Truimph of Paes in Proper Perspective

No Indian has ever gone beyond semifinals of Singles competition of any Grand Slam Tennis tournament. No Indian has ever been ranked in top 10 in Singles rankings. Currently, there is no Indian player in top 100 too. Lender Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, on the other hand have won 21 grand slam doubles titles between them. Paes just recently collected his 10th title at US Open when he won in an emotinally charged encounter against Bhupati-Knowles combination.

How can one explain the Indian Success in doubles vis-a-vis lacklustre show in singles? India always had good doubles combinations. Premjit Lal - Jaydeep Mukharjee was among the best in the sixties. Amritraj brothers too excelled in Davis Cup matches. In the last thirty years India could produce just two world class singles players - Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan, both of whom promised much but rarely delivered. Leander too, started off his singles career with a lot of promise, even winning Olympic Bronze medal. But, probably realising that his chances in singles are limited, Paes and Bhupati turned to doubles for better financial prospects. In early part of this decade, they formed a potent combination, and even now, advancing age notwithstanding, both are in top teams with their respective partners.

Top international Singles players rarely indulge in doubles play. With exception of McEnroe and Edberg, none of the top ten players in last two decades ventured in doubles. That leaves the field open for lesser players to thrive. If you look at the successful doubles players, the Woodies, the Blacks, Brians, Sanchez brothers, none of them were top-notch singles players. Success of McEnroe with Peter Fleming in Eighties shows that exceptional Singles player can excel at doubles too. Recently Roger Federer too also underlined this by winning Olympics doubles title. Even in the ladies the Williams sisters, both brilliant Singles players, are combining effortlessly in doubles too.

Indian media is going ga-ga over the Grand slam achievements of Paes, Bhupati (even Sania who won mixed doubles with Mahesh at Australian Open). But how significant are these achievements -Tennis wise? How do the ten titles of Paes compare with fifteen of Roger Federer? The answer is for everybody to find out!

Is Daniel Vettori an Allrounder?

Earlier this month, New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori earned the distinction of achieving a unique double of 3000 test runs and 300 wickets in tests. He thus joined an elite group comprising of Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan, fellow countryman Sir Richard Hadlee, Shaun Pollock, Shane Warne and Chaminda Vaas.

Apparently, these runs scored and wickets taken are enough for him to qualify as a leading all rounder. But this glamorous tag is not only about runs and wickets. The first four members of this elite group, Botham, Kapil , Imran and Hadlee would have walked into any side even if they were god at any one of the disciplines, batting or bowling. Shaun Pollock too was equally competitive in both. But the latest three entrants, Warne, Vass and now Vettori have been able to join this group purely because of their longevity.

Warne for example, dearly wanted to score a test century but could not manage to. Barring a few doughty innings in Ashes campaigns, his batting can hardly be said to have contributed to Aussie Juggernaut's journey. Batting prowess of Vaas had no more than a nuisance value. Both were, of course extraordinary bowlers. Warne was till recently world record holder with more than 750 wickets. Vass, on the other hand, although lived in the shadow of Murli, his contribution to Sri Lanka's resurgence can not be denied.

A closer look at Vettori's stats reveals that his contribution to Kiwi success has been very little. On seamer friendly New Zealand pitches his bowling has been largely containing in nature. On the spinner friendly sub continent conditions, he has been successful only against Bangla Desh. His dour batting down the order has often allowed his team to delay the inevitable rather than set up or chase a win.

Eighties was the golden period for all rounders. Kapil, Imran, Hadlee and Botham had a pivotal role in their respective teams. Each one of these had uncanny knack of turning the game on its head within no time with their attacking bowling, explosive bowling, or brilliant fielding. Kapil and Imran also had inspirational leadership qualities.

Retirement of this quartet of mercurial all rounders in early Nineties left a big void. World Cricket has not seen even one Cricketer of such all round capability in last twenty years. Andrew Flintoff is the closest one can think of. Until such exceptional talent emerges, the Cricket lovers across the world will have to make do with Vettoris, Broads and Johnsons.

One Year after Beijing Olympics

Bejing Olympics 2008 witnessed spectacular performances. There were some disappointments too. Are the Heroes of Beijing living upto their billing? Here's the scenario One year after :

Ussain Bolt, the Jamaica lightening, continues to strike. Having won 100 and 200 meter sprints with world record timings in Beijing, Bolt has now bewildered the entire world by chopping a whopping 0.11 seconds off his own world record. His incredible timing of 9.58 sec at World Championship, Berlin, has left everybody wondering where he will stop!

Another Beijing Hero, Michel Phelps, is still on top of swimmimg world, smoking and swimwear controversies notwithstanding. Earlier this month, Phelps emerged as the best player with five golds. In the next Olympics though, his stupendous feats in the pool might take beating as the World Aquatics body has decided to ban the new technology swim suites.

For Yelena Isinbayeva though, the year has been worst culminating in humiliating show at Belin, as the world record holder Pole Vaulter could not win a medal. In contrast Kenenisa Bekele goes closer to become all time great distance runner by claiming his 4th gold in 10000 m race.

For Roger Federer, 2008 was a nightmare. At Beijing, he lost in quarterfinals as also his top ranking. His stars have dramatically changed since the French Open. By winning french and wimbledon grand slams, federer has won back the top position, albeit helped by his bete noire Rafeal Nadal's injury forced absence.

Last year's Olympics threw four sporing heroes for India. how are they doing this year?

India's lone Olympics gold medalist, Abhinav Bhindra seems to have lost motivation having reached the pinnacle. After spending the entire year, basking in the glory, Bindra is reported to have gone back to shooting range, not quite sure which discipline to pursue for London games.

Indian Boxers are on course for a good show at London in 2012. Impressive performance at recently concluded world championship is certainly a positive sign. With Vijender rising to no. 2 spot in world ranking and with Ladies boxing being included in Olympics fold, India can hope for a gold through Mary Kome , the reigning world champion.

A quietly confident Saina Nehwal has been incredible this year. Although she lost in Quarterfinals of World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad, her rise to world no. 6 has been a stupendous achievement. She is truly a champion in the making.

One year after the Olympics, Indian Hockey is still languishing in doldrums. Indian team faced the ignominy of failing to qualify for Beijing. London 2012 promises to be no different unless some miracle happens.