Men In Blue

Well am a bit late to post this, but could't help... Speaking about the current issues in Indian Cricket (i know its kinda boring to read about this topic now, but it is a topic any sports maniac would love to write on)

as the Indo-English series ends, questions are already being raised on Dravid's captaincy. He already has got a idea how ruthless can the crowd be if u dont perform... just a few months ago Dravid was backed by the three fourth of the nation and now most of them are doubting his ability. The Mumbai crowd chanting "saurav saurav" at the presentation when Dravid came up to speak just summed up the entire story of how frustrated the crowd was and proved that they could just not tolerate the poor show put up by the team. so who are to blame? The Captain, The Coach or the entire Team??? Well, i would say the selection committee coupled with some aweful decisions by the captain can be blamed...

Former England Skipper Boycott rightly describes Kiran More, the captain of our selection team, "a joke" and rightly so. More is certainly the one to be blamed for the poor show of the team. As More qouted that the team will be selected on the basis of current performances and not on the records of the players. Well Mr. More, I would like to say that pls pls keep this selection criteria for all players and not just one or two... wat are people like Sehwag doing in the team when they are not performing fdor such a long period?? Sachin Tendulkar has already got a warning that he has to perform after the crowd booed him, and he was the only batsman who looked like sticking on the crease against those English Bowlers.

Well talking about the team selection, I think that Piyush Chawla was selected a bit too early. Undoubtedly, the lad from U.P. has immense talent, but rather than involving him in such high profile matches, the selection committee should have let him play a few matches for India A team or the ODI squad. Selecting the youngster for ane test series and then dropping him would affect his confidence immensely. Rather they could have selected a little more experienced players like Romesh Powar or anyone else. The talent is there in plenty, but they quite unfortunately dont know how to utilize it.

Speaking about the captaincy, well no real issues here, but the decision made by Dravid to field first was completely wrong and i am sure most of you agree with this unless you try to understand what was Dravid thinking at the time when he won the toss and put England to bat... Also the ommission of Kaif in the second test was also a debatable issue. Kaif showed some good form in the First Test, but was dropped to let Yuvraj Singh in the team. Again, one just can't blame Dravid for these decisions, even the coach and the seniors team members can be blamed for this.

When we talk about Indian Cricket, the crowds cannot be kept out of the picture. It is afterall the crowd who creates the heroes for the game and bring them to ground if they do not perform. But, one of the main things that the crowds should understand is that they shouldn't be to harsh on the player. Last thing Tendulkar would have expected is to be booed by the crowd, atleast at his home ground. People should know that they are players and as everyone has a lean period in their job or profession, this is just another bad patch for Sachin and you just can't doubt the abilities of the man who has served thecountry for such a long period. Another thing that kind of amaze me is that the people who didn't want Ganguly in the team a few months back, are demanding his return in team...

The crowds should be mature and give players a chance to prove themsevles. It is not that our team is playing bad cricket. Obviously, we aren't ranked third in the world for nothing. We just need to have faith in our team, trust the abilities of the player. Afterall its the right selection and right decisions that will help India win the World Cup.

Budget n all...

well, finally got the net connection renewed... well, today i went to the Kalina University with one of the HT reporters( am doin internship there) had the annual university budget today... boy! one can actually say that the entire thing was quite pathetic... the budget was scheduled to start at 11 am, it got postponed to 2 pm... well, then we had our lunch time there... the food was good and probably the only good thing there... so had our lunch and then it was the time to inaugrate the newly built SHIKSHAK BHAVAN... then we moved to the hall where the budget was to start, it was 3 pm now and still there were no signs of the budget starting, so we had our respected Vice Chancellor Vijay Khole gave a long speech which lasted for 5 minutes(5 mins. was too long for me that time), then the pending issues were brought in the light by the senate members... just coudnt believe the topics they were talking on... one Mr. Salve spoke started with his speech talkin abt the rural education and ended up on the recent Kasliwal rape case... then one of the senate members started with speaking about the agricultural education went on to speak about the relevance of the day, Bhagat Singh was hanged this very day, ended speakin abt the Maharashtra budget... i mean thr was no link of wat these guys were speakin... everything the spoke was crap... ok, then we had a cup of coffee and again started listening to the speakers... a good time of about 15 mins. were dedicated to crack jokes on eachother... anyways then announcement was made stating that the budget would start by a hour or so, the time now was 4:30 pm... so my reporter with whom i was there for the entire day, said that i could leave for the office which is at Mahim... i reached thr within half hour and sat with my boss for around 20 mins. well then wrote a report on one of the press releases and that was it for a very boring day... well, it was boring, but today i got a good taste of what this field is all about...

