Indian Cricket In The 21st Century-------> Then......Now.......Beyond.............

                  Indian Cricket In The 21st Century

                                                 It was the year 2000. World of Cricket was changing. Metamorphosis was taking place through the match-fixing scandal. Indication of power-shift, rise of new super-power was there but it was not realized. Every cricketer was reeling under pressure, pressure and tension as to who will be accused of match-fixing next. They were shocked to find that the person with whom they have shared the room on several tours, was a fixer. Md. Azharuddin (the then Indian Captain) and Ajay Jadeja (the then Indian vice-captain) were found guilty and suspended.  This period was described by the BBC as "the Indian cricket's worst hour". The world believed that it was perhaps the beginning of the end of Indian Cricket. But they were wrong. It was the beginning of a new morning, beginning of a new journey. 
                                         

                                             Due to stepping down of Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly was chosen to lead India and he along with Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid & Anil Kumble took the pledge to change the face of Indian Cricket. It was easy to say but very difficult in reality. Several young people joined the Indian side during this time. Some of them who made it big in the latter stages were Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Kaif (though not so successful), Irfan Pathan etc.
                                              Under Sourav Ganguly began the Renaissance of Indian Cricket. The World of Cricket for the first time started to have a taste of what India can do not only in their own country but also outside the sub-continent. India became a formidable force at home by ending the 16 consecutive winning streak of the Australian team under Steve Waugh, thus forcing him to publicly recognize India as the "Final Frontier".
                                             In the foreign soil also the Indian Team was enjoying themselves. In the 2000 edition of the Champions Trophy India reached the finals only to be defeated by New Zealand. Along the way the entire nation saw the birth of Yuvraj Singh whose 84 helped India secure victory against Australia, thus throwing them out of the tournament. Ganguly was at his level best as he smashed centuries against the Proteas in the Semi-finals and another century in the finals. It was just the beginning.
                                      


                                          India went on winning series in Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, West Indies, England and during this time took place the famous Natwest Trophy Final. India chased down the record 326 run target set by the English Army. India were joint winners in the Champions Trophy which took place in Sri Lanka in 2002.
                                           In 2003 India reached the World Cup Finals but were defeated poorly by the Australian Team. It was a great achievement since 1983. 
                                           Indian Cricket was progressing at a steady pace at this time. Next they locked horns against the mighty Aussies in their own background and fought with them on equal terms. The series was leveled 1-1. Their victory over Pakistan in Pakistan in both the Test Series and the ODIs was a great achievement.
                                           Every good thing has an end and it gives way to something different. Changes are necessary and changes can be good as well as bad. In Indian Cricket also another change of power took place.
                                      

                Sourav Chandidas Ganguly was dropped because of poor form and Rahul Dravid replaced him as the new captain. India achieved a lot under Rahul Dravid but he had a rather mixed bag of success. Under him India recorded the record 17 successive victories while batting 2nd. India also reached the 2nd spot in the ICC ODI ranking after successful series versus Sri Lanka and South Africa at home. Progress was happening but somehow it slowed down at this point of time with defeats in South Africa in the test matches, disastrous performance in the Champions Trophy and the ODI series defeat against the Proteas in South Africa itself.
                                     


                                            This period saw the emergence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina. Players like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan and some others have improved a lot. Sachin Tendulkar was in form, Sourav Ganguly has also made his comeback. But all these couldn't save India from an early exit from the 2007 World Cup, an event that made the Nation cry, literally a blackspot in Indian Cricket history. The fall of Indian Cricket was predicted by many. The Critics said that they can hear the drums of destruction beating. Sadly they couldn't hear that another soft tune was also flowing through the air.
                                         It was the year 2007 itself when the wind was again changing in Indian Cricket. Following the 2007 World Cup debacle Rahul Dravid stepped down as Captain and Anil Kumble took over in the test Arena while Mahendra Singh Dhoni (aka MSD) became the Captain in the ODIs and the T20s. Nobody realised what great things awaited India amidst some very unhappy results.
                                     
