Faces of the Millennium

Faces of the Millennium

FOOTBALL
Sheikh Sanjeeb: A graduate of the Tata Football Academy, Sheikh Sanjeeb has not quite delivered as expected in the two seasons that he has played so far. Relishing his role as a striker, Sanjeeb fell for the call of lucre to join Bengal Mumbai Football Club last year, even though he had held discussions with FC Kochin. He did well for BMFC, but missed the national limelight as the newly-formed club wasn't eligible for the National League and the Federation Cup. With BMFC almost going to pieces in 1999, Sanjeeb switched over to East Bengal in the transfers this April. However, he hasn't really shone yet.Very fast and talented, Sanjeeb has the potential to be one of India's better strikers. However, he will have to work on temperament and dedication towards the game. A bit impatient, he has to learn to put his exuberance to better use.
Covan Lawrence: Two seasons with Salgaocar and Lawrence is already a key player in the side. Young, energetic and swift, Covan Lawrence isused to playing as an attacking midfielder or a striker. Although he sat out a part of this season due to an injury, he bounced back with a lot of confidence. Not very talented, Lawrence is a very hard working boy and keeps on trying. He also has an intelligent head for scheming moves as well as power in his shots. The long-haired Lawrence is normally found at the centre of action and surprisingly, isn't afraid of injuries in spite of having been laid low on the field a number of times.

CHESS
Pentyala Harikrishna: Harikrishna born in Prathipadu, hit big time when he won the 1996 U-10 World Championships in Menorca, Spain. The same year the lad went on to win the silver medal at the Euro-Disney World Rapid U-12 championships in Paris. But the defining moment came in 1998 when at 12 he emerged champion in the National U-18 championships in Bikaner, a few months after winning the U-15 title at the same venue. The two results marked Harikrishna out as a player to watch out for. Theinspiration for this boy from Vijaywada has been his grandfather, Ranga Rao. A player with solid attack, Harikrishna lacks a dazzling start, but is very accurate. He has been winning a series of age group National championships, a habit that started out with the U-8 title he won in Palakkad in 1993 and the National U-10 in Delhi in 1995. That win made him eligible for the World Championships in Menorca which he won. At 13 he has a bright future ahead of him.
Krishnan Sasikiran: Eighteen-year-old Sasikiran is a rare breed of Indian sportsperson who put his sport ahead of academics. In 1996-97 he decided to skip school Model Senior secondary School in Chennai to concentrate on his chess. Coached by his father, S Krishnan, the lad won his first national title in 1995 in the Under-18 section when he was still 14. In the 1995 U-18 World Championships in Brazil he scored seven out 11, while still being an unrated player and scored an IM norm. In the Under-16 Asian Championships in Doha in 1994 he wasthird and in 1995 at Isfahan he was second and in 1996 again at Doha he was joint first.
A keen fan of Anatoly Karpov, Sasikiran now an International Master and holder of a GM norm, became the National A champion this year, while still being 18. That has marked him out to be the player to look out for. In Vietnam in the Asian junior championships after some hiccups in the latter half of the tournament, he emerged victorious to emulate Viswanathan Anand and become an Asian junior champion. Next goal: Grandmaster title.
Aarthie Ramaswamy: This 18-year Chennai girl, who emerged as the World U-18 champion in 1999 picked up the nuances of the game from her brother and won her first National in the U-10 category in Pollachi in 1990. The fast-improving player from Madras has made good all the promise she held while winning the U-12 title in 1993, the U-14 and U-16 in 1995 and coming second in the sub-junior nationals in 1997. But she hit the spotlight when she joined the ranks of Asian champions byclaiming the Asian sub-junior title in December 1997. And in 1998 she won the U-18 nationals.
Koneru Humpy: Not even Viswanathan Anand possesses a record that Koneru Humpy has. She is the first, and so far the only, Indian to win two World Championship titles. Humpy, who in 1997 won the U-10 World title in Cannes, added the World U-12 title in Oropesa del Mar in Spain in October-November 1998. The curly haired Andhra girl notched up nine wins, one loss and one draw -- with her teammates Tania Sachdeva, who finished third -- in the process of her triumph. Coached by her father, K Ashok, Humpy recently won the Asian youth title while competing in the boys section a few weeks back.

ATHLETICS
Sunita Rani: At a time when there seems to be a general downswing in the track and field talent of the country, despite the events gaining in popularity elsewhere in the world, the one person who gives people reason to hope is a petite girl just out of her teens. Though 20-year-old SunitaRani began running very late - in 1994 at age 15 - it's the time since then in which she has made rapid strides. She is unarguably India's best middle distance runner at the moment and her domination over the track seems set to continue. She has will, determination and talent on her side. National record holder and triple gold medallist at the SAF games in Kathmandu this year (in the 1500, 5000 and 10,000m), Sunita has come a long way from the small village of Sunam in Sangrur district of Punjab as she looks towards a medal in Sydney next year.

