Indian Sports : A Torch Relay

I stumbled upon this video hosted on Youtube from a friends Orkut Profile and it took me back 10 years when I used to wait to see this video. I have already, now seen this video 3 times today. Wonderful!!!!!

It was one of my dreams as a sportsman to be part of a torch relay. It remained unfulfilled primarily because I changed school after 10th std. If I had continued, I would definitely have been the torch bearer for the school. In my new school I was not there long enough to stake claim to be the torch ot flag bearer.

Coming back to the video, i was trying to identify each sportsman and heres the ones that I have got. Correct me if I am wrong and help me name the rest :

1. Krishnamachari Srikkanth, the dashing opening batsman and now Chief of Selectors
2. PK Bannerjee, who is the Dhyan Chand of Indian Soccer.
4. Shiny Wilson, multiple Asian Gold medallist and represented India in a distinguished Athletics career. Was part of a Golden era of Indian womens athletics.
5. PT Usha, like the video rightly shows, shes the gazelle of Indian athletics and the heroine of the era I mentioned earlier.
6. Ramanathan Krishnan, one of Indias Tennis greats
7. Ramesh Krishnan, completes the father and son duo, another Tennis great
8. Nawab Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, flamboyant cricketer and youngest captain of India. (Id s it Soha Ali running with him?)
9. Kapil Dev Nikhanj, needs no introduction. Champion par excellence
10. Milkha Singh (from one Pa'ji to another) . Indias Best Athletics Olympian
14. Michael Ferreira, ace cueist
16. Merwyn Fernandes, former Hockey captain and Olympian
17. Sunil Manohar Gavaskar, first cricketer to 10K Test runs
20. Erapalli Prasanna, one of the Indian champion spinning quartret
21. Dilip Vengsarkar, distinguished cricketer, scored centuries at Lords in all of his innings there.
22. Srinivas Venkatraghavan, another from the famous Spinning quartret (Bedi and Chandrashekar are the missing ones)
23. Prakash Padukone, first Indian to win the All England Badminton Championship.

If I were to make a video like this currently, here are the people I would cast in it :

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly, Anil Kumble, Bhaichung Bhutia, Dhanraj Pillay, Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Abhinav Bindra, Vijendra Kumar, Sushil Kumar, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Anju George, Pullela Gopichand, Vishwanathan Anand, Geet Sethi.

I have a feeling I am missing someone really special here.

With goosebumps, I sign off.

Prolific Phelps and Thundering Bolt!!!!!!

The weekend at Beijing was defined by 2 men who are on top of their respective sports - Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt.

Phelps found a way to where he is all alone, having won 8 Gold medals at the one Olympics. The 100m Butterfly finals was nail biting and defines the man Phelps - he fights to the end and never gives up and on more occasions than not, he comes out on top. Phelps turned at 50m in 7th position and the 8 Gold dream seemed distant at that stage, but he clawed his way back in his trademark style to take the Gold on the touch, from Serbian Milorad Cavic. There was only 1/100th of a second in that win. With that win, having equalled Mark Spitz 1972 record of 7 Golds, he entered the 4X100 medley relay as the butterfly swimmer and swam the crucial lap giving the Americans an unassailable lead and his 8th Gold. What a man!!!

Away from the Water Cube and inside the Birds nest, was another battle that I have been waiting for, for a few months now. The Mens 100m dash. The Semifinals were intersting too and the upset came in the 2nd SF when Tyson Gay failed to qualify for the Finals. That left just Bolt and Powell, the 2 heavyweights battling it in the Finals, or so I thought. The Finals was off to a smooth start and Usain Bolt was quick off the blocks. At half way mark, he was the clear leader. He thundered through the next 30 metres gaining a lead of almost 15m and then switched off, spread his hands and thumped his chest as he cruised to the finish line in World Record Time. It was the most fantastic and the most ridiculous race - at the same time - that I have ever seen. The man was toying with the field and had he not switched off with 20 m to go, he could well have gone 2/10th of a second faster. There was Usian Bolt and there were the rest. Theres more Thunder in store at Beijing. Micheal Johnsons 200m WR of 19.32 secs is very much under threat and there cant be a bigger stage to break that record. Usian Bolt made my weekend. Asafa Powell finished in 5th (just as in Athens). Perhaps the pressure of the Olympics finals got to him. Richard Thompson of Trinidad and Tonago took Silver and Walter Dix of US took bronze.