                 T20 got introduced in a bigger way. T20 World Cup was organised and everybpdy was excited at the prospect of experiencing something new. Gautam Gambhir entered team India in a strong way and gave India the solution of a left-handed opener. 
               India lead by MSD won the inaugural T20
World CUP in 2007, a perfect platform through which MSD announced to the World that he has arrived. And it was an arrival of the highest quality. Indian Cricket started to scale new heights under him slowly.
               In Tests it was Anil Kumble who was leading the side well. The infamous Australian Tour happened where India lost 2-1 but nobody can forget the win at Perth in which the Aussies played 4 pacers and India won with the help of spinners with Anil Kumble leading the pack. In the same tour India won the ODI series by literally thrashing the Australians under MSD's captaincy with Sachin scoring Century in the Finals.
                                        During this time two legends of indian Cricket ---Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly-- retired in the same series against Australia in 2008 which India won 2-0. In his last innings MSD allowed SCG to captain India when the 9th wicket of Australia fell, a gesture which is worth appreciating.
                                        In ODIs Indian Team was achieving more success with MSD given the title as the 'Man with the Golden Arm'. India became the No. 1 test team during this time by beating Sri Lanka and retained that position by drawing the series against South Africa. India also won the Asia Cup in 2010 under MSD.Indian Cricket was in the right track.
                                        In T20s however India was not being able to make any notable progress with team getting eliminated early in both the 2009 and 2010 T20 World Cup.

                                        Come 2011 and the rise on Indian Team reached a new height when India lifted the World Cup after 28 years. It was the moment that filled the entire nation with pride and happiness. Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the MoM and Yuvraj SIngh the MoS of the tournament. Dhoni cracked an unbeaten 91* in thefinal.
                                         But the principle of life is you cannot have happiness all the time. Off-form is a part of every Cricketer's life. In every team at some point some players suffer through this. But when it affects the entire team then it becomes dangerous. It happened to Indian Cricket also. Not once but twice. The old disease of playing in foreign soil, the old ghost of the 1970's-80's came back to haunt the team. Everybody was out of shape, everybody.
                                        India lost both the Tours of England and Australia 4-0, a complete whitewash in both the series, which sparked fresh controversies regarding the tactics employed by
Dhoni. If Test Series was not everything, the ODIs just fueled the crisis. The Asia Cup defeat just acted like a catalyst. Talks were there to remove MSD as Captain and bring somebody new. But the selectors decided to stick with him.
                                        Indian Cricket is again going through a building procedure. The team is again being built just like back in 2000. Nobody knows who will take over after MSD leaves. But everybody wants the betterment of Indian Cricket.
                                        Under Dhoni the Indian team looks safe though there are several gaps that needs to be filled. Every Country is going through this building procedure like India. Indian Cricket has progressed a lot since 2000. We can only look towards the future and pray for something magnificent to take place.
                                        The upcoming Champions Trophy is going to be a Test for many Cricketers who are going to represent India in future. People say that MSD has achieved everything in life and that he has nothing to prove. I would say that he has achieved very less in life and I feel that he also says the same thing to himself. Because the day you feel that you have achieved everything is the day you will stop growing, stop progressing and loose the hunger to succeed.
                                        India today has got a bunch of talent eager to show their potential in the bigger arena. The bench strength is also good. With the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav, Ashwin etc Indian Cricket's future appears to be bright. With proper guidance they can be trained to become brave soldiers of Indian Cricket. Most importantly a new Leader will be needed in future and still it's shrouded in darkness as to who will be the next Captain. I am sure that somebody really potential is out there.

                                   


          Eagerly looking forward to the future of Indian Cricket. The Journey has just begun.
                                         

I P L ------------> Platform of Creation or Platform of Destruction ?

                                           In India Cricket is almost considered to be a religion. Cricket has become an integral part of everyday life be it One Day International (ODI), Test Matches or even T20 Matches. Test Matches and ODIs have been there for a long time and the latest addition to it is T20. When the first World Cup for T20 took place, it stepped into the international arena in a bigger way. It is no that the concept was not there. It was very much present in the English County. This brought about a great change and slowly was born out of it a tournament in Indian Domestic Sphere popularly known as IPL.

                 Indian Premier League commonly known as IPL is the latest hot thing that is taking place in India every year during the months of April-May since 2008. It is a Twenty-twenty format. It has got itself enrolled in the list of festivals prevalent in India and it is called the Cricket Festival. The length of this tournament can have a parallel comparison with Durga Puja (5 continuous days) or even Ganesh Puja which continues for a number of days. It's not only the similarity about the kind of continuous time span but also the fact about building of new idols every year and the 'bisorjon' period after the festival is over.
                                   
