But after Kiran More and Nayan Mongia, MSU has very little to be proud of in the sports department. Despite the infrastructure available, participation, even in the popular games of cricket and hockey, leave much to be desired; it, therefore, surprises no one that dozens of footballs, basketballs and lawn tennis balls are virtually untouched.

While students allege the authorities do not invite participation or encourage sporting talent, university officials, on their part, point out that they issue circulars with the particulars of various sports at the beginning of every academic year.

Piyush Bhatt, a second year student of the Faculty of Commerce, however, would have you believe otherwise. ``Though the authorities do put up notices, there's nothing specific about them. We never get to know when the practices of a particular sporting event will begin'', he says.

``Till last year, I didn't know one could play lawn tennis by paying just Rs 56 annually'', says Mahesh Shah, a second year Polytechnic student.

According to in-charge director of the Physical Education department K B Desai, the communication gaps could be attributed, at least in part, to the students' disinterest. ``They don't believe in regular exercise, as the earlier generations did'', he says. ``That's why there's so few students in the pavilion, especially in the evening.''

Says student union president S R Pandya, ``Earlier the union used to host sporting activities; the inter-faculty tournaments drew large crowds. Nowadays the leaders don't think beyond rock shows and fun fairs. That's partly the reason why the inter-hostel games are being so held so late over the past few years''.

Bhatt and Shah, however, say that they, along with many of their friends, take part in the very informal inter-hostel sporting encounters, but add that they aren't ready to go to the pavilion and practice daily.

Unknowingly, they confirmed Express Newsline's contention: that interest is falling drastically in serious sports. But Desai says that that is true not only of the university students, but elsewhere in the city as well. ``Enrolments have fallen in the city's Vyayamshalas as well. And their members were the ones who were our students' competitors'', he says.

Mukesh Duggal, a student of the Faculty of Science, however, indicates the rot goes deeper. ``Enrolling oneself in some sporting activity and thinking of representing the university is very difficult if there has been nothing like that in school life'', he says. ``I know some people who represented their schools, but lost touch with sports at the higher secondary level and then never got their groove back''.

Be that as it may, most people associated with university sports agree it is time to encourage participation. Remembering days when competition was so tough even the front-runners weren't sure of representing the university, former athletics champion Russel Belsher says, ``There were incentives for sportsmen and women. For instance, we used to get extra marks during admissions''.

The authorities should highlight the benefits of representing the university in sports, believes former member of the MSU cricket team Sanjay Kar. ``True, not many students seem interested in sporting competition, but they may not be aware of the plus points of representing the university'', he says.

But the authorities say they are doing their bit. ``Concessions are offered to students who've represented their schools'', says Desai. ``They even get admission into the choicest courses''.

Opines former selector of the university cricket team Nikhil Desai, ``Students also have to realise that since there's hardly any choice, selectors have to choose from the handful who do come for regular practice''.

After all, they have a grand tradition to live up to.