The 4X100 relay is a mouth watering prospect, with 3 of the 4 Jamaicans featuring in the 100m Finals - Powell, Bolt and Michael Frater(who broke the 10 sec barrier for the first time in the finals).

The story for the Indians has not been as good, since Abhinav Bindras Gold. Lee and Hesh lost the Doubles QFs to Roger Federer and Stainislas Wawrinka, who went on to take Gold. I think Roger Federer was very upset that he lost the Singles and wanted to make sure he goes home with a Gold. Good on him!! As I write, Nadal is leading by a set in the Finals of the Mens tennis.

Bajranglal Thakar finished 3rd is the D category final of the Mens Sculls and was not good enough for a medal. Well done to him though. The only hope for India now is the Pugilist - Akhil Kumar in the Bantam weight boxing. He beat the reigning champion to progress. His fight is tomorrow. Two other boxers have made it to the QFs.

The Indian womens Heptatheletes disappointed with a below par performance. Pramila Ganapathy, Shobha Javur and Susmita Roy finished 28th , 30th and 33rd respectively. What disappoints me most is that the Indian athletes never put up a Personal Best (PB) at the highest level. They may not be medal hopes, but coming up with a PB at least is the way to go.

Hopefully the others can do that.

Week 2 at Beijing ........bring it on!!!!!

Lead up to the Olympics

It is the olympic year and Beijing 2008 is less than a month away. I cant wait for the mouth watering action to begin. The lead up to the Olympics has been roungh, in terms of the political issues surrounding Tibet, but I am certain that come 08-08-08 all that will be put to rest and the focus will completely shift to the sprting action with "Citius Altius Fortius" being the foundation.

There are many different events that I am looking forward to - The swimming where the duel between US and Australia is expected to be jaw dropping. While I will be backing the Aussies led by Grant Hackett and Libby Trickett (formerly Lenton), I will also be hoping for Michael Phelps to win the most Golds at Olympics.

Athletics has always excited me and the fact that I can relate a lot to it from my experience being an athlete, gives me many a goosebump moments. The IAAF Golden League is on and that is keeping me very interested. I cant wait to see the new World Record Holder and fastest man on earth - Usain Bolt, take on Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay for the 100m sprint. While Usains main focus is teh 200m dash, i hope his coach allows him to complete the 100m as well. The 3 have run races within 0.04 seconds each other in the last 1 year.

One of the biggest disappointments is tha fact that the Indian Hockey team has not qualified for eth Olympics. Apart from that, the Indian contingent in general is quite strong and there are a few medal hopes. leander Paes got a bronze in Atlanta, Major Rajyavardhan Rathore brought us a silver in Athens, can anyone go one better this time and return a Gold? That elusive Gold could, in my opinion, from from either the Shooters or from Lee and Hesh in the Tennis doubles. The other medal hopes for India, with outside chances, are : 4X400 m relay Womens team and Anju George in the Long Jump.

I will be hoping and praying to hear "Jana Gana Mana" being played in honour of an Indian Gold at Beijing. Also I will definitely be singing "Advance Australia fair" everytime Australia wins a Gold. Fair Dinkum??

Watch this space for more. I will endeavour to blog more regularly and get back to blogging the way I knew it until about 6 months ago.

