Pocketing the Queen

The Carrom team captain Kranti Kiran sounded a confident note on his team's practice ahead of BOSM 2008. The 14 member team (3 teams of 4 each with 2 - standby) comprising many 4^th and 5^th year students is all geared up to take the centre stage in the five events that will be held for the game of carrom. "The support from the institute has been overwhelming" the captain told the BEP team. "We have been provided with the new tables that were very much needed by us, and this has improved our game considerably", he added.

Though the captain was a little disappointed with the low participation of the first year students he told us that the turnout for selections this time was beyond expectations, especially with a lot of second year students taking turning up for practices regularly. The team had started their practice sessions early, and is very well prepared to take the top honours. The captain hopes that people turn up for the events to cheer for their team.

Powerlifting

Continuting with our round of captains' interviews, BEP met up with Siddhartha Sankar Sahu, the powerlifting and bodybuilding captain who appeared upbeat about the team’s prospects during this BOSM. He gave us a brief insight into the team which consists of 14 members including 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th yearites. The captain complained that the event did not attract much attention from the BITSians even after the stupendous show last year where their medals tally was second only to that of the swimming team. The powerlifting team won 3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze last year fending off tough competition from SASTRA, DU and perennial rivals MNIT, Jaipur. This BOSM holds a special place for the team as this is the first time that weights conforming to international standards will be used in BOSM. The regular two-day event is being scaled up to a full-fledged 3 day event. The team boasts of its edge over other competitors in deadlift and bench-press. The success in MNIT Sports Meet does speak volumes about their proficiency.

The captain hinted that the unavailability of proper time slot for practise does have a negative influence in the team’s progress and interests. As suggested by the captain, the university should step in and ensure that BOSM elevates to the same level as OASIS and APOGEE.

Sports Secretary Interview

The Sports Secretary Kambadur Manoj is very satisfied with the way things are happening. He confirmed that the XXIII BITS Open Sports Meet (BOSM 2008) will see the highest ever outstation participation with an increase of around 150 participants. He also added that the department of Reception and Accommodation has been working through the nights to ensure that the participants are made comfortable in course of their stay at BITS.

Another reason to cheer about this BOSM is the increased Sponsorship ensuring improved organization of the events and better co-ordination among the various departments and clubs. This would also lead to the creation of a healthy environment which would get the best out of the players. Talking about the scheduling of events he told us that they are totally unbiased and efforts have been to avoid having a team to play two matches on one day, but in some cases it was inevitable considering the time constraint and the increased participation.

"This BOSM is going to be the best ever" says Manoj proudly. So he urges the BITSian's to stay on and turn up to cheer for their teams and to the outstation participants he assures that this would be their most memorable Sports meet ever.

Winning may be the only thing but the essential fact about sport is that you don't know what happens next. No one does. So if you have a desire to win step out and give your best and the rest will follow. After all the game isn't over till it's over.

Scorching the Baseline

While most girls’ teams are suffering from a lack of interest amongst, this year’s tennis team certainly is not to be included in the list. We talked to Shivangi, the captain of the girls’ tennis team, and caught up with her about our tennis team. Talking about this year’s turn-out, she told us excitedly how some of the best players had joined them this year. Three girls – with experience at both the state and the national levels – have been selected from the first year. The team last year had not fared too well, considering there had been only two players, but this year Shivangi is certain that being one of the best teams BITS has ever had, they are sure to win several medals. She told us that the facilities provided to the team, however, are certainly run-down and not up to the mark. The courts and nets desperately need to be improved upon and the most astonishing face was the absence of a coach for the girls’ team. However, despite these drawbacks, it was heartening to see the bright smile and confidence with which Shivangi assured us that this year we would certainly win. She said that she would like everybody to turn up, cheer, and participate in all the open events conducted during BOSM. We do hope her team lives up to all the expectations and sets an example for all the other teams too!

