JK skiers to participate in 2010 Winter Olympics

Abid Khan

Srinagar, Mar 22: After more than 20 years, players from JK will represent India in the Olympic Games. Two skiers from JK have qualified for the winter Olympics 2010 scheduled to be held in Vancouver, Canada from February 12, 2010.
 Tashi Lundup and Jamyang Namgial will represent India in skiing events in men’s category.  Tashi Lundup will participate in cross-country and Jamyang Namgial will participate in Alpine Ski.
 Both skiers are presently with Indian Army and are posted at High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Gulmarg. Hailing from Leh region, Lundup and Namgial are the first players from the region to represent India in an international event. It is also only second time that players from JK will participate in Olympics. Previously, only Gul Mustafa has participated in Olympics.
 Lundup, a Havaldar in Army qualified for the games by securing qualifying points at Federation of International Ski (FIS) races held at Turkey, Bursa and Bolo from March 10 to 11 and 13 to 14 respectively this year. He also secured qualifying points by participating in FIS Nordic world ski championship held in Liberec, Czech Republic from February 18 to 28 this year. Due to his excellent performance in the three events, he secured enough points to qualify for the Games.
 Lundup is National Winter Games cross-country championship as he won first place in fifth National Winter Games held in Gulmarg in February 2008.
 He has also secured third position (bronze medal) in FIS 10-kilometer race held in Iran, Shemshak in 2007. He represented Indian team in Asian Winter Games held in Changchun, China in 2007.
 Namgial also a Havildar in Army qualified by securing points at Federation of International Ski (FIS) races held in Turkey, Erzurum on 13 March this year. He participated in other qualifying race in same country at Sarikamis on March 16. Before these two races, he also performed brilliantly in FIS Alpine World Ski Championship held in Val d Isere, France in February 2009.
 Namgial, a national champion in Alpine Ski discipline in fifth National Winter Games held at Gulmarg in February 2008 also represented Indian team in Asian Winter Games in Changchun, China in 2007.
 Winter Games Federation of Indian (WGFI) member, Mudasar Mir said, “It is an honor that two players from our state have qualified for the Olympics.”
 “Our future generation will definitely get motivated towards skiing. After 2010 Olympics, I’m sure we will see huge number of players coming to Gulmarg for skiing,” he said.

Published in Greater Kashmir on Mar 23:2009 link

http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=23_3_2009&ItemID=4&cat=4

Sikander Director Admits Wadoo Misunderstanding

Bollywood director Piyush Jha has admitted that his upcoming movie 'Sikander' is not based on the Indian international footballer Mehrajuddin Wadoo.

22-Mar-2009 3:55:22 PM

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Mehrajuddin Wadoo, East Bengal, India (Photo: www.mohanraj.net)

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There has been a fair amount of controversy over the movie's plot, which was earlier said to have been inspired by the East Bengal star Meharajuddin Wadoo. Film director Piyush Jha was quoted as saying that this movie was based on Wadoo's life trajectory and even the player himself had earlier thought that movie was based on his life.

But it has now been confirmed that the movie is not related to the Kashmiri player. Wadoo had earlieradmitted that he has made a mistake by believing that Sikander was based on his life and now Jha himself has affirmed that the movie does not concern the player in any way.

Speaking over the phone from Mumbai, Piyush Jha said, "The movie has nothing to do with Wadoo. It is not his life history and is purely fictional. The movie is based on the story of a small town player who has achieved something big. I’ve given the examples of Indian international cricketer MS Dhoni (who is from Ranchi) and Indian international footballer Wadoo (who is a Kashmiri). But I never said that it is story of Wadoo."

Jha further clarified, "The movie is purely fictional and has not got even a remote connection with real life. 'Sikandar' is based in Kashmir and on Kashmir. It does not venture into politics and is not a message-oriented film. It has been structured like a suspense thriller. This type of story can happen in Hyderabad or America or in any other place."

Jha explained that it is the story of a boy who aspires to play football for the national team. He said, "It is his story and what happens in his life and typical Bollywood masala elements have been added to it. It is a purely commercial film and we have included all the elements of the commercial cinema in it."

Earlier Wadoo had distanced himself from the movie and had insisted that the story has nothing to do with his journey. Director Jha now says that he has cleared it all with Wadoo and has also apologized for the inconvenience caused due to the misunderstanding.

"I told Wadoo that movie has nothing to do with his life and that it is a misunderstanding created by the media."

Abid Khan

For all the latest Goal.com news at your fingertips, point your mobile phone browser tom.goal.com, Goal.com's very own mobile news service!

Published in GOAL.COM on march 22-2000 link 

    http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/136/india/2009/03/22/1168960/sikander-director-admits-wadoo-misunderstanding

Wadoo Distances Himself From Bollywood Film

East Bengal star Mehrajuddin Wadoo has distanced himself from the Bollywood movie 'Sikander', insisting that the story portrayed in that film is in no way related to his life.