hmm.. dont know why i ve put it on the blog... i think that u guys have wated your time if you have read this...

hmm... am just happy...

finally i have something i can be proud of in my life so far... today, the JAM magazine have published my first article and have dedicated one entire page for it... basically its one of my football articles written on english league and the spanish league(scroll down... its posted here)beleive me, it feels nice to read your in a mag. or newspaper...
anyways have to study for my literature paper(or at least pretend to study), so thats it for now...

Oh! Exams...

so as we completed our final presentation for marketing, here comes the exam tension... my life has become SHIT( as one of friend rightly explained the entire SHIT funda few months back) since i`ve joined this course. i haven`t had a month where i could actually enjoy the college life... projects, presentations, exams, and stuff like that has really ruined my life... now when i really need to study hard(ly) for my exams i am sitting at my home doing nothing but watch the different football, basketball and cricket matches... everynight from 10 to 1 i sit to study, but again end up doing all sorts of faltugiri... now that just 4 days remain for exams to kick off, am screwed royally as i`ve not started a single subject... dunno wat will happen during the exams...

The Quest for Medals Begin...

Around 4,500 competitors, 3,500 technical, and team officials will be taking part at the 2006 Commonwealth Games at Melbourne, which begin on March 15th. There are plenty expectations from the 270 (103 men and 83 women, 84 assisting staff) member Indian squad that will be representating the country. The Indian squad is under extreme pressure to perform well since India will play host to the next commonwealth games in 2010. India though has a decent history at the games by finishing fourth to Australia (1st) and England (2nd) and Canada (3rd) in the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games.
We have a look at our medal prospects and the event in which we are most likely to win medals...
BOXING: Boxing which is a non-traditional performance for India, won three medals (1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze) at the Manchester Games. Indian squad for this event looks quite decent. Super Heavyweight Varghese Johnson in the 91kg class is considered a medal chance in his Games debut, as is 2004 Olympian Vijender Kumar in the 69 kg division. Som Bahadur Pun, the Indian silver medalist at Manchester in the 57 kg category is the Indian hope in the 64 kg class. Young Indian boxer Diwakar Prasad will make his return from injury at the Games, looking to build on the promise he showed in the Athens Olympics two years ago. He will challenge in the 57 kg category.
However, one surprise omission from the squad is Manchester 48 kg gold medalist Mohammed Ali Qamar, widely considered one of India’s best. Jitender Kumar takes his place. The rest of the team filled out by 48 kg powerhouse Mohammed Suranjoy Singh, 54 kg Akhil Kumar, 60 kg newcomer Jai Bhagwan, 75 kg Parwinder Singh, 81 kg fighter Ajay Kumar and 91 kg Harpreet Singh.
BADMINTON: Well, one cannot consider India as hot favourites in this particular event for a gold medal, but still there are many opportunities for young talent representing the country at the games. Aparna Popat, who won Bronze medal at the Manchester Games, is considered the sole Indian challenge. In addition, the youngster Saina Nehwal is also expected to create upsets at the games. In men’s Arvind Bhatt and Chetan Anand look to be best Indian, challenge.
WEIGHTLIFTING: This has always been an event in which India has won a medal or two. India won 27 medals in this particular event at the 2002 Manchester Games. This time though the team has a setback of losing one of the major medal contender Shailaja Pujari who won three gold medals at the Manchester Games. She was axed from the squad after testing positive for banned drugs.