Boys at the Table

With the sports mania on campus increasing as BOSM draws closer, EPC caught up with the captain of the table tennis team, Abhijit Kamath, to discuss the level of preparedness and expectations of the team this BOSM. A large number of students turned up for the tryouts this year of which four made the cut, taking the total number of players in the team up to nine. The team already has two national level players, making it a major contender. Talking about the facilities in SAC, Abhijit was satisfied with the tables and racquets; although he said that the flooring is not up to scratch and exhaust fans in the TT room are still awaited. Last year our team won the silver medal as they went down fighting to Hansraj College. Even though the team is expecting a tough fight from Hansraj and SRCC this time too, Abhijit confidently asserted that they had their sights trained on nothing less than gold. He believes that as long as every player gives it his best shot, there should be no room for disappointment. Truly, we hope that this admirable confidence reflects in all the matches they play and wish them all the very best!

The "Baddie" Boys

The BITS Men’s badminton team have performed well in recent years and team captain Amit Deshpande thinks the team has a good chance of bettering their third place finish last year. A large number of students turned up for trials but only two vacancies meant only the best made the cut. There are two teams- an A team and a B team, classified on the level of play, each comprising five players. The new recruits have shown promise so far and are learning the nuances of the game from their seniors. The team has two practice sessions daily of two hours each. The focus in recent weeks has been mainly on match play and fitness. After their gold medal winning performance last year at MNNIT, there are a lot of expectations from this team and Amit assures us that they won’t dissapoint. Amit hopes BITSians will keep up the support they have shown in recent years and leave no stone unturned in bringing home the trophy.

Pinging through the Pong

BEP met up with Kriti Jain, the captain of the girls’ table tennis team, and talked to her about the team and its level of preparedness for BOSM 2008. Talking about the dwindling participation of girls due to their lackadaisical attitude towards sports, we were shocked to note that only three girls had turned up for the tryouts this time. Of them only a single first yearite had been selected to play in the team which takes the total number of members in the team to three. Disappointing as this is it also rules out the possibility of our team playing in any doubles event, something extremely unfortunate. While talking about the facilities provided, Kriti was satisfied with the coach and the tables provided at SAC although she admitted that racquets for the players were still awaited. We talked about the teams that are coming over and the toughest competition that we face. Last year our girls’ team won a silver medal in the event and Kriti confidently asserted that this year they would be aiming for nothing less than the gold. Her message to all BITSians was to turn up, watch the event and support them. Truly, we wish her and the team all the very best and are sure that they will certainly add to the medals tally!

Basking in the Glory

Basketball has always been one of the most popular sports in BITS with huge spectatorship. This year’s men’s ‘BASKEE’ team are looking good to finish well in BOSM, reckons skipper Anuj Loomba. Basketball has been a traditional crowd-puller in BITS and BITSians are known to get behind their team in victory and defeat. Coach Honey has been inspirational so far and the team is playing well as a unit. Anuj credits the coach for the high degree of preparedness of the team and the confidence of the team members. The team undergoes a strict daily practice routine involving an hour of drills/workouts and match practice where the team is divided into groups that play against one another. The rigorous regimen has resulted in the players feeling match-fit and raring to go. The team has performed well in training and we can expect a better finish than last year, feels Anuj. So as they do their bit we BITSians much keep up the support and and play our role in boosting their morale. Anuj hopes the team play the level they are capable of and bring home the gold this BOSM.

Smoking Aces

As a series of interviews of captains, we met up with Anshul, the tennis captain of the BITS BOSM team. This is a event with two singles player and one doubles. Only one of the singles player is also allowed to participate in doubles. This event has had participation from well-renowned colleges across India, including Sports colleges. In spite of that,the tennis team has been a consistent good performer in the meet, winning last year's silver medal. On being quizzed on how they expected to perform in this year's meet, Anshul said that, all of the six participating teams are at the same level. He also added that they hoped to clinch the gold this year. When asked about the participation of freshers in the BOSM Team, he said that the turnout of freshers at the try-outs were like any other year. But he also commented that the quality of freshers was not very good, and none of them made it to the final BOSM team.

Anshul also hoped that the turnouts of the BITS populace will be better than it was last year, when except for one match the turnout was abysmally low. He requested all BITS-ians to turn up in large numbers to cheer his team in BOSM.