22-Mar-2009 11:19:57 AM

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Bollywood director Piyush Jha had earlier said that the movie is inspired by the success of Wadoo, who currently features for the Kolkata giants East Bengal. Even Wadoo was quoted as saying that the movie was indeed based on his own life.

But the Indian international footballer now says that‘Sikander’ is not based on his life. He said, “The story of the movie has nothing to do with my life. Neither the writer nor the director has talked to me regarding it.

“He (Piyush) requested me to be part of the promotion campaign of the film that is scheduled to be released on March 27. But I told him that I’m busy with the matches and moreover I also don’t know anything about the story.

“Afterwards I contacted people in the media and film industry to get information about the story of the movie. But I was shocked when I heard the story, which is a typical Bollywood masala film and has nothing to do with my life.”

Wadoo added that he had called the director on Thursday and had categorically told him that he has nothing to with the film.  

“He told me to come to Mumbai where a joint press conference will be held in which all issues will be cleared. I asked him to give me clarification statements in the two newspapers of Kolkata and J&K to which he readily agreed. I also asked the director to give me a clearance letter in which it would be written that I have nothing to do with this movie.”

The international football star said that if the movie is projected as his journey to the Indian national football team then people would think that he is a militant-turned-football player.

“The movie is a story about a young boy who has a dream to play football for the national team. One day he finds a gun on his way to school and he joins the militant ranks later. They have twisted the story by mentioning that the parents of the boy have been killed by militants.”

Wadoo said that his journey from the valley football fields to the Indian national team is totally different.

“My parents are alive and my father was also a footballer. I started playing football at young age. The movie is the result of the creativity of the writer and nothing else.”

Wadoo said that if the matter is not cleared quickly, then it could affect his playing career as well as his family in the Valley.

Abid Khan  

For all the latest Goal.com news at your fingertips, point your mobile phone browser tom.goal.com, Goal.com's very own mobile news service!

Published in GOAL.COM ON MAR 22 -2009 link : http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/136/india/2009/03/22/1168666/wadoo-distances-himself-from-bollywood-film

East Bengal Star Inspires Bollywood Movie

East Bengal star Mehrajuddin Wadoo inspired Bollywood movie 'Sikander' is set to be released nationwide on March 27 this year.....

13-Mar-2009 7:03:16 PM

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The success of the Indian international footballer Mehrajuddin Wadoo has inspired a Bollywood director to make a movie on him. The movie would be released across the country on March 27.

Entitled ‘Sikandar’, it is a story about a young boy who has a dream to play football for the national team. It’s about his aspirations and challenges and how his life unfolds when one fine day he finds a gun on his way to school.

The film is a suspense thriller and also deals with the innocent people in a region that has witnessed decades of violence.

Sikandar is directed by noted Bollywood director Piyush Jha, who had earlier directed comedies like 'King of Bollywood' and 'Chalo America'. Jha has also written the script of the suspense thriller.

Piyush Jha was so inspired by the success of Wadoo that he decided to write a story on his life's trajectory. In one of the interviews, Jha said that he had read the story of Mehrajuddin, a footballer who had started playing for Mohun Bagan and is now playing for East Bengal, the first footballer from Kashmir to do so.

Jha had read how at the age of 14 or 15, this guy used to hang out with kids doing nothing fruitful and how he was taken by his father to the later's cousin, who was also a football coach. Jha also said that "Sikandar is based in Kashmir and on Kashmir" but was quick to add that "it does not venture into politics."

The film stars Parzaan Dastur, Ayesha Kapur, who had earlier starred in Black, R Madhavan, Sanjay Suri and Arunoday Singh. Sandesh Shandiliya, Justin-Uday and Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy have scored the music of the film, which has been mostly shot in Pahalgam.

Wadoo is currently playing for Kolkata giants East Bengal and is a regular member of Indian national football team. This is what he had to say about the movie, "I came to know about the movie from a journalist here in Kolkata. After I had gone through the previews and the promos on the internet, it became clear to me that movie is inspired by my journey."

When asked whether the movie will help football in the Valley or not, the midfielder-turned defender said, "If the story revolves around football, then it will definitely help our football to grow."

