India's sporting rise faces litmus test in London

July 17, 2012

sushil-kumar17


New Delhi, July 17: India's transformation from a laggard to a nation waking up to its sporting potential would be put to test when the biggest-ever contingent of 81 athletes sets out to prove that the three Olympic medals in Beijing were no fluke in the London edition of the biggest sporting show on earth.


From just making up the numbers and fetching an odd medal every four years, India have come a long way to be in with a genuine chance of winning more than the gold and a couple of bronze that changed the face of sports in the country four years ago.

The three heroes of Beijing have made the cut for London as well and while gold-medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra would aim for an encore with his rifle, Sushil Kumar (wrestling) and Vijender Singh (boxing) would try to get better-coloured medals around their necks.

A nation of more than a billion, India's untapped sporting potential has been discussed threadbare ahead of many Olympics gone by but for the first time, talk is about how many medals the country might get in what is being anticipated as the best-ever show when the 30th Games unfold on July 27.

Expectations are sky-high from shooters, boxers, archers, shuttlers and wrestlers and then there are the dark horses in the tennis team which unfortunately spent the better part of its build-up squabbling over who would partner whom -- a reminder that despite some good changes, politics remains inherent in Indian sports.

But apart from the ugly selection row that struck tennis, the build-up to London has been smooth for most of the Indian athletes, who have had little or no complaints about the facilities or coaches.

They have had international exposure to their heart's content. In fact, most of them have left for London much ahead of the Games' start for acclimatisation with a proactive Sports Ministry doling out the money whenever asked to by the national federations.

As many as 11 shooters -- seven men and four women -- will be aiming for the bull's eye in London and given the fine form they are in, more than one medal is expected from them.

The reclusive Abhinav Bindra, who was slightly off-colour last year, seems to have found his mojo with a gold in the 10 metre Air rifle event at the 12th Asian Shooting Championships in Doha Qatar.

His ever-smiling partner with the rifle, Gagan Narang, is also a bright medal prospect and so is trap shooter Ronjan Sodhi, ranked number one in the world.

Then there are the boxers, led by pin-up boy Vijender (75kg). An unprecedented eight of them -- seven men and a woman -- are in fray and given their consistent rise after Beijing, it won't be a surprise if at least a couple of medals come through them.

The team is an interesting mix, it has the youngest boxer ever to qualify for the Olympics in Shiva Thapa (56kg) and a mother-of-two five-time world champion in the 29-year-old M C Mary Kom.

The veteran Mary Kom will be fittingly India's sole representative when women's boxing makes its Olympic debut in three weight categories. An athlete par excellence, Mary Kom embodies the spirit of Olympics -- faster, higher, stronger.

Apart from Shiva, the boxing team features one more teenager and a couple of 20-year-olds, including the World Championships bronze-medallist Vikas Krishan (69kg).

They are all wide-eyed and excited about living a dream but remain untouched by the burden of expectations because as their coaches put it, "They have got absolutely nothing to lose".

That's not all, medal hopes are also high from the unassuming archers. Deepika Kumari, perhaps the least talked about world number one from India, is a top contender and so are five others -- including three men.

Then there is the shuttlers' brigade led by the gritty Saina Nehwal. Five of them would be there in action in London and Saina would shoulder a huge burden of expectations given the way she has breached the Chinese domination of the sport in the past couple of years.

With back-to-back titles under her belt in the build-up to Olympics, confidence would not really be an issue and the 22-year-old would look to make the most of her fine current form heading into London.

Not to forget, the other racquet sport, which hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons just weeks before the Games.

The tennis players did not give a very good account of themselves with all the bickering off the court but they would try to ensure that it would not be what they are remembered for when the Games draw to a close.

There is a good medal chance in mixed doubles where Sania Mirza has reluctantly agreed to team up with Leander Paes after being denied her regular partner Mahesh Bhupathi.

In men's doubles, Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna, both of who took on the federation to be sent as a team, would need to perform or face a backlash given that they started the furore by refusing to partner Paes.

In wrestling, all eyes will once again be on Sushil, who made the London cut in the final qualifying tournament.

Elsewhere, the Indian hockey team would make an emotional comeback to the Olympics after missing qualification for the Beijing Games.

A podium finish is not expected of them but a creditable performance would surely be desired by the country's sports fans.

In track and field, Vikas Gowda is the dark horse, who might spring a surprise but since India have just about started catching up with international standards, a medal would be too much to ask from the 14 athletes.

There are qualifiers in sports such as judo, rowing and swimming too but they are unlikely to fetch medals given the stiff competition.

But looking at the larger picture, Indian sportspersons hold out immense promise as they head to the 30th Olympics and their comfort level in the chilly conditions would be increased by the warmth they are likely to be offered by the huge expatriate population in the British capital.



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Agencies
July 7,2020

New Delhi, Jul 7: Wicket-keeper batsman MS Dhoni is known for his finishing heroics and ending the match with a big shot to send a billion people in a frenzy.

For over a decade, Dhoni's swashbuckling batting style, especially the famed helicopter shot, gave international bowlers a headache. As the former Indian skipper celebrates his 39th birthday today, let's relive his first century in international cricket.