HOCKEY
Devesh Chauhan: This 19-year-old from Etah started playing hockey as an extra-curricular activity in his early school days, and soon found out that he relished standing up to raiding forwards under the post. The youngster was spotted a couple of years back by the Air India Academy coach AK Bansal, who was impressed with his height and frame. Chauhan, a bit slow to start with, has been improving with every match and was picked up for theCairo tournament early this year. Chauhan was also called for the Jammu camp for the four-nation tournament to be held in Barcelona next month and finds his name in the list of standbyes. With Ashish Ballal left out in the cold and his replacements not a patch on him or AB Subbaiah, Chauhan looks the most promising bet for future.

CRICKET
Reetinder Sodhi: Former Punjab off-spinner Mahesh Inder Singh helped Navjot Sidhu on his comeback trail to the Indian team, bowling to him for endless hours in the nets at Patiala's Baradari Grounds. Now, he is shaping the career of his own son, Reetinder Sodhi, the 18-year old opening batsman, who also bowls a bit of seam . Sodhi had his tryst with fame when he led the India Schools team to a World Cup win in London in 1996. Since then, he has made tremendous improvement and is already knocking at the doors of international cricket through his consistent performance in first-class cricket "I am ready, " says Sodhi. Frankly, Sodhi is neither aflamboyant batsman nor a deadly seamer but it is his attitude which makes him such a good prospect. "He is hardworking, listens to you and then analyses the basics. He is one player who would keep on improving," Krishnamachari Srikkanth, his former coach in the India Under-19 team says.
Sodhi knows his limitations. "I know international cricket is a different ball game. One has to be mentally strong to do well. I have to add more punch in my strokes but give me a chance and I will show my worth." Father and coach Mahesh Inder nods his head in agreement.

Yuvraj Singh: Cricketing buffs across the country are following the career of one Punjab youngster with lots of expectations Reetinder Singh Sodhi. What they are missing out on is one who the former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar feels reminds him of Sachin Tendulkar with the "power in his strokes".
He is referring to Yuvraj Singh, the Chandigarh lad whose exploits in junior cricket have made critics sit up and take notice now. Yuvraj, 18, hasplayed some big knocks and his latest, a record-breaking 358 in the Cooch Behar Trophy final has pushed him to the front rows.
Yuvraj owes his large built to his father Yograj Singh, a former India fast bowler who takes time off from his Punjabi film acting assignments to coach his son. As a kid Yuvraj would look for excuses to run away from cricket (skating was his first love) but his demanding father always wanted him to excel in cricket. Yuvraj's big-hitting prowess, coupled with his left-arm spinners make him a dangerous allrounder and he shone in almost all of Punjab's Ranji One-dayers this season. Also, his big hundred in the Ranji four dayer against Haryana proved that he is ready for the longer version of the game too.
The coming Junior World Cup, to be held in Sri Lanka in January and February will be his best chance yet. "I am confident and know if I do well there it will give my a chance of making it to the Indian senior team," he says.

Mohammad Kaif: Roger Binny, the India A coachon the team's recent tour to the West Indies, was so impressed with Mohammad Kaif's batting on the tour that he labelled him the "find of the tour". Even as the Indian team is struggling with the middle-order spots, Kaif is one genuine batsman who has shown the class and the required temperament. The youngster took on the Windies A quicks with nonchalant ease during the A team's tour, as his scores tell.
Kaif was in the side for the four-nation tourney in Kenya recently, but could not make his debut. It is only a matter of time when Kaif will do that, if his scores against the Windies A quicks on the India A's tour are an indication.
The frail looking Uttar Pradesh youngster reminds you of former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin with his wristy stokes. Again, a product of junior cricket, Kaif was a member of the World Cup-winning Indian Schools team ('96) and along with Sodhi made rapid strides. He did well in the last Under-19 Junior World Cup in South Africa ('98) and that gave him the confidence,so vital in first-class cricket.
He owes a lot to the cricketing blood in his family. His father, Mohammad Tariff has played Ranji Trophy for Railways while brother Mohammad Saif is Kaif's teammate in the UP Raji squad. Kaif is a strong contender -- along with Sodhi -- to lead the Indian side in the coming Junior World Cup. Since, South Africa will be touring India in February-March, it will be a good opportunity for Kaif to get, first, into some tour game and then, if he does well, into the national side.