                 IPL can be called the brainchild of the then IPL commissioner Lalit Modi. But the concept was taken from Indian Cricket league (ICL) which was labelled as a rebel league by BCCI and IPL was developed to crush it. But that doesn't take away any credit from Lalit Modi. He showed how  
' Desi ' talent can be bred in an International environment. Thus started the luxurious, glamorous, stunning, money wielding business called the IPL.
           
         
                We all know that every thing initially looks beautiful when the polish and shine is there. So it appeared to us that this is perhaps the best opportunity for the youngsters to showcase their talent while playing for their respective franchise and also to get in touch with International Players like Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Mahela Jayawardana etc. Indeed it became a great platform for them as we also got the chance to see the pool of players that our Country has in reserve. 
                1st season went by, 2nd season went by and then as the polish rubbed off the sleeping danger raised its head. From 3rd season we started to see something which we never dreamt of. Internationally renowned cricketers started to retire mostly from Test Cricket to focus more on T20, be it IPL or for their country. Another trend followed it up where players started to represent IPL sides rather than their own country.
               This trend is mostly seen now within the young generation. They are new to the game and one season of good cricket and they have started to think and dream big thing for themselves. It's not bad to dream but they seemed to have overlooked the limitation.

               IPL has given chance to several youngsters from India. We have seen the likes of Ajankya Rahane, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aoron, Virat Kohli, Ashok Dinda, Manij Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan, Ravichandran Ashwin and many others. Many of them have got a chance to represent the national team and are doing well. Many others are not so regular and many are in the waiting. Each year new talent is coming up. In that regard IPL has given a great platform. Even for foreign players this has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Many have been included in their national side after their fiery batting and bowling in the IPL. Big example is David Hussey who has now become a regular in the Australian side.

                                        But as we all know that even during the Churning of the sea along with Nectar of Life came up Poison, so also along with the upcoming of talent, every year corrosion is taking place. Money is the root of all the problems. If you have less money then also it's a problem and if you have more then also it's a problem. The young generation is seeing huge money all of a sudden and it has been noticed that many are unwilling to play even the Ranji Trophies or other domestic tournaments these days as they are paid much less in the domestic circuit even if he is of a great caliber.
                                        There is passion inside them but it is slowly getting shrouded by the lust for money. It should, however, not be considered that everybody is like this. There are innocent players also but their number is very little. After playing one or 2 good matches comparison starts even in News Channel discussion sessions. IPL should not become everybody's necessity to go high. They should work hard and take part in this kind of tournaments to get experience, see how the renowned foreign players prepare themselves. The glamour of IPL has swayed away the young minds and if it is not stopped on time then disaster for Indian Cricket is not far away.

                                       IPL has made the cricketers think about their game more than before. In a T20 match, a bowler has to constantly think and modify his bowling line and length for every ball because the batsman is always on the lookout for balls to hit to the boundary. Similarly the batsman has to play the right shot for a particular ball and so his concentration level has to be at the best level possible. It has made a captain also think more regarding bowling change and field placement though that has only a 50% advantage in this format.
                                       Simultaneously it has destroyed the class in a batsman. Now the batsmen often tries to go for unimaginable shots and succeeds also. Class batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Mahela Jayawardana, Kumar Sangakara and others will not be formed any more. Today we can have more players like Sehwag, Dhoni and Afridi but nobody with the temperament to play Test Matches (not only playing but also sticking to the pitch for hours) if asked to. Shots like ' Uper Cut ', ' Dil Scoop ' etc have come into forefront rather than ' down the ground ', ' cover drive ' etc. Ball is more in the air than on the ground these days. Players have lost the concentration level to a great extent which is not at all good.
                                     Bowlers have improved no doubt but with IPL, since money earning has become easier, so many are not willing to sweat out on the field for an entire day in Ranji Trophy or for 10 overs in limited overs cricket---be it for the National team or for the Domestic Tournament. That has posted a very bad advertisement and has raised several issues regarding IPL.

                                     International Players like Lasith Malinga decided to play for an IPL franchise rather than representing his country and also retired from Test Cricket to focus more on the limited overs. Chris Gayle had a long dispute with his National Board over several things, one of which was IPL, and later returned to his Team after much discussion. There are other examples also. Kevin Peterson of England decided to retire from One Day Cricket and wanted to play only in Test Matches and T20 matches and tournaments including the IPL. he was totally banished by ECB from all formats. But nobody can be seen saying : "I want to retire from T20 Cricket and focus on the other two".
                                    IPL has brought with itself both the good and the bad elements. We have identified several negative factors and it's time to rectify them. Match-fixing scandals are also been reported which is a black-spot in the name of Cricket. On one hand it has built players, on the other hand it has destroyed players. It's full of entertainment no doubt and we all want it to stay, but we would like it to be just a medium of entertainment and just a stage for youngsters to show their potential. We can only wish that it doesn't get polluted any more with sky high dreams and unachievable ambitions.


