By Indian standards, this has been an extremely productive Olympic Games.
Two medals, and both individual medals, what’s more.
Sushil Kumar made history on Wednesday as he gave India a second medal in the same Olympics for the first time in 56 years.
(Click here) to read the whole text of the ESPN article.
It was a very long time ago. Exactly 20 years ago in fact. The Olympics were being held Asia, in Seoul, Korea.
And there was a swimmer attempting the Holy Grail of Swimming. Matt Biondi of the US was the glamorous rock star of swimming that Michael Phelps will never be…. and he was attempting the impossible, that of equalling Mark Spitz’s 1972 record of 7 gold medals.
A reason for Biondi’s superstardom was also that he was winning the marquee events, the 50 freestyles and 100 freestyles. And well, he was winning…. everything on his way was blown away, and he was moving with a sense of inevitability towards the milestone.
And then there was a 100m butterfly race. Biondi was expected, as usual to blow the race away, and even the world champion, Michael Gross of West Germany, did not seem like he will have a chance against the inevitable Biondi machine.
And indeed, Gross didn’t. Biondi did beat Gross. But there was this unheralded guy from a country nobody had ever heard of…. he touched the pad a mere 0.01 of a second in front of Biondi. That guy was Anthony Nesty, of Surinam, only the second black person to win an Olympic aquatic gold.
Cut to present – Michael Phelps (less of a rock star and an eminently likable guy, seemingly) in trying to do one better, he indeed is trying to overhaul Mark Spitz’s record by going for 8 golds, in this Olympic games in Asia.
The World Champion is Ian Crocker. It seems that he will have a tough time in his hands defeating the inevitable Phelps machine in the 100 butterfly.
And then, there is Milorad Cavic (click here). He is indeed from a slightly more known country, Serbia. And he has the fastest time of the finalists. (click here) Can he do a Nesty? I suggest, track this race. It might be the biggest of this Olympic games.
Such a good lead in the third set.. she just petered out … Yulianti wins.
And now the commentary… how Indian sportspersons this, and how indian sportspersons that….. Can we stop this now?
Saina is very young, even in comparison to the other Quarter-finalists, and will be good for two more Olympics. This experience can only serve her well.
And indeed, a very good effort.
Watching the match now.
Saina has speed and aggression, which is a rarity in Indian sport. Offensively, she has an edge. She’s still a little raw though.
Yulianti is a good, consistent player. But she’s neither a ferocious attacker, nor a returning machine. If Saina does not lose focus, she should win.
Abhinav Bindra has just won India a gold (yes, I said it right, a gold! A GOLD!) in the men’s 10m Air Rifle event!
Ah, joy!
Proud of you, Abhinav… so damn proud of you.
[p.s. Know what, he even keeps a blog (click here). He hasn't included posts of his Beijing heroics yet of course, but I will sure be checking out for the next update]
Beijing 2008
Click here to get directed to the official site of the greatest sporting event for the world.
And enjoy.
let’s get realistic, is no Sangita Rani Puri yet (who was, if anyone remembers, loaded with talent and if she would have fulfilled her potential, would have been a real Olympics medal prospect. Alas she didn’t).
‘Ankur sets a realistic target’, is what the TOI says (click here for article), and that’s about right. Semi-finals will be about par for course, and yes, there will be expectations in him, for the next Asiad in two years’ time.
FACT BOX
Clocked 57.14 in 100m butterfly in Doha Asian Games
Clocked 24.70 in 50m freestyle in Doha Asian Games
Qualified for Beijing with timings of 53.68 (100m butterfly) and 22.99 (50m freestyle)
And while 53.68s is good indeed …. The world record in the 100m Butterfly is 50.40s by Ian Crocker (click here for article)
Though, in two years’ time in Guangzhou, an Asiad medal should not be too high an expectation from Mr. Poseria, no?
Don’t we guys just love Beach Volleyball? More precisely, women’s Beach Volleyball?
Here’s Misty May.
In my mother tongue, her name translates to ‘Sweet Girl’.
Well, hot girl, in this case. extremely hot girl.
This could be one of the show-pieces of Beijing 2008.
Very different people, as one can anticipate…
Liu recognizes pressure but denies its effect. He has gone so far as to say, “I don’t have set goals before competitions. My coaches probably have goals for me, but I’m just responsible for resting well, practicing well, and doing well in races.”
Trammell’s take on high-pressure situations is: “Ultimately, that’s where legends are made. I feed off it.”
With one talking of resting and practising, and the other about being a legend. And both, mind you, and talking sense in their own way.
And great athletes both. It will be fun at Beijing.
What is a gawky any-other-average-guy comes up to a girl and says he wants a date and gets refused? And then promises that he will write the best song ever for her, and then when the grammies come in, will she be his date?
You have heard the song ‘Hey there Delilah’, haven’t you? That’s what resulted, in this case.
The song happened, not the best ever, but a very nice one no doubts.
The grammies happened too. The grammy date as well (click here).
It’s surprising, in the modern cynical world, to see people with their hears screwed up right. (Click here for DiCrescenzo’s interview)
A bunch of good people. Tom Higgenson, Delilah DiCrescenzo and her boyfriend.
And here’s wishing Delilah the best for her trials for the 3000m steeplechase for US Track and Field trials for the Beijing Olympics. (Click here to keep updated on that)
And yeah, yeah, this is no sports post, but well, this is a blog post alright, and one needs to write, what say?