Indian cricket in safe hands

Being sick is bad enough, but being sick for over a month is worse!!!! I cant let my blog be sick for over a month atleast, so heres trying to make it better :)

It was a wonderful Sunday for Indian Cricket with India beating Australia in the first Finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series Down under and the Indian Colts (U-19) winning the World cup beating South Africa (chokers again?).

Talking about the seniors first, it was a wonderful innings from Sachin, laying quite a few doubts about his game to rest, for a while atleast. On his way to his first ever century on Australian soil, in an ODI, he went on to set the record slightly right in terms of his performances while chasing; in finals; and about staying there till the end. He not only scored the century but also took Rohit Sharma along in what was a mature innings from the youngster. The bowlers had excited early on with wickets of the brittle and out of form Aussie top order and with some miserly middle overs from the spinners, it was a wonderful effort. The wickets of Haydos and Symmo going to Bhaji was just the icing on the cake. Ahead of the second final, the worries for India are in the form and consistency of Yuvrajs batting and the injury to Ishant.

A few thousand miles to the West of the SCG, the India U-19 team were facing off against South Africa for the U-19 World Cup. The Kallang cricket ground was abuzz and the youngsters were at it. The Indians were put in to bat and failed to put up a good score, falling out well short of the 50 over mark. Tanmay Srivastava, played a decent knock, but could not carry on for long to guide the team to a better score. The bowlers came out showing intent of defending the total and the team was upbeat in their effort. With 3 early wickets after an accurate and miserly spell from Ajitesh Argal and Pradeep Sangwan, the rain came in. Play resumed and the South Africans were set a target of 116 in 25 overs, with our 2 star bowlers having almost bowled out their quotas. Ravindra Jadeja, Siddhart Kaul and Iqbal Abdulla chipped in well to restrict the Proteas. A fantastic win by the Indians, especially because they were unbeaten in the entire competition.

These results brings me to a discussion of coaches for the Senior and the Colts team. A very senior and successful coach in Dav Whatmore is coaching the U-19 team, while a relatively new coach in Gary Kirsten will be coaching the Indian team. I totally approve of the approach. Dav Whatmore in the past has worked well with young teams and the proof of that lies in how he transformed the Sri Lankan team into world beaters. He then brought Bangladesh on the World Map of cricket by guiding them to more victories than they have ever had in the past. It is this very trait that will go well with him moulding the youngsters to making them ready for International cricket at the highest level. Another advantage is that as coach of the U-19 team, he will be that much away from the media glare and the politics that are so much part of Indian senior cricket. To improve the cricketing ability of a nation, you have to catch the talent young and thats where I think Dav Whatmore has been perfectly slotted.

The coach of the senior team is more a facilitator and I think the vast experience that Gary Kirsten has as a player and the experience of having played under a revolutionary coach in Bob Woolmer will hold him in good stead in his new role. Being a contemporary of quite a few of the Indian players will help as well.

I dont want to jump the gun, but it would not be out of place to say that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands.

Sumant in Melbourne

Actually, its more than a month since I got back from India and the India tales are a bit old and theres a lot more happening otherwise too. I just havent had the motivation to blog frequently enough to catch up on the events that I hadnt blogged about. So heres a jump, skipping the rest of the Indian tales.

Sumant, my classmate and good friend, was in Melbourne for 2 weeks on a holiday and was staying with me. We guys had a ball of a time. At the top of the agenda was the Australian Open and the Cricket. Sumant is a bigger sports fan than me and that made the agenda a great one. With tickets booked for the Quarterfinals of the Aus open the other sessions were only on an interest basis. We were lucky to have Sania and Mahesh play in the Mixed doubles after 6 pm which meant that i could get there from work. Sumant and myself were at the Margaret Court Arena with very few others in the stadium. We were sitting in the front row and cheering loudly for Sania and Hesh. We were waving the Indian tri colour and cheering them along to a win. The 2 acknowledged our cheering at various times and when the match was over Sania came over to where we were and autographed our caps.