LET US ALL ALLOW CRICKET TO LEAD HIS OWN LIFE 
                     IN HIS OWN PURE WAY
                                         
                                           

INDIA-------->A Country of the Third World

                                   In numerical the order is like this------ 1,2 and then 3. In sports also there are three people who gets an award each-----1st, 2nd and 3rd. It might appear a bit strange that I highlighted only 3 in both the lines and also included ' Third ' in the title. There is no harm in being 3rd or being 3. But that is at the personal level. What happens when a Country is labelled as Third? In Olympics or other sports it's okay. But if it is named as "Third World Country" then? 

           Before we discuss anything about India being a Third World Country we should discuss certain details which gave birth to this term itself. Let's go back in time for that. The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define the countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO(which along with its allies represented the First World ), or communism and the Soviet Union (which along with its allies represented the Second World ). This definition provided a way of broadly dividing the nations of Earth into three groups based on Social, Economic and Political divisions. 
                       But due to many of the Third World Countries being extremely poor, it suddenly became the custom to refer to under-developed countries as the Third World. Here in comes India. It is often said that these countries are slowly coming up but still not there. The term lost its original meaning and became something else and India started getting looked down upon.

                       Today after so many years of Independence, however, we are slowly earning respect from the outside world. We have almost a stable economy, great leaders to lead the country, beautiful cities, good military strength etc. People in cities enjoy a great life. There are schools and colleges with good faculty that give education of a high level, good corporate sectors which provide jobs to several people every year. We have shopping malls with latest fashion and trends, cinema halls with an International Atmosphere, restaurants which present the taste of the world on the plate etc. People can afford to have a lavish life, many can afford to have personal cars and personal drivers also. For amusement we have amusement parks and discos for the young generation.
                       Even in many villages these days there is electricity, proper water system to water the field, tractors and fertilizers for the crops to grow, schools etc. Government is trying to better their condition all the time. Seeing this, debaters can easily debate that it's high time that India should be removed of the tag of a Third World Country and freed from being looked upon as an under-developed nation. But these developments are just one side of the coin. The other side depicts something else.
                       Poverty in India is the biggest barrier to rise to the top level of Development. Poverty and poor condition has contributed directly to the illiteracy factor. Illiteracy has lead to blind faith and holding on to old customs which has no practical meaning and this directly and indirectly is affecting the progress. Modern facilities have reached many villages but there are still many villages in India where even basic needs are not met. There is dearth of water, food and life is terrible in those areas. Electricity is a dream for them. 

                       Effect of illiteracy is immense. Even after so many years of Independence, in villages women are burnt with suspect that they are being possessed by some evil-spirit. Child Marriage is very much prevalent in places outside the range of our eyes. Condition is remote places of India is still in the medieval ages. Cities tend to hide it's other face with the glamour and glitter but harsh truth is that condition of cities are also not upto the mark.
                      


           Mumbai, considered to be the Business and Entertainment Capital of India has the largest slum present in India. It's unimaginable but true. Not only Mumbai but also in other developed cities of India people can be seen begging on the streets. Poor children trying to sell candlesticks at the traffic signal is a tearful sight to watch. But what to do it's reality.
                      
          

                       

                      Child Labour just adds salt to this wound. Young children can be seen carrying luggage as a porter in railway stations, working in tea-stalls and though it has been banned in India still it can be seen in open daylight.
                      





                      The health facility is no better. We do have many hospitals and also some well-furnished and well-equipped ones, but not affordable always by the common men. People often cannot buy the basic medicine needed for them because of money. 
                      This is the real picture of India. It's reality lies in this. For this to be removed, poverty and illiteracy should be the first things to be taken care of. Then only we can march forward and claim our rightful position and Title. It's not that those countries which are part of the First and Second World are all better than us. If Third World means countries who are underdeveloped then there are many among the top 2 who are in a much more worse condition than India.