Abid Khan

Published in GOAL>COM on March 13 link : http://www.goal.com/en-india/news/1117/desi-tadka/2009/03/13/1153577/east-bengal-star-inspires-bollywood-movie

Wadoo is not Sikandar: Director

Abid Khan

Srinagar, Mar 20: Day after Valley’s international footballer, Me’raj-ud-Din Wadoo distanced himself from the upcoming Bollywood movie, Sikandar, the director, Piyush Jha on Friday said that the movie is not about the life of Wadoo.
 “Movie has nothing to do with Wadoo. It is not his life history and is purely fictional creativity of the writer,” Piyush told Greater Kashmir over phone from Mumbai.
 He said that in all the media reports and interviews he had been quoted out of context that has created confusion.
 “The movie is based on the story of a small town player who has achieved big. I’ve given example of M S Dhoni who has come from Ranchi and also of Wadoo who is a Kashmiri. But I never said that it is story of Wadoo,” he clarified.
 “The movie is pure fiction and has not got remotest connection with real life. Sikandar is based in Kashmir and on Kashmir. It does not venture into politics, nor is it a message-oriented film. It has been structured like suspense thriller, issues confronting are held at the backdrop. This type of story can happen in Hyderabad or America and elsewhere,” he added
 Piyush said that it is story of the boy who aspires to play football for national team. “It is his story and what happens in his life and typical Bollywood masala elements have been added to it. It is a pure commercial film and we have included all the elements of commercial cinema in it,” he said.
 Earlier on Thursday, Wadoo distanced himself from the movie and said that the story has nothing to do with his journey. 
 The director said that he cleared all the matters with Wadoo and apologized him for all the inconvenience caused due to the misunderstanding.
 “I told Wadoo that movie has nothing to do with his life and it is all misunderstanding created by the media,” Piyush said.
 The film stars Kuch Kuch Hota Hain and Parzania fame Parzaan Dastur now in his teens, Ayesha Kapur of Black fame along with R Madhavan, Sanjay Suri and Arunoday Singh in key roles. The film has been mostly shot in Pahalgam and is scheduled to be released on March 27.

Published In greater kashmir on Mar 21: link http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=21_3_2009&ItemID=4&cat=4

WADOO DISTANCES HIMSELF FROM SIKANDAR

‘It is not my story’

Abid Khan

Srinagar, Mar 19: Kashmir’s international footballer, Mehrajjudin Wadoo on Thursday distanced himself from the upcoming Bollywood movie, Sikandar and said that story of the movie has nothing to do with his life.
“The story of the movie has nothing to do with my life nor the writer or director has talked to me regarding it,” Wadoo said.
Piyush Jha, director and writer of the movie has been repeatedly saying that the movie is inspired by the success of Wadoo. Wadoo who is presently in Goa, said few days back Piyush called him and requested him to promote the movie.
“He (Piyush) requested me to be part of the promotion campaign of the film that is scheduled to be released on March 27. But I told him that I’m busy with the matches and moreover I also don’t know anything about the story,” Wadoo said.
“Afterwards I contacted people in media and film industry to get information about the story of the movie. But I was shocked when I heard the story which is a typical Bollywood masala film and has nothing to do with my life” he clarified.
Wadoo said he called the director on Thursday and categorically told him that he has nothing to with the film. “He told me to come to Mumbai where a joint press conference will be given in which all the matters will be cleared,” he revealed. “I asked him to give me clarification statements in the two newspapers of Kolkatta and J&K which he readily agreed. I also asked the director to give me clearance letter in which it is written that I have never met nor has anything to do with this movie,” Wadoo added.
The international football star said that if the movie is projected as his journey to Indian team then people would think that he is a militant turned football player.
“The movie is a story about a young boy who has a dream to play football for the national team. One day he finds a gun on his way to school and he joins the militant ranks later. They have twisted the story by mentioning that the parents of the boy have been killed by militants” he said.
Wadoo said that his journey from valley football fields to Indian team is totally different.
“My parents are alive and my father was also a footballer. I joined football at young age. The movie is only creativity of the writer and nothing else,” he clarified.
Wadoo said that if the matter is not cleared quickly it could affect his playing career as well as family in valley.
Sikandar is directed by Piyush Jha who has earlier directed comedies like King of Bollywood and Chalo America. Apart from direction he has also written the script of suspense thrillers. The film stars Kuch Kuch Hota Hain and Parzania fame Parzaan Dastur now in his teens, Ayesha Kapur of Black fame along with R Madhavan, Sanjay Suri and Arunoday Singh in key roles. The film has been mostly shot in Pahalgam.

published in Greater Kashmir on Mar 20 -2009 link http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=20_3_2009&ItemID=4&cat=4