It was a wonderful experience. Sania - i must say - is gorgeous. Shes pretty for sure, but its the way she carries herself around that gives her the X factor. Sumant and I were bowled over:) Rohan Bopanna and Rajeev Ram (US indian), who paired up in the doubles, were present there and we went to them, introduced ourselves and took pics with them too. At the end of the match we met some Aussie fans who were supporting Mahesh and said Hello to them. They supported Mahesh coz they were supporters of Mark KNowles(Maheshs partner in doubles).

A day later, we were at the Rod Laver Arena watching FedEx and James Blake in the QF. The stadium was full. It was a typical Federer match where he finished Blake off in straight sets with the precision tennis that he is known for. The next match on centre court was Bhupathi and Knowles vs the Bryan brothers. The stands were emptying and we spotted those Aussie fans in the crowd on the other side of the court and we went over to sit with them. We were just behind the family box of the Bryan brothers. What followed will be a memory for life. We were chanting slogans and cheering Hesh and Knowles on and waving flags - all this together - 6 of those guys and the 2 of us. We were on TV about 4 times (and spotted by friends in india too , who emailed us later) and we were noisy all through. Sania was in Maheshs family box and when she was shown on the big screen, i shouted in the silence of the centre court "Hi Sania". With slogans and one-liners and cheering and jeering, it was great fun. Mahesh and Knowles upset the top seeds and went through to the Finals. Sumant and I returned home satisfied that we had a great time.

The 20-20 match at the MCG was a great atmosphere, but the result was very disappointing. We also went on a road trip to the Great Ocean road where I drove a record 600 kms in a day and was exhausted by the end of it. It was fun nonetheless. Among the other activities, Sumant and I played tennis at the Aus Open practice courts and played a couple of sessions of cricket in the nets with other friends. The usual touristy things were of course on the agenda too. In all it was a wonderful 2 weeks. Now I am bored!!!! Sumant, when are u coming next?????

Pics and videos later!!!! perhaps some on orkut too.

T20 World Cup

The T20 World Cup is only a few hours away and India is one of the 2 teams(England being the other) that is going into the tournament without any warm up matches.

The format is very new to Indians as we have played only the solitary T20 match in South Africa earlier this year. The Domestic season in T20 is only a year old as well. In short India are not experienced in this format. Add to that the fact that the team is full of youngsters, and we have a very inexperienced contingent. This could be a plus for India as they are underdogs.

I am looking forward to this slam-wham-bang format. India plays Scotland on Thursday and then Pakistan on Friday.

The aim of this blog to is to guess the starting line up that India will go in with. Looking at the squad, there are very few places that are sealed. Lemme try and take a punt on a starting 11.

1. Virender Sehwag
2. Gautam Gambhir
3. Yuvraj Singh
4. Robin Uthappa
5. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
6. Dinesh Kartik
7. Irfan Pathan
8. Yusuf Pathan
9. Harbhajan Singh
10.Santhakumaran Sreesanth
11.Rudra Pratap Singh

Considerations :

• Sehwag and Gambhir will provide the Right-Left combination at the top of the order, with that hope that Sehwag can give us explosive starts.
• Yuvraj is the best batsman on eth squad and has to come in at #2
• Uthappa slots himself into #4 as a dynamic batsman
  Dhoni will play at #5 as a specialist batsman, as he has the added responsibility of captaining the side. With the captain obligated to speak to the commentators live, keeping will be a burden on him.
• Kartik, an improviser, will slot himself in at #6 and will wear the gloves. He is not only a better 'keeper than Dhoni , but will also take the load off Dhoni.
• Irfan Pathan will be the genuine allrounder and I do hope he lives upto the expectations.
• Yusuf Pathan is talked off highly in this format and hence will earn his chance against a lesser team in Scotland. If he can bowl as well as he is required to, he can keep this place, otherwise it will go to Piyush Chawla, another leggie.
• Harbhajan, Sreesanth and RP Singh form the specialist bowlers.
• Yuvraj and Sehwag will chip in with eth ball as and when required.
• I dont know how and why Agarkar is even in the squad!!!!!!
• The 2 Sharmas, Joginder and Rohit will sit out!!!

