Moment of truth for Rahul Dravid

Different players find themselves on the verge of losing their place in the team because of different reasons. Ganguly went out as success went to his head, Last year, Sehwag was dropped because of his reckless approach. Yuvi lost his vice-captaincy as a result of uncertain temperament. Today, people are asking for Dravid’s head although he is unlikely to be dropped. But why the things have come to this point? Is it the form? Fitness? Fatigue? No it is his obsession to succeed that is leading to his downfall!

Rahul Dravid, as everybody knows, is a very intense character. He always is in pursuit of perfection. In early part of his career, he used to miss the centuries regularly. Eventually, he mastered the art of going past the century mark. He proved the experts wrong as he transformed himself into a useful ODI batsman even if it meant lifting extra responsibility as wicket keeper. Dravid is not a natural leader. But he took captaincy too seriously at the expense of his batting consistency. Tendulkar realized it very early that captaincy is not his cup of tea. For Dravid, the realization was too late to rediscover his batting form. As soon as he left the captaincy, he promptly lost his ODI berth and that seems to have hurt him so much that it started to affect his batting in tests.

If nothing succeeds like success, nothing fails like failure too! Rahul Dravid cuts a very sorry figure in the field these days. The poor bating form seems to have rubbed off to his catching prowess too. Second most catches to his name, but he's seen dropping absolute sitters regularly.He appears to be a loner more than ever, quietly reading something in a corner of dressing room after getting out early.

The captain, the team, selectors, everybody is with him. There's no pressure from them. Ironically, the pressure on him is from him only. At the moment, it doesn't seem likely that he will be able to overcome his own pressure. Fortunately his failures are not costing the team much right now. When the things will change one never knows. Hence Mohali Test starting today is really his last chance either to redeem or relinquish.

Saina Breaks into Top 10 || Sania Fades out of 100

The year 2008 has been of contrasting fortunes for the Hyderabadi ladies of Indian Sport. Saina Nehawal’s exploits over last few months have earned her a top ten spot in World Women’s Badminton rankings. Unfortunately, for the Sania Mirza , the glamour queen of Indian sport, her WTA ranking is having a free fall and is out of world top Hundred!

Sania’s meteoric rise had caught the imagination of Indian teenagers a few years ago. Her triumph at Wimbledon Junior doubles, quickly followed by impressive runs in a couple of Grand slams was enough to earn her the adulation from public and media. Endorsements and off the court controversies probably came too early for her. Her competitors too, had a measure of her game. Frequent bouts of injuries also didn’t help. For Sania, it is a long battle ahead as she starts a new season.

Saina Nehwal, on the other hand, is a low key figure. In fact, till her spectacular show in the Olympics where she reached quarter finals, very little was known about her, even though she had won a major title (Philippines Open) in 2006 and being runner-up in World Junior championship in the same year. But the lack of media attention was a blessing in disguise for her as she could continue to improve and impress. Gold in CYG and World Junior championship at Pune and impressive performances in the Super Series has ensured that she becomes the highest ranked Indian female Shuttler ever.

Both Saina and Sania are the potential medal winners for India at London Olympics in 2012. They lead the pack of ambitious and aggressive breed of new Indian sportsmen. So it is important that Indian sports loving public backs both them. I see a few self styled critics coming down heavily on Sania Mirza. Considering that Tennis is more competitive, being popular across the world, than Badminton which is more Oriental in the sense dominated by East Asian countries, Sania’s feat of reaching top 30 position is also no mean achievement. Age is still on her side. Let us hope she bounces back to her best form in coming days.

Conrgats to Saina and Best of Luck Sania!!

Anand and Hampi Skip Chess Olympiad, but India are not Complaining

While Vishwanathan Anand was receiving hero’s welcome on his return to home after winning World Chess Championship, Indian teams (men and women) were aiming for top ten finishes in the 38th Chess Olympiad Dresden Germany.

While Anand wanted to take time off after the recent world title match (but Kramnik, who must be just as exhausted, is playing for Russia), top ranked Indian woman Koneru Hampi too withdrew from the team because of unspecified reasons. In spite of their absence the teams fared fairly creditably. The Indian men team finished 16th while the eves had to be content with a 15th place finish.

Anand had played in the last Olympiad Turin, Italy in 2006 and had a torrid time. It was largely responsible for second seeded men team finishing at a poor 30th position. Hampi too, was there at Turin, and even though the team earned 12th spot, her performance was far from impressive.

Chess Olympiad is like a Cricket world cup. Most top players like including Kramnik, Topolav, Magnus Carlssen , Svidler, Kamsky, Short, Gelfand , Ivanchuk and others were representing their respective countries. It is therefore disappointing to see top ranked Indians giving it a miss. Anand skipping chess Olympiad is like Sachin resting himself in the World cup!

There were some plusses for India though. Mary Ann Gomes won the silver on women’s fourth board; Tania Sachdev held her own on the second board with a +2 score; and K. Sasikiran lost just one game on the top board (against Gata Kamsky), winning three, in the open section.

Then there was Jennitha Anto, this 20-year-old, Polio-Stricken girl from Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu, representing the women’s team of International Physically disabled Chess Association (IPCA). She was the only non-Russian in this five-member team. And she passed the test with flying colours, tallying eight points from 11 rounds playing on the third board.

Ninth seeded Armenia won its second straight gold medal while Israel took silver. The United States took bronze on a tiebreaker after upsetting second-seed Ukraine with a 3.5-0.5 drubbing,

In the women's section, Georgia regained the Crown. Ukraine had the consolation of winning Silver after their men’s team faltered at the last hurdle after remaining undefeated. It was a disappointing tournament for the favourites, Russia, who, top seeded in both categories, could not figure in medal list in either of them.

Indian teams could have finished better had Sandipan Chanda (men) and world junior champion Dronavalli Harika (women) fared better than they did. In fact till about fifth round, the teams were in real contention for the medals. But, nevertheless, India’s stature as an important force in international chess is increasing.

I conclude this post on a disappointing note. In spite of the stress of the world championship match, Anand’s ( and Hampi’s too) decision to skip this one is really disappointing. As G Joslin Vethakumar rightly wonders - do our top players give their best only when they play for themselves and not for the country? Is their poor performance in 2006 the main reason for their absence from this year’s event? Importantly, are they right in forsaking the country in critical tournaments such as this?

Related articles :

Why did Anand, Humpy Skip Olympiad?
Final standings at 38th Chess Olympiad