It was on April 5, 2005, when Dhoni had registered his first international century. The former skipper registered the feat against Pakistan in the second ODI of the six-match series. The match was played at the Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

Dhoni had made his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2004. However, he did not have a good outing as he scored just 19 runs in the three-match series. But the wicket-keeper truly arrived in the series against Pakistan in 2005, as he scored 148 runs in the second ODI of the six-match series at Visakhapatnam.

In the match, India won the toss and opted to bat first. The side lost Sachin Tendulkar's wicket in the fourth over of the innings and it brought Dhoni to the middle.

Dhoni, along with Sehwag, took on the Pakistan bowlers and the duo formed a 96-run stand, which saw Sehwag going past the 50-run mark. Sehwag (74) was sent back to the pavilion in the 14th over, but Dhoni then found support in Rahul Dravid and the duo stitched a 149-run stand.

Dhoni smashed 15 fours and four sixes in his innings and scored 148 runs from 123 balls, taking India's total to 356/9 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then managed to defend the total as the side bundled out Pakistan for 298 as Ashish Nehra scalped four wickets.

Dhoni has so far played 350 ODIs with his highest score being 183 against Sri Lanka. He also remains the only captain to win all major ICC trophies (50-over World Cup, T20 World Cup, and Champions Trophy).

Also referred to as 'Captain Cool', Dhoni is known for his calmness and exquisite captaincy on the field.

Over the years, he has cemented his place as one of the finest wicket-keepers across the world. His agility behind the stumps has given India many breakthroughs as the Ranchi-based wicket-keeper has done successful stumpings in no time.

He is also known for his knack of opting for reviews and many have jokingly remarked to change the 'Decision-Review System's' name to 'Dhoni-Review System'.

In December 2014, he announced his retirement from Tests and gave a chance to the likes of Wriddhiman Saha. Dhoni called time on his Test career after playing 90 Tests, managing to score 4,876 runs at an average of 38.09.

Then in 2017, he handed over the captaincy to Virat Kohli in the 50-over format. However, the wicket-keeper enjoys a great camaraderie with the latter and the duo have been seen often taking decisions together on the field.

Under Dhoni's leadership, India also managed to attain the number one ranking in Test cricket. His Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) has also won the tournament thrice under his leadership.

Dhoni was slated to return to the cricket field on March 29 during the IPL's opening match between CSK and Mumbai Indians. However, the tournament has been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The 39-year-old has been currently enjoying some time away from the game. He last played competitive cricket during the 2019 World Cup. 

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Agencies
August 9,2020

Manchester, Aug 9: Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler played knocks of 84 and 75 respectively as England gained an improbable three-wicket win over Pakistan in the first Test of the three-match series here at the Emirates Old Trafford.

England chased down a total of 277 on the fourth day of the first Test.

Chasing 277, England openers Rory Burns and Dom Sibley put on 22 runs for the first wicket, but Mohammad Abbas finally provided the breakthrough to Pakistan as he had Burns (10) adjudged leg-before wicket in the 12th over.

Skipper Joe Root came to the crease next, and he along with Sibley ensured that the side does not lose any more wickets before the lunch break, and England went into the lunch break at 55/1.

Sibley and Root eventually put up a 64-run stand, but their partnership was finally brought to an end by Yasir Shah as he dismissed Sibley (36) in the 36th over. Soon after, skipper Root (42) was also sent back to the pavilion by Naseem Shah, reducing England to 96/3 in the 39th over.

All eyes were on all-rounder Ben Stokes (9), but Pakistan's Yasir Shah sent him back to the pavilion in the 42nd over, and England was left in a spot of bother. Shaheen Shah Afridi, then also got among the wicket-taking charts as he scalped the wicket of Ollie Pope (7), reducing England to 117/5 in the 45th over.

Chris Woakes and Jos Buttler then got together at the crease, and the duo played in an aggressive manner to retrieve the innings for England. The hosts went into the tea break at 167/5, still, 110 runs away from the target with five wickets in hand.

Buttler and Woakes continued their march to frustrate the Pakistan bowling attack and the duo brought the target within the grasp of England. Both batsmen put up a stand of 139 runs, however, with just 21 runs away from the target, England lost the key wicket of Buttler (75) as Yasir Shah had him trapped in front of the wicket.

With England just needing four more runs for the win, Yasir Shah dismissed Stuart Broad (4), but in the end, Woakes and Dom Bess ensured England's win by three wickets.

For Pakistan, Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets.

Earlier, resuming day four at 137/8, Yasir Shah (33) along with Mohammad Abbas (3*) and Naseem Shah (4) added 32 more runs to the overnight score to give England a target of 277 to win the first Test.

Stuart Broad was the pick of England bowlers as he scalped three wickets.

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Agencies
June 6,2020

Malappuram, Jun 6: One more COVID-19 death was reported in Kerala on Saturday taking the toll in the State to 15.

The 61-year-old deceased, Hamsa Koya, a former footballer who represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy, had returned from Mumbai with his family on May 21.

Koya was undergoing treatment at Manjeri Medical College in Malappuram. The medical bulletin issued said that he was suffering from pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

On June 5, as his health deteriorated, he was administered plasma therapy on the advice of the state medical board. However, he did not respond to medicines and breathed his last at 6:30 am on Saturday.

The medical bulletin said that his family members including his wife, son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren of 3 years and a 3 month-old child also had tested COVID-19 positive and were earlier shifted to hospital for treatment.

With this, the total death toll in Kerala has reached 15. 

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