If India, in each match, can score as many or close to 200 in each match, we will do well!!!!

World Athletics Championships - Osaka

Originally posted on 29th August

Its the championships of the worlds most virgin sport - Athletics!!!! Osaka, Japan is playing host.

I am loving it!!! But I am missing the action on TV as I dont have one at the moment!!!!!
The Indian hopes are all but over in this edition with Anju George ending up in 9th place in the Womens Long Jump with a below par jump of 6.53m. The Championships have thrown up a few surprises with World Record holder Asafa Powell (Jamaica) finishing 3rd in the 100m sprint. Tyson Gay of the US grabbed gold is what was a fantastic run from him. He is well and truly in line for the double as he competes tonight in the 200m SF. The gait of this man reminds me of a legend, one whom I idolised - Michael Johnson. Usian Bolt of Jamaica, has put in some great runs in the 200 m and hes one to watch out for!!

Russia swept thru the Long Jump Womens honours with Lebedeva winning Gold. Shes in line for an unprecedented Double when the Womens Triple Jump comes up in a couple of days.
Jeremy Wariner of the US has come close to Michael Johnsons quarter mile record. It would be interesting to see if he can break it. Aussie John Steffensen is favourite to end up on the podium. Among other Australians Kym Howe disappointed in the Pole Vault and so did Bronwym Thompson in the Long Jump. The good thing though is that Jana Rawlinson (previously Pittman) is running well in the 400m hurdles and Craig Mottram has an outside chance for Gold and a definite podium chance in the 5000m.

I watched the last lap of the 10000m race and that man Kenenisa Bekele from Ethiopia is just amazing. In winning his 3rd consecutive World title (1 less than his mentor and idol, the great Haile Gebresellasie), he sprinted his way thru the last 200 mts of the 10K race- tremendous stamina. He was still fresh for a victory lap and perhaps a few more as well!!! Champion stuff!!!!!

Go Athletes!!! Jump for glory, Run for Gold!!!!!

Chak De India!

Friday evening and no plans in mind. My friend calls and asks "Chak De India dekhne chalen kya?". I replied "Arey chal dekhte hain, kuch aur plan tha bhi nahin".

I am glad I watched the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and having been part of sports teams for my school, I could relate to a lot of stuff that was depicted in the movie. The movie had no melodrama, no unnecessary songs, nothing too dramatic and no love story / comedy running in parallel. It was focussed on the subject at hand and that was - Hockey. To me, this movie is proof of Bollywood maturing and coming up with good movies and not mere box office trash!!!!!

Without providing spoilers, the movie had a very realistic reflection of how sport is administered in India, the societal stereotypes that sports persons (women especially) have to go through and also the politics that run down to the lowest levels possible. The movie also had a strong message for those people who think Cricket is the be all and end all of sport.

The acting in the movie was quite good, though SRK clearly shows that he does not know how to play hockey. The team members were very cleverly cast and the manner in which they played their parts was good. Watch out for the goal keeper and the star striker - they were the cute ones :D:D A few friends who hadnt watched the movie were surprised when I told them that there were very few songs and no heroine in the movie - an SRK movie!!!!.

I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and the fact that the story was inspired from a real life experience helped in keeping the story very real. The latter parts of the movie were shot in Melbourne and I could go - Thats MSAC, hey thats the Bolte bridge, hey thats the Grand Hyatt.............

The one area where a little more effort could have been put in is the technicalities in directing the game. A little more research would have helped. The commentary on the matches, in particular, was bad and had some glaring errors in them. But then, in all, it was a wonderful movie. The movie featured the trailer of another movie titled Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal!!!! which is about a soccer team of Indians in the UK. Cant wait for that!!!!!