                       It cannot be said that we are not progressing. We are, but the pace is very slow. Now a days people have started to understand the value of education and so we can still see amidst all the poverty children trying to study in street lamps under the open sky. Government of India is doing for them they can though they can do much more. Campaigns are being held to promote the necessity of Education and literacy but still it is in its early days. NGOs and other organizations are coming up to help people but still more effort is needed. 
                       
                 
                    We are really a Country of the Third World. We are still underdeveloped because a small section of the society can't represent the entire nation. But we are progressing. It's neither near nor far when we can stand up straight, held our heads up and question the World about their status. But the fight is still there and the journey has just began. 



                ~~~~~~~~~~~J A I   H I N D~~~~~~~~~~~~

Old Age Homes----> Pillars of Hope & Sadness

                              In Hinduism, human life is believed to comprise four stages. These are called "Ashramas" and every man should go through each of these stages. It was divided into four categories. They are ---->

1. The First Ashrama - "Brahmacharya" or the Student Stage
2. The Second Ashrama - "Grihastha" or the Householder Stage
3. The Third Ashrama - "Vanaprastha" or the Hermit Stage
4. The Fourth Ashrama - "Sannyasa" or the Wandering Ascetic Stage

                            The above model was followed years back and in this modern age it has almost seized to exist. Well, we think it has but many in this society of ours think otherwise and prefer to implement it. The elderly people of our generation believe that the young generation now-a-days doesn't pay any respect to old traditions and customs. So I guess a section of the younger lot have decided to pay the bygone customs a visit. But they could have selected something better than what they have decided to implement, something else which could have helped the society to move forward but they fell in LOVE with something that is slowly poisoning our society and leading the minimum values of life to its destruction.
                           We all know what Student Stage and Householder Stage means. Let us get familiar with Hermit Stage and Wandering Ascetic Stage. In Hermit Stage a man used to leave the house and go to the forest with his wife and spend the life of a hermit while in Wandering Ascetic Stage he used to renounce the world altogether.
                           The 3rd Stage has now come to life once more, Forests have now turned to Old Age Homes and now aged / retired people go there not out of choice but out of compulsion. Is such a thing desirable?
                           We are forgetting the basic definition of modernization. The youth have started to believe that if they can remove the people belonging to the old way of thinking then only they can become part of the 1st World. What they are overlooking is that in that attempt they are destroying our ethics and values which bind our society together. They are forgetting that the people whom they are sending to the old age homes are their own. They are their parents who have looked after them even before they were born.
                           It's a shame to the society which is allowing such a thing to happen. Why should there be old age homes for people who have children to look after them? But we have mainly for them these days. It is really a sad thing for entire mankind. A child cannot look after his/her parents. The parents have never once complained about looking after them, they have never said anything while tending to their every need. But what do they get in return? "Leave us alone. We want peace in life" etc-----> nothing more, nothing less.

                          All the people are not like this. Definitely not. But compared to them the rest of the society holds a greater percentage. Old age homes are increasing now a days. Elderly, aged, weak people are seen there, they spend the last days of their life together like a family. They smile but they do that to hide the pain deep down withing them. Some suffer from trauma, sadness. This pain and sadness cannot be cured nor can it be seen from outside. Some feel that they are perhaps better of without their family as they would have got nothing better than criticism for being old. They prefer to go to Ashrams or similar places meant for them and prefer to sign a virtual bond with life.
                         Is this scenario desirable? Some leave their aged mother or father at an old age home and go off to some foreign country promising them that on returning he would take them back. But it never happens. Time passes on and these old men/women become history for them. These are true facts prevalent in the society. Neglect of Parents have become such an issue that Indian Government has passed "The maintenance and welfare of parents and senior citizens bill 2006", which makes it imperative for adult children to look after their parents.
                         These elderly people feel sad but even in these moments they try to find some moments of joy by talking to other people with whom they are staying, sharing their past life and cherishing good old memories. One memory leads to another and so on. They might have been deprived of the love of their family which they created but in Old Age Home they find a bigger family sharing the same pain and same joy. Old Age Homes also provide shelter to people who have nobody else to look after them. In that regard it's a great thing for these kind of people.

                         Old Age Homes thus stand as the Pillars of both Hope and Sadness. It symbolizes life as a whole and provides a shade. It is almost like GOD is giving shelter to the people. Each and every brick and corner of such houses stores emotions and feelings of people who have lived there and tells tales of many miseries. But one have to have the ear to hear them.

                        We should make sure that our parents don't have to face such a scenario. They have looked after us, cared for us. Looking after them shouldn't be considered as a duty or responsibility but as a honour that GOD has bestowed upon us. I hope in future this scenario changes, but only time will tell. We can only hope and pray.


