Anju falls short. Even the brainy chess guys are not winning. Indian sport continues to see an upward trend while all this happens, especially football.

Priya Saini at Economic Times writes:

Indian football is taking on glitzy hues as more and more corporates are coming on board as sponsors. It would seem outrageous that a sport in which India is ranked so low, is seeing major Indian TV networks bidding some ridiculous amounts for its TV rights and corporates making a beeline for sponsorships.

The piece is a must read if you want to know more on the recent Indian football trends. I had touched briefly on Indian football here. There is huge potential for growth in football (else why would it be the most popular game in the world!) and the scenario for India is no different. A few wins can propel the growth of the game very, very quickly.

Michelle Wie is achieving what few women have managed - competing in a man dominated professional sport. CNN reports:

Sixteen-year-old Michelle Wie on Friday became the first women to make the cut in a major men’s tour event for 61 years at Incheon, South Korea.

Wie fired four birdies on her way to a three-under 69 in the second round of the Asian Tour’s SK Telecom Open to put at her at five under.

The last woman to make the final two rounds of a senior men’s event was Babe Zaharias at the 1945 Los Angeles Open.

Babe Zaharias did it in another era. That no one managed it till now in golf, since then, is testimonial to the increasing standards in golf, and gives some understanding to what Wie is achieving. Analysts and golf writers say that we might only start understanding what Tiger Woods achieved in golf, the barriers he broke and what he meant to golf only after many years of the Woods retirement.

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Wladimir Klitschko has won the IBF Heavywright title. Read an excellent review from blogger JE Grant here.

Also, if you are bored/put off by boxing, check out of when the Klitschko brothers battled Kasporov in a chess match. [Link via the Getting into Chess blog]

Think chess is boring as well? Agh.

With his victory in the Corus Chess Championships, Anand becomes the first player to win the tournament 5 times. He also becomes the 4th player ever to break the 2800 barrier in the ELO rating points. Anand as a chess player is a constantly improving genius as indicated by his ELO. More here.

Even as the Indo-Pak cricket community moans at the pitch and bad light ruining the first test, Viswanathan Anand has started off with a win in his opening match of the Corus Chess Championship. It would be a record 5th title if he managed to win the tournament, informs The Hindu.

India continues to deliver splendid results in chess. Reports NDTV:

Sahaj Grover created history by winning the gold in the Under-10 section of the World Youth Chess Championships that concluded here.

N Srinath got a bit lucky on the final day and also won the gold medal in the Under-12 section after losing his last round game against So Wesley.

Along with the gold and glory, Sahaj also became the youngest ever Indian to win any World Championship, breaking the 1996 record set by current World Junior Champion P Harikrishna.

But can such amazing talent prosper in the wake of what happened to Humpy a few days ago? When a young boy starts taking chess seriously in the country, he has Vishwanathan Anand as his idol, some one who had no peers to look at. He has done to Chess in India what Tiger Woods has done to golf in the world.

He did not have much to fall back on. At least the scenario is much better than it was back then. The young chess players have to think this way and have to battle on.

Bank of Baroda ditching Konery Humpy in the last moment and stripping her off their sponsorship is a shocking latest development. Found out regarding it via an entry in Prem’s blog.

Sponsors in Indian sport only run towards the top cricket stars in the country, a few international stars who have already established themselves. Promising players have to slug it out and worry about money as much as they have to do about enhancing performances.

Tennis players always find it tough and often live by the week, trying to get sponsors to travel, play in challengers all round the world, hire international coaches/trainers and improve ranking points.

Chess players are facing a similar problem. Training and getting ready for international challenges is expensive. Only after honing skills and talent for years does can a sports person aspire to be a champion.

If a company sponsors a player in the formative years, it can reap huge rewards when the player succeeds in the future. Imagine a sponsor who would have helped Sania Mirza’s career during her initial journey in tennis.

Humpy is an extra ordinary talent, having won at various levels of competition internationally. She is the world no. 4 women’s chess player. Surely Bank Of Baroda should have thought better than part ways with her at such a crucial stage in her career.

Humpy is not an also ran and the 20 lakhs she wants, I am sure will be availed some how in the next few days. But it only shows how pathetic the scenario is for sportspersons in the beginning and initial stages of their journey in India. And do not single out cricket. Even cricketers, domestic and upcoming struggle with finances, international training opportunities. Only after players reach the top do the spnsors really come in.