rs 1 lakh. Runners-up: Rs 75,000. 3rd place: Rs 50,000. 4th place: Rs 25,000. Athletics: 1st place: Rs 1 lakh. 2nd place: Rs 75,000. 3rd place: Rs 25,000.