Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
Cricket in Olympics?
Formal inauguration of Beijing Olympics is just a few hours away.The organisers claim that the spectators in the Stadium and the TV audience is going to experience one of the grandest ever opening ceremonies in the history of sports. Live telecast of the opening ceremony beginning at 1730 Hrs. IST.
Competitions though, have already begun two days ago.Ladies Football matches commenced with china starting on winning note and US team faltering in opening fixture. In coming two weeks, the race for medals between these two nations is surely going to be close one.
In India, there is hardly any enthusiasm about the Olympics Games of this year. But Olympics of year 2020 are in news from now itself. Adam Gilchrist recently advocated inclusion of Twenty-20 Cricket in 2020 Olympics. He found instant takers in India. India just a few months ago won the inaugural T-20 Cricket World Cup. Cricket has huge following in India. Cricketers enjoy tumultuous popularity. And, even though only a handful of countries play Cricket, performance of many of Indian Cricketers is termed as 'World Class'. No wonder Indian Cricket lovers backed this idea with a hope that at least in 2020, India stands a chance of winning a Gold medal!. Some enthusiasts even went to extent of asking Indian Govt to exert international pressure on IOC for inclusion of Cricket in Olympics so that India can win its first ever Olympics Gold!!
Seriously though, it is not going to be easy to press for inclusion of Cricket. Even a T-20 match takes about four hours to complete. Besides a world wide acceptance to Cricket is certainly not there. But one thing is for sure. Even if Cricket does get entry in Olympics, it would be no surprise if the first gold is bagged by China, Korea or US instead of India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka!!
The Games have already started on a disastrous note for India. Lone weightlifter in the contingent, Monika Devi had could not board plane to Beijing on grounds of failing doping test. It will be difficult for the other team members and management to keep composure and perform creditably. Let us hope that India contingent puts its best ever performance and re tuns home with improved medal count. Best of Luck India!
Competitions though, have already begun two days ago.Ladies Football matches commenced with china starting on winning note and US team faltering in opening fixture. In coming two weeks, the race for medals between these two nations is surely going to be close one.
In India, there is hardly any enthusiasm about the Olympics Games of this year. But Olympics of year 2020 are in news from now itself. Adam Gilchrist recently advocated inclusion of Twenty-20 Cricket in 2020 Olympics. He found instant takers in India. India just a few months ago won the inaugural T-20 Cricket World Cup. Cricket has huge following in India. Cricketers enjoy tumultuous popularity. And, even though only a handful of countries play Cricket, performance of many of Indian Cricketers is termed as 'World Class'. No wonder Indian Cricket lovers backed this idea with a hope that at least in 2020, India stands a chance of winning a Gold medal!. Some enthusiasts even went to extent of asking Indian Govt to exert international pressure on IOC for inclusion of Cricket in Olympics so that India can win its first ever Olympics Gold!!
Seriously though, it is not going to be easy to press for inclusion of Cricket. Even a T-20 match takes about four hours to complete. Besides a world wide acceptance to Cricket is certainly not there. But one thing is for sure. Even if Cricket does get entry in Olympics, it would be no surprise if the first gold is bagged by China, Korea or US instead of India, Pakistan or Sri Lanka!!
The Games have already started on a disastrous note for India. Lone weightlifter in the contingent, Monika Devi had could not board plane to Beijing on grounds of failing doping test. It will be difficult for the other team members and management to keep composure and perform creditably. Let us hope that India contingent puts its best ever performance and re tuns home with improved medal count. Best of Luck India!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Beijing Games : Contenders of Success
This Olympics at Beijing is widely tipped to be the most competitive in the history. There is huge amount of interest about the country winning maximum medals and number of records to be broken. In every edition of the Games, a few athletes attract attention. Their performance arouses huge expectations amongst sports lovers across the world. Here is a brief introduction to some of the 'superstars' of Beijing Games.