                                              

                           

India and Pakistan conflicts------>Is War The Decisive Factor?

                                      W A R-------three letter word, simple to utter, small in length and easy to spell. Dictionary says WAR is "An organized, armed, and often a prolonged conflict that is carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high morality." In exams we simply write this or in viva-voice we say it simply. But is it that simple? Is the meaning that clear and transparent as it sounds?
                                     For the answer lets pay History a visit. Through out history we have seen several wars being fought. Be it the epic battle of Kurukshetra or the battle of Troy, be it the World War 1 or the World War 2, nothing positive came out of it. Wars have only brought down tears from the people's eyes because both sides lose their dear ones.  Often for revenge Wars have been waged. But the outcome was the same.

                                     For a long time India and Pakistan have locked their horns and neither side is ready to release the pressure lest the other one take the upper hand and hit the other one down. The power tussle started on the very onset of the birth of Pakistan and even today it is very much active, particularly at LOC.
                                    Over the years several meetings and peace talks have been held between the superior authorities of the respective countries but the outcome is nil. Wars have also been waged but only innocent people lost their lives.
                                    The tussle between India and Pakistan have reached a new level for the last 10 years. For the last 10 years there have been several militant attacks in India and every time the finger has been pointed towards the militant groups present in Pakistan. People from different parts of India have often debated over the fact whether War should be waged against them or not.
                                   Some feel that only a War or launching a Nuclear Missile will solve the problem. But we should always remember that the several people will die because of this. Mostly are innocent people. We should always remember that even the militants are human beings. If they can be made to understand through words then perhaps no guns or bullets or missiles will be necessary. Because firepower will only lead to more misery.
                                   But making them understand is the last thing that one can hope for in the present scenario. Neither can India wage a war against them nor can India sit back and relax. The thing that India cannot wage a war doesn't mean that India doesn't have a spine. It is just that India knows the after effect of war. The after effect of War, the trauma that people often suffer is greater than any other pain in the World. If we attack today, then tomorrow they will attack us, the day after tomorrow we will attack them again and this will go on and on.
                                  Mahatma Gandhi once said "An Eye for an eye will make the whole world blind". So we must never adopt that policy. But it doesn't mean that we would sit back and let the militants attack and have their way. Pakistan has declined on several occasions that it has no militant groups and that they are not hiding anybody but the attack of America and the killing of Osama bin Laden have shook their testimony as to no militant activity withing their territory.
                                 India cannot off course do a similar thing with Pakistan as no country would like anybody else to meddle with anything (good or bad) happening within it's borders.

                                 Peaceful talks have not yielded any result. Several times both the country's foreign ministers have met but nothing has been achieved to speak about proudly.

Diplomacy etc can be implemented but still it's looking bleak under the present scenario.Both countries are Nuclear countries now. So War now will only mean the annihilation of both the countries. So what else have we left to do? Nobody knows. 
                                
                                     
                                     
  



                      We can at best hope for the betterment of our relation. It would be great for both the countries.                                   

                             

India At The Olympics : From the eyes of an Ordinary Indian

                             

                            Olympic Games have always remained the ultimate challenge for every athlete in any field in every part of the World. Getting a medal in Olympic (whatever it may be:Gold/Silver/Bronze) is the main target for all the athletes for which they practice all the year round for 4 long years. Sometimes they succeed and sometimes they fail, but the dream lives on until the very end.
                                                      
                           Indian Athletes are no different and that they can also compete have been proved by them at different times. They might not have reached the pinnacle on all instances but every time they have given their best.
                       

             This time around the Olympic Game was held in London. The City was well decorated for the event (as we have been shown on TV). The picture on the left shows the beautiful London Bridge on the River Thames being wonderfully lighted and decorated with the Olympic Symbol.
             The arenas selected for the Games were also of the highest level with all the modern facilities. The crowd cheered each and every game and if an Indian was playing and doing well, the Indian Crowd shouted like anything to cheer their countrymen/women. There was a total atmosphere of festive all over London during the entire period of the Games.

                      The opening Ceremony of the game was an event worth watching. The entire stadium was lit up with crackers and all and it looked like a heavenly place. The kids performed to different tunes and it was almost like a fairy land. The burning of the crackers revealing the Olympic Symbol started off the entire proceedings of the Opening Ceremony. It was followed by an act directed by Danny Bowl which depicted the entire history of the British Civilization to this day.

