India an emerging power in world boxing, says Manpreet (PTI) 13 July 2009, 03:50pm IST

NEW DELHI: Riding high on recent success of the Indian boxers in international circuit, the country is fast transforming itself into a force to


reckon with, feels pugilist Manpreet Singh. "India's decent performance in various international competitions in the recent times has certainly played a considerable role in making us a force to reckon with in world boxing. I think, we have started receiving enough respect from our international opponents now a day," said Manpreet. Manpreet and two compatriots - Amandeep Singh and Akshay Kumar - returned to the country on Monday after clinching a silver medal each in the recently concluded Magomed - Salam Umakhanov Memorial Boxing Championship in Makhachkala, Russia. However, Manpreet who fights in 91kg category, lamented missing out on the chance to pocket a gold as he had to skip the final due to a nose injury sustained during a hard-fought semifinal bout against Khomaster Artur of Germany. "I felt very sad after I could not participate in the final and had to give the opponent walk-over. I was ready to fight hard for the gold and everyone was confident about my chance of wining the title-round," Manpreet added. On their experience in the tournament, another member of the Indian contingent, Amandeep said: "We received ample support from the crowd in Russia where the Indian population turned out in huge numbers to support us throughout the tournament." "The training that we received in the Patiala camp is of high quality which has helped us in producing better results in the tournament. All the coaches and support stuff worked very hard before the tournament," Akshay said.

Video games headed for a sporting journey

A study by National Association of Software and Services Companies has revealed huge growth potential for gaming industry in India

PTI

New Delhi: Video games, the picture that these words conjure up in the mind is that of treasure hunts, guns fights and car chases but all that is likely to change as sport based games are fast catching up with other genres.

“It is true that more Indians are getting into gaming every day especially sports based one which are gaining huge popularity. In Zapak out of the top 10 games six are sports oriented, with India-Pak cricket leading the pack,” says Rohit Sharma, COO, Zapak, an online gaming site.

A study by the National Association of Software and Services Companies has revealed huge growth potential for animation and gaming industry in India, with revenues expected to reach $1.25 billion by the year 2009.

“Sport based games are doing well and it will only get better. One of the major reasons is that earlier the graphics of sport games were inferior but now they are as good as the other games and hence the popularity,” says Bishwajyoti Roy, a self-confessed gaming freak.

This growth of the sport games sector has been boosted by active participation of the youth. Most youngsters prefer games that require more involvement and less strain.

“One of the main reasons for popularity of such games is that they are easier to play than strategy games, “says Sharma.

Although, the new breed of gamers are drifting towards sports-oriented games, vintage games like Age of Empires still rule the roost among purists.

“New users prefer games like cricket, football etc but traditional gamers still go for strategy games,” Sharma says.

The popularity has not been merely confined to the increase of gamers but has also translated into rise in sales. Most of the companies who manufacture such games are making handsome profits.

“Two or three years ago the gaming market was dominated by strategy and combat games but now the sport based games are doing really well. Games like cricket from EA sports and FIFA football have enjoyed record sales,” says Mukul Mallik, manager of a gaming store in New Delhi.

A boost for such games has been provided by the advent of interactive games pioneered by the Nintendo’s Wii that allow users to control the game using physical gestures as well as traditional button presses. Other major players like Microsoft and Sony are also planning to launch their own versions.

As Suvina Rai, a college student and self confessed gameholic says, “There is more involvement in an interactive game than in other videogames. It is more demanding physically as playing games like tennis in such consoles require some physical activity.”

Students vent anger over Aakriti's death
PTI
Sunday, April 26, 2009 13:25 IST
New Delhi: Shocked by the death of a 17-year-old Delhi school girl following an asthma attack, students have launched a campaign on the cyberspace demanding action against those responsible for "negligence".
They have formed a number of communities on social networking website -- Facebook -- and one such group has 182 members, mostly the school mates of Aakriti Bhatia.
Mohit Goyal, a student, wrote that although he never knew Aakriti, those who are guilty of negligence should be brought to justice.
Voicing similar sentiments, Malika, a student in United Arab Emirates and Jazib Farid, studying in Riyadh's International English School, wrote: "This is truly bad. One of the best CBSE schools in India is facing such a shame today. Something should be done."
Aakriti, a class 12 student of Modern School, Vasant Vihar died last Monday after an asthma attack. Her parents and friends have accused the school authorities of negligence.
Shivam Bhardwaj, another student, wrote, "All that happened was really sad because Aakriti could have been saved if the school had acted wisely and not insensitively".

B-school puts education on fast track, pocket MBA in 2 days!

Press Trust Of India

New Delhi, April 16, 2009

First Published: 13:22 IST(16/4/2009)

Last Updated: 13:26 IST(16/4/2009

Prestigious institutes such as the Harvard Business School, Sloan at MIT and Kellogg are devising attractive programmes to rope in students from all walks of life and have all reported double-digit rise in applications.

A Boston-based International Business School has introduced the first in a series of innovative programs called “Pocket MBA’s,” a course of just two days!

“We want to give professionals a taste of our top ranked one year MBA programme in an abbreviated format of two days,” says Nick Vanderwalt, Dean, Hult’s Dubai MBA program. And the school claims grand success.

One reason for the spurt in applicants might be because many executives say planning a Masters in Business Administration would be a sure shot way to duck recession at its peak. They seem to have found a new love for studies in these troubled days, says a release by the Hult International Business.

Such courses, however, may not click in India, say experts.

“In times of recession people tend to increase their worth by going for education. As far as a two day programmes like Hult is concerned, I do not think it will add value to someone’s resume, certainly not in India,” says Prof Neeraj Kumar of Delhi’s Faculty of Management Studies (FMS).

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