Kunjarani Devi remains is the spearhead of the Indian weightlifting squad. She will challenge in the 48 kg category. Renu Bala, who will compete in the 58 kg category, is also considered to be the medal contender. In men’s Vicky Batta who will be competing in the 56 kg category will be the major medal contender after he won two medals, one silver and one bronze at the Manchester Games. Sateesha Rai, who was stripped of his medals in the 2002 games, is also included in the squad.
The team: Men: R Edwin and Vicky Batta (56kg), M Arun (62kg), C P R Sudhir Kumar (69kg), Mohammed Zakir (77kg), Tejinder Singh and Sateesha Rai (85kg).
Women: Kunjarani Devi (48kg), Renu Bala (58kg), B Prameelavali (63kg), L Monika Devi (69kg), Geeta Rani and Simple Kaur Burmah (plus 75kg)
ATHLETICS: Ace long jumper Anju Bobby George, heptathletes Soma Biswas and J.J. Shobha will lead from front the 26 member Indian athletics squad. The Indian squad comprises of 10 men and 15 women. While there is a remote possibility of India winning a medal in 800 meters race, shot put, discus throw, the decathlon and the walk, the onus is on these three athletes to win a medal for the country.
Squad: Men: Ghamanda Ram (800 meters), Vikas Gowda (discus and shot put), Jora Singh (decathlon), P.S. Jalan (20 km walk)
Women: Manjeet Kaur, Chitra K. Soman, Sathi Geetha, Pinki Pramanik, Rajwinder Kaur Gill and Ashiq Beevi (4x400m relay). Pinki Pramanik (800m), O.P. Jaisha (1,500m), Seema Antil and Krishna Punia (discus throw), Anju Bobby George (long jump), Sushmita Singha Roy, Soma Biswas and J.J. Shobha (heptathlon), Deep Mala Devi (20 km walk).
SHOOTING: An astounding 40 gold medals are up for grabs in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games shooting competitions. India's 27-strong shooting squad lead by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore will be aiming to improve on the 14 gold medals they won in 2002 at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. Samaresh Jung, Gagan Narang, Abhinav Bindra, Anjali Bhagwat all are major medal contenders.
Indian shooters will look to continue their medal-winning spree at the Games after a impressive performance Australia Cup in Melbourne held in February, marking themselves as the team to beat in Shooting during the Commonwealth Games.
HOCKEY: We always remain to be optimistic about India’s performance in hockey, don’t we? Indian chances of winning a medal in hockey look very slim for both, the men as well as the women, who are the defending champions. With top players like Gaganajeet Singh, Deepak Thakur, Viren Rasquinha and Prabhjot Singh axed on basis of performance, there will a lot of pressure on the young guns to deliver the goods.
The team: Bharat Chetri, Baljit Singh (Goal Keepers)
Full backs: Dilip Tirkey (captain) Kanwal Preet Singh, Harpal Singh and Raghunath
Mid-fielders: V.S. Vinaya, Vikram Pillay, Ignes Tirkey, Prabodh Tirkey and Sandeep Singh
Forwards: Rajpal Singh, Didar Singh, Sardara Singh, Tushar Khandekar, Tejbir Singh, Arjun Halappa, Adam Sinclair, Shivinder Singh and Hari Prasad
The men’s team kicks off their campaign on March 17 against Malaysia and women’s team face Australia on March 16.
Besides these, India will also be participating in events such as Swimming, Basketball, Gymnastics and Table Tennis. Overall, India will be participating in 10 events. We can also expect some medals in table tennis with Chetan Baboor, the ace Indian player representating the country.
Look out for the closing ceremony... With India hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games some of India's legendary sportspersons, like cricketer Sunil Gavaskar, athlete Milkha Singh and tennis ace Vijay Amritraj, will feature in the 15 minutes allotted to India during the closing ceremony in Melbourne March 26. P.T. Usha, badminton ace Prakash Padukone, India's lone World Cup-winning hockey captain Ajit Pal Singh, billiards champion Michael Ferreira, ace swimmer Khajan Singh and wrestler Satpal will also join the ceremony.
Bollywood is going to shine at the closing ceremony of the games. Aishwarya Rai, Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukerji, Lara Dutta, Isha Sharvani, Sunidhi Chauhan, Shreya Ghosal, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy as well as percussionists Taufiq Quereshi and Sivamani and 408 dancers from Shiamak Davar’s troupe will ensure the world remembers the day...