          After this slowly as time progressed it was finally time for the entire Contingent of different countries to come out hoisting their respective flag. Indian Contingent was lead by Beijing Bronze Medalist Sushil Kumar, a wrestler by profession. Behind him came the other members of the Indian Contingent and it was a beautiful scene as our National Flag kept fluttering in the breeze.

                   

         The opening ceremony came to an end with huge number of crackers going on from all sides of the stadium.

















                            The Olympic Campaign started on a sad note for India. The Archers (men & women), from whom a lot was expected, totally flopped. Their performance was below average if we have to measure it on a scale. A few more events followed and all were ending in tremendous disappointment. At one point of time especially after seeing the early exit of the Archer Team, it almost felt like that we would perhaps return empty handed. The greatest shock was the failure of the last time Beijing Gold Medallist Abhinav Bindra's failure to qualify for the finals in the Men's 10m Air Rifle. But future had something else in store for us.

                        

      The surprise came along with shooting. Gagang Narang presented India it's first medal of the London Olympics, 2012. he won a Bronze medal in the Men's 10m Air Rifle and started our medal count.

       It was followed by Vijay Kumar claiming a Silver in Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol. It was also a nerve breaking finish as the competition was very tough and very close. In this competition though Gagang Narang disappointed us by failing to qualify for the finals. Vijay Kumar was a surprise to everyone though he had been performing quite well for the last few competitions.

                   
               A medal was expected from Badminton and Saina Nehwal didn't disappoint us, though the medal came through a bit of luck. Saina's opponent from China suffered a severe injury to her leg in the course of the match because of which she was forced to forfeit the match mid-way inspite of leading the score board. Still this cannot belittle Saina's achievement because she has overcome several obstacles and Chinese obstacle was the last one to cross. At the end, a medal is a medal.

              Mary Kom followed her dream and became the first woman to win a Bronze Medal in the first ever Women's boxing held in the Olympics. This is more than an achievement, it's a record and also an inspiration for many other women of our country. Mary Kom is a boxer later, she is someone else before. She is a daughter, a wife and a mother of 2 twins, but that didn't stop her from achieving her dream of becoming a world-class boxer. Such was her determination. She really deserves our salutation.

      
              Another surprise package to add a medal to the Medal Tally for India was Yogeshwar Dutt in Men's 60Kg Freestyle Wrestling. His Bronze medal match was worth watching. it was a treat to watch especially the manner in which he came back into the match and finished off the match in tremendous style. I salute your patience and coolness.

             The last man to represent India in the just concluded Olympic is Sushil Kumar and hopes were high especially after Yogeshwar Dutt won a medal the previous day. He went on through rounds and with every advancement, our hopes started rising more and more and finally it was the final match. The previous round was very tiring for Sushil Kumar as the opponent was very tough and it took it's toll in the final match. He went down to the Japanese wrestler almost without a fight and his exhaustion from before was clearly visible. Still we are not a bit disappointed with it. By winning this Silver, he has become the first ever Indian to win an Olympic Medal on two successive Olympics in the individual category He started off with Bronze in Beijing and now won a Silver. So next is surely Gold in Rio 2016.


                     Even though the above are the medalists, but that doesn't mean that other players of the Indian contingent didn't excel. Parupalli Kashyap startled everyone with his win over two players who are above him by a big margin in the rank. He eventually went down fighting but before that he has shown his class and gave a hint that if properly nourished and polished he will shine for India in the future.
                    In Athletics also in different departments the Indians displayed much better performance that other years. Krishna Pooniya went the finals of the Discuss Throw but failed to put up much of a challenge there. But we can hope that next time she will move further ahead. Other Athletes also contributed in the best way they could have done and overall it was a brilliant campaign out there for India this time around.
                  But a Dark Spot has been left behind by the Indian Hockey Team which failed miserably and ended up last in the tournament. very disappointing for every Indian. Also just before the Olympic there was a huge dispute in the Tennis Circuit involving Leander Paes, Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupathi and Rohan Bopanna which resulted into nothing but only disgrace and disgust for the entire nation as the Tennis players returned empty handed.
                   Every event is a mixture of good and bad things and so keeping that in mind it would not be wrong to say that we had a nice time at the Olympics and next year we can expect more medals from our Heroes and other unsung upcoming talented people. 

                                                                
                                                                     !! JAI HIND !!