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Journalism of Courage
The Indian Express’ correspondent Mihir Vasavda on Tuesday won the Sports Media Pearl Award for the Best Colour Piece at a ceremony held in Abu Dhabi. Mihir, who was the only Indian journalist in the running for the prestigious award, won it for his story “Being Poor in the Richest Sport” which was published on June 10, 2015. It focuses on the national football teams of Yemen, Guam and Bhutan, who are but obscure dots on the map of world football, and narrates the challenges faced by those players as they attempt to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Launched at the Louvre Museum in Paris in March, the Sport Media Pearl Awards are the first international awards dedicated to the sport journalism industry. They are presented by the International Sports Press Association and hosted by Abu Dhabi Media. The organisers received 724 submissions from 86 countries and 29 languages in nine categories across print, photography, radio and television media. The jury comprised of 11 sport media professionals, including NBA legend Yao Ming of China, who is the jury’s special ambassador of sport. Each eligible award consists of an original trophy and prize money of USD10,000 for the winner.
Excerpts from Mihir’s story:
“The impact of corruption within FIFA is visible on teams like Yemen, who despite all odds stacked against them hope to make the cut for football’s flagship event.
With the country involved in a bloody war with Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s national team head Husam Al Sanabani said they were left with no other option but to travel by sea. It’s a treacherous stretch of water that has already been braved by thousands since the war began. Under normal circumstances, a flight from Yemen to Doha would take roughly two hours. But the long detour meant they first had to undertake the 13-hour boat journey to Djibouti, followed by a five-hour flight from the tiny African nation to Doha.
“We had three options. Flights were not possible as the airports are shut. It was unsafe to cross the border by road as there is constant firing. So the only option left for us was to travel by sea. It was a dangerous route and the players were brave enough to accept our suggestion,” Al Sanabani told The Indian Express over phone from Doha.
Read full story here: Being poor in the richest sport
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“It is believed that several Buddhists, including the Dalai Lama, consult the dice to make important decisions. “It was unnerving. Almost as if I was deciding the fate of our team before we even stepped on the field,” Bhutan captain Karma Tshering, who was assigned the task to throw the dice, had said back then. “You have to throw it thrice and hope for the best.”
Tshering said he threw three threes, a tally of nine. He smiled, so did his teammates. A couple of hours later, the entire country joined them. Tshering, the country’s only professional player, was on target once again as Bhutan stunned Sri Lanka for the second time and guide his team to the group stages for the first-time ever. “This is what dreams are made of. We may not make it to the main tournament, but this is good enough. The qualifiers are like the World Cup for us,” Tshering said.