Brazil's Football team : Despite winning the world cup five times, the flamboyant south American nation has not been able to win a gold medal at the Olympics. this time big guns like Ronaldinho and Robinho are in their ranks. Clearly Brazil team is out to put the record straight.
Basketball Team (USA) : After the success of Dream Team' in 1992, USA team is failing to win 15th gold in Basketball. Two of NBA superstars of today, Kobe Brayant and Lebron Jones are present in American team which hopes to bring back the glory.
Men's singles Tennis : There is fierce rivalry between Nadal(Spain) and Federer(Switzerland) in last few months. Nadal has just overtaken Federer in ATP rankings. With this background, Beijing is expected to see high voltage clash between the two for Gold medal.
100 meters sprint : This is always the most glamorous event at Olympics. the winner is aptly called 'the fastest man on the Earth'. This time there is a three way contest. American Tyson Gay faces stiff challenge from tow Jamaicans - Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt who is the current record holder (9.72 sec)
Michel Phelps(USA). this 23 year swimmer has set for himself a stiff target as he aims to beat the feat achieved by Mark Spitz forty years ago. Spitz became first swimmer to win seven gold medals in single Olympics. Phelps intends to do one better, Best of Luck to him!
Liu Xiang (China) : He is clearly the athlete under most pressure from his countrymen to win gold. Four years ago he became China's first and only gold medalist in Athletics when he won 110 metre Hurdles. People of china desperately want him to retain the gold medal.
Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) : at Athens Games in 2004, Hidayat ruined Chinese party. He thwarted China's clean sweep of Golds in Badmington. This time though, a young and flamboyant Lin Dan looks to wrest the men's gold medal.
Bernard Lagat : This time USA contingent has quite a few athletes who have in the past represented other countries at the Olympics. Lagat represented Kenya when he won 1500 metre and 5000 metre races in Athens. It remains to be seen how he performs as a US citizen.
These superstars along with many other athletes will try their best to make their country proud. So let us enjoy the Beijing games and hope that a stray medal comes India's way too!
Brazil's Football team : Despite winning the world cup five times, the flamboyant south American nation has not been able to win a gold medal at the Olympics. this time big guns like Ronaldinho and Robinho are in their ranks. Clearly Brazil team is out to put the record straight.
Basketball Team (USA) : After the success of Dream Team' in 1992, USA team is failing to win 15th gold in Basketball. Two of NBA superstars of today, Kobe Brayant and Lebron Jones are present in American team which hopes to bring back the glory.
Men's singles Tennis : There is fierce rivalry between Nadal(Spain) and Federer(Switzerland) in last few months. Nadal has just overtaken Federer in ATP rankings. With this background, Beijing is expected to see high voltage clash between the two for Gold medal.
100 meters sprint : This is always the most glamorous event at Olympics. the winner is aptly called 'the fastest man on the Earth'. This time there is a three way contest. American Tyson Gay faces stiff challenge from tow Jamaicans - Asafa Powell and Usain Bolt who is the current record holder (9.72 sec)
Michel Phelps(USA). this 23 year swimmer has set for himself a stiff target as he aims to beat the feat achieved by Mark Spitz forty years ago. Spitz became first swimmer to win seven gold medals in single Olympics. Phelps intends to do one better, Best of Luck to him!
Liu Xiang (China) : He is clearly the athlete under most pressure from his countrymen to win gold. Four years ago he became China's first and only gold medalist in Athletics when he won 110 metre Hurdles. People of china desperately want him to retain the gold medal.
Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia) : at Athens Games in 2004, Hidayat ruined Chinese party. He thwarted China's clean sweep of Golds in Badmington. This time though, a young and flamboyant Lin Dan looks to wrest the men's gold medal.
Bernard Lagat : This time USA contingent has quite a few athletes who have in the past represented other countries at the Olympics. Lagat represented Kenya when he won 1500 metre and 5000 metre races in Athens. It remains to be seen how he performs as a US citizen.
These superstars along with many other athletes will try their best to make their country proud. So let us enjoy the Beijing games and hope that a stray medal comes India's way too!
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