Calcutta: Are sports and sports stars in the city facing decadence? The recent spate of poor performances in various disciplines by the players ? of and from the city ? may have lent voice to a general scenario of disappointment and despondency.

None of the four city-based teams made it to the semi-finals of Federation Cup in Goa. None from the group of six, including Arjun Atwal managed a top-10 finish in the Indian Open. Add to this the gathering clouds over the future of Sourav Ganguly, and the absence of other Bengal cricketers to follow his legacy.

All this points to a kind of what’s-happened-to-sports-in-Calcutta wonder and an unsavoury situation in which negatives are sadly outweighing the positives.

The men in the question, however, refuse to subscribe to such a view. They believe this is nothing but a “bad phase” and there’s no need to press the panic button so soon.

There are, of course, a few words of caution. While Atwal has pointed out that the city golfers “really need to work hard” in getting to the international stage, former cricketer and national selector Ashok Malhotra feels there’s a “genuine need to highlight the talents from here”.

The Telegraph on Monday spoke to a few stars from Calcutta in order to get a common picture of the city’s sporting future. The following are their views:

ARJUN ATWAL: You can’t ignore ups and downs in sports. These are things one has to live with. Personally speaking, it’s a bit disappointing not to finish in the top-10 in the Indian Open. I must say that I was rusty and my putting was not up to my satisfaction. But overall, it’s a decent show.

As far as other golfers from Calcutta were concerned, the meet should be a real learning experience for them. They are talented but really need to work hard. Today’s golf is highly competitive and unless they concentrate on their performance, there’s very little chance of seeing a Calcuttan rule in the international stage.

SAMBARAN BANERJEE: It’s just a coincidence that we are not performing as a whole. It’s just a bad phase and sooner or later we’re bound to overcome it.

That Sourav now has to perform in domestic cricket is sort of a boon for Bengal cricket because his very presence is enough to boost the morale of the team. But he’s a born fighter and I’m confident his comeback to the Team India (ODI) squad is around the corner. Ranadeb Bose, Shib Shankar Paul and Laxmi Ratan Shukla are good enough to come to the national squad. Two of them performed quite well in the Challenger Trophy. I am certainly not seeing a bleak future for Bengal cricket.

BISWAJIT BHATTACHARYA: I can’t comment on other games, but this talk of sports in Calcutta in decline is not true. If you think of football, there’s simply no challenge to the city teams. True, the Goan teams and Mahindra United have been getting success in recent times, but one failure in the Federation Cup doesn’t mean you’ve to ring the alarm bell. We failed, I believe, partly because of bad luck and partly because of poor refereeing.

One thing that really needs immediate attention is the clubs’ hectic schedules. In that way, we didn’t have time to prepare well for the tournament. Can you believe that the Goa Professional League was stopped midway, just to let the teams prepare for the Federation Cup? Yes, sometimes we lack this professional attitude.

But what we have, and Goan teams don’t, is what it takes to perform under pressure. This is a driving force to keep us floating in adversity and as long as we have this ? not only in football, but in other games too ? we’ll continue ruling.

ASHOK MALHOTRA: It’s sad to see that no players from Bengal seem to feature in the pool Greg Chappell is looking at for his Vision 2007 World Cup. After all, the likes of Ranadeb, Shib Shankar and Laxmi are not so bad that they need to be ignored. And the plight of these players makes me believe that there’s a genuine need to highlight the talent here. The East Zone selector is to be blamed for this, because Chappell is not in a position to know our players and it’s the selector’s duty to bring them to the coach’s notice.

ALOKE MUKHERJEE: No player and no team can sustain a high level all through and for that matter, failure is as much part of the game as success.

True, in the wake of the Calcutta teams’ failures in the Federation Cup, I have an extra responsibility with my team in the Santosh Trophy. But there’s no point to be proved about Bengal’s supremacy. We are still far ahead of others, but sometimes, that is not being reflected in results.

My boys know a good performance in the Santosh Trophy may well open the door of opportunity for them in the national squad. That’s their motivation.