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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News Network
January 27,2020

Hamilton, Jan 27: In awe of Jasprit Bumrah, New Zealand wicketkeeper Tim Seifert says the Indian speedster's subtle variations have been difficult to pick in the ongoing T20 series and his side needs to a learn a thing or two about adapting from the visitors.

India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20 International in Auckland on Sunday to grab a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Bumrah returned with figures of 1-21 from his four overs as Indian skipper Virat Kohli changed his bowling plans from the first game.

"Even in the first game, Bumrah bowled slower balls that were going wider. Normally, death bowlers get into straighter lines, plus yorkers and mix it with chest height. He kind of changes things a lot and is tougher to play," Seifert said.

"...the ball was holding a lot more which made it tougher. So sometimes as a batsman you have to move away from the stumps and see if they bowl straight. I was backing myself to do something different instead of just standing there at the wicket," said the stumper, who remained unbeaten on 33 off 26 balls.

"It was tricky and the ball was holding a little bit. When Kane (Williamson) got out in the over against Yuzvendra Chahal, we knew it was the over to push because they had Bumrah coming back," he added.

He said New Zealand batsmen need to take a cue from their Indian counterparts on how to adapt to different conditions quickly.

"...Indian batsmen showed how to get under the ball and time it. They showed it a couple of times that and on the slower wickets you just have to keep it like that. Once you lose your shape, you are not in position," he said.

"Try to get them (bowlers) off line or off balance, try to get into that position to hit good balls. That's T20 cricket as well. Sometimes it's going 100 per cent but some times you have to take a breath and re-assess. Indian batters did that well."

Seifert believes New Zealand bowlers did reasonably well in the two games but they have been outplayed by the Indian batsmen.

"To be honest, in the first game they were 110-1 and they had wickets in hand. We didn't bowl too badly in that first game. In the second game, we only got 130 and it is tough to bowl at Eden Park (with that total)," he said.

"170 was the target in mind but once you get 130 on the board, that was going to be very hard at Eden Park against a team that is very strong and playing really well. But our spinners were outstanding. Good balls have gone to boundary.

He said coming into the T20 series on the back of a lost Test rubber in Australia also didn't help New Zealand's cause in the first two games.

"Boys are coming off a Test series (in Australia) and a lot of them haven't played T20 cricket for a while," he said.

"But for some like me, I have had the Super Smash for the last two months, so I have played a lot of T20 cricket. They have two games under their belt now so hopefully they will have a better understanding."

Asked if New Zealand would want to play on India's strength of chasing, Seifert replied, "Even in ODI cricket, India have chased down big totals but I think on that wicket it was going to get slower and slower.

"But with that small target on Eden Park, something special has to happen with top six (for a collapse). One batsman got fifty and the other was batting very well. We needed top five-six in the first 10 overs," he said.

The Black Caps are still confident of bouncing back in the series.

The third T20 will be played here on Wednesday before back-to-back matches in Wellington and Mt Maunganui. Seifert said they would like to replicate the 2019 tour of India, where New Zealand came out 2-1 victorious in the three-match series.

"We have lost the first two games but we haven't played badly. We definitely haven't played our best though while India has played very well. If we lose the series on Wednesday, it is not the end of the world. But if we can turn things around, and win, we will take things from there," he said.

"We won the series 2-1 last time, so we have to treat it like a three match series again. But we have to treat it like the first two are must-win games."

"We are not playing our best at the moment. There are 20-odd games before the World Cup, and that tournament is the pinnacle, so we will get there (in preparation),” he signed off.

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Agencies
March 3,2020

Mumbai, Mar 3: India on Tuesday retained their number one spot and captain Virat Kohli remained static at second in the ICC rankings despite a dismal Test series against New Zealand.

India have 116 rating points, six more than New Zealand with third-placed Australia accumulating 108 points. The 0-2 result against New Zealand was India's first series loss in the World Test Championship.

Kohli remains in second position in the batting rankings despite a forgettable Test series in which he made 38 runs in four innings, the ICC said in a statement.

New Zealand opener Tom Blundell and his Indian counterpart Prithvi Shaw and debutant paceman Kyle Jamieson were among the biggest movers in the rankings, released on Tuesday.

Blundell had a successful series against India, scoring 117 runs in four innings, with one half-century, which put him among the top two run-scorers in the series.

The performance meant he was rewarded with a jump of 27 places to No. 46. Shaw, who returned for his first series since his Test debut against West Indies in 2018, and made a punchy 54 in the first innings of the Christchurch Test, rose 17 places to No.76.

Australia's Steve Smith retained his top spot, holding a 25-point advantage over Kohli. Smith's apprentice Marnus Labuschagne jumped one spot to round off the top three, taking the place of New Zealand captain Kane Williamson.

England all-rounder Ben Stokes and India opener Mayank Agarwal moved a spot each and swapped places to break into and fall out of the top 10 respectively.

Among bowlers, Tim Southee's Player of the Series winning performance against India took him into the top five, with a jump of two places to No.4, while Jasprit Bumrah and Trent Boult returned to the top 10, gaining four places each to occupy the seventh and ninth positions respectively.

But the biggest gainer was Jamieson, who rose from No. 80 to 43.

There was only one change in the top ten among all-rounders, with Southee dropping a spot to No.10 and team-mate Neil Wagner falling out of the top 10 with a drop of four spots.

As with the bowling rankings, Jamieson, who frustrated India with handy lower order runs, gained big on the all-rounders' table, rising 26 places to No. 22.

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Agencies
April 12,2020

London, Apr 12: Former Formula 1 legendary driver Stirling Moss died at the age of 90 on Sunday.

"All at F1 send our heartfelt condolences to Lady Susie and Sir Stirling's family and friends," Formula 1 said in a statement.

Often referred to as the greatest driver never to win the world championship, Moss contested 66 Grands Prix from 1951 to 1961, driving for the likes of Vanwall, Maserati and Mercedes, where he famously formed a contented and ruthlessly effective partnership with lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio.

In his 10-year-long stint at the tracks, Moss took 16 wins, some of which rank among the truly iconic drives in the sport's history - his 1961 victories in Monaco and Germany in particular often held up as all-time classics.

Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia on public roads for Mercedes at an average speed of close to 100mph, while he also competed in rallies and land-speed attempts.

Following an enforced retirement from racing (barring a brief comeback in saloon cars in the 1980s) after a major crash at Goodwood in 1962, Moss maintained a presence in Formula 1 as both a sports correspondent and an interested observer, before retiring from public life in January of 2018.

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