Bollywood inspired by Wadoo’s success

Sikandar To Hit Screens On March 27

ABID KHAN

Srinagar, Mar 11: The success of Valley’s international footballer, Mehrajjudin Wadoo has inspired a Bollywood director to make movie on him. The movie would be released all over the country on March 27. The movie titled ‘Sikandar’ is a story about a young boy who has a dream to play football for the national team. It’s about his aspirations and challenges and how his life unfolds when one fine day he finds a gun on his way to school. The film is a suspense thriller, which also deals with the innocent people in a place, which has witnessed decades of violence. Sikandar is directed by Piyush Jha who has earlier directed comedies like King of Bollywood and Chalo America. Apart from direction he has also written the script of the suspense thriller. Piyush Jha has been inspired by the success of Wadoo to write this story and he has been saying that since the promos of the film were released all over. In one of the interview, Piyush said, “I read the story of boy MehrajjudDin, a footballer started playing for Mohun Bagan, now East Bengal. The first sports person from Kashmir to do so. At the age of 14 –15, he used to hang out with a group of guys typically the rock element types. His father then took him to his cousin who also a coach makes his energies focused on the game.” “Sikandar is based in Kashmir and on Kashmir. It does not venture into politics, nor is it a message-oriented film. Sikandar has been structured like suspense thriller, issues confronting are held at the backdrop. This type of story can happen in Hyderabad or America and elsewhere” he added. The film stars Kuch Kuch Hota Hain and Parzania fame Parzaan Dastur now in his teens, Ayesha Kapur of Black fame along with R Madhavan, Sanjay Suri and Arunoday Singh in key roles. Sandesh Shandiliya, Justin-Uday and Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy have scored the music of the film. The film has been mostly shot in Pahalgam. Wadoo is currently playing in I-League for East Bengal club and is regular member of Indian football team. Talking to Greater Kashmir on phone from Kolkatta he said, “I came to know about the movie through one of my journalist friend here in Kolkatta. After going through the previews and promos on Internet, it was clear that movie is inspired by my journey.” Asked, will movie help valley’s football, he said,“ If the story revolves around football, then it will definitely help our football to grow. But I think there will be touch of disturbances also in it.”

Published in Greater Kashmir on Mar 12-2009: link http://greaterkashmir.net/full_story.asp?Date=12_3_2009&ItemID=6&cat=4

Samiullah selected for North Zone team

Will Play In Deodhar Trophy

ABID KHAN
Srinagar, Mar 10: JK Ranji team, pace spearhead, Samiullah Beigh has been selected for north Zone team, which will participate in Deodhar trophy at Cuttack from Friday. The team was announced on Monday. It will be led by Mithun Manhas of DDCA and has three Punjab players Uday Kaul, Siddharth Kaul and Ravi Inder Singh. The other members of the team are Akash Chopra, Virat Kohli, Rajat Bhatia, Pradeep Sangwan, Yogesh Nagar, Chetnya Nanda (all DDCA), Yash Pal (Services), V S Malik, V Indulkar (HPCA), Rahul Dewan (Haryana) and Samiullah Beigh (JKCA). Five zonal teams of country and one foreign team will participate in the event. They have been divided into two groups. Group A consists of Central Zone, North Zone and East Zone while Group B consists West Zone, South Zone and Zimbabwe XI. The tournament would be played on league cum knock-out-basis. North Zone will play first match against Central Zone on March 13. Expressing happiness over his selection, Samiullah told Greater Kashmir, “It is an honour to be selected for the zonal team second time in the same season. I performed well in ranji one-dayers by taking 10 wickets in five matches.” Samiullah has become third cricketer from JK to get his place in the north Zone team for Deodar Trophy. Before him, Abdul Qayoom Bagaw and Abid Nabi had represented state in the trophy. “I was expecting selection call last year, but it didn’t happen. I didn’t loose heart and gave my best this time. Selectors were satisfied and included me in the team” he said. Though it is first time that Samiullah has been selected in north Zone one-day team, he was selected twice for zonal test team. But on both occasions he was not given chance to play. “When I got a call this time, I told selectors what is the fun to be in the team without being in playing eleven. On that, they assured me that this time there are atleast two matches to be played and I would be given chance. They said that rest depends on my performance,” he revealed. In 2007 season, he took 24 wickets in five test matches and last season bagged 25 wickets in same number of matches. On both the occasions, he was selected for zonal team but was not included in the playing eleven. “If this time chance would be given to me, I’ll give my best as I know it is the chance to stake claim in Team India. If I perform well here, selection to Team India is not too far” he asserted. Samiullah will join team at Delhi on Wednesday where from he will leave for Cuttack in the evening. In first match of the tournament, north Zone will lock horns with central Zone on March 13 while in second match on same day, west Zone will be against south Zone. North Zone will be against east Zone in third match on March 14 while fourth match is scheduled between south Zone and Zimbabwe Presidents-XI on March 15. In fifth match, central Zone will be against east Zone March 16 while in sixth match, west Zone will be against Zimbabwe on March 16. The final between top two teams from Group A and Group B will be played on March 18 at Barabati Stadium.

Published in Greater Kashmir on Mar 11 link http://greaterkashmir.net/full_story.asp?Date=11_3_2009&ItemID=5&cat=4