Sports
CLOSE-IN: A cricket symphony that has gone wrong amongst the press, commentators and players (IANS Column)
The recent spat between the two greats of Indian cricket, Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli has brought to light a very interesting issue that exemplifies the trend and relationships that exist presently between the press, commentators and cricket players.
In the past, one never questioned or derided a senior cricketer on his comments verbally or through the press. A word of advice from the likes of Vijay Hazare, Professor Deodhar, Chandu Borde, Tiger Pataudi, Vinoo Mankad and several others was taken with seriousness. Whether one followed it, thereafter, was up to one’s discretion.
Criticism is something that no individual in the world reacts well to. No matter how one perceives or discards it from one’s mind, the thought lingers forever. The famous line of “listen before you speak or write”, is one that is drilled into every individual, however, following it for most is a difficult task. Words once spoken or written cannot be retrieved and many incidents of despair and disharmony have arisen due to a thoughtless response.
Sunil Gavaskar is one of the most astute thinkers about the game of cricket. His knowledge and depth of it, having played, watched and commented for over 5 decades at the highest level makes him a true guru of the sport. Virat Kohli’s response to his comment, however indirect it may have been, was quite unnecessary, especially as it related to Gavaskar not having an understanding of the T20 format of the game. It referred to the fact that most older critics and former players have not played or played this format, sufficiently.
Gavaskars analysis and thoughts have proven to be correct. The modern T20 batters in order to be successful have to be like a Formula 1 sports car. The accelerator is on full pedal from the very first ball that one faces. The recent match in the IPL, wherein, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma chased 165 runs scored by Lucknow Super Giants against Sunrisers Hyderabad in less than 10 overs is a good example of it. The strike rate needs to be as high as possible throughout one’s innings and not one where one lingers on initially and then soars upwards.
One gathers that the present Indian players shun journalists, commentators and former cricketers who happen to pen or verbally criticise individual or team performances. That’s sad, as cricketers today are professionals and they need to take in their stride the good with the bad.
This takes one back to the days when dune bashing of the Indian team and individuals was at its peak. India did not boast of being a formidable side then and the press and journalists had a field day criticizing, whenever the side performed badly.
The irony of it was that most of the cricket writers and journalists were friends as well. The evenings were spent together, however, one was mature enough to understand that they were doing their job. There was criticism but not malice in their reporting. As a cricketer, if one failed to perform one quite understandably was the target of their piece, however, if one did well it was the same journalists who made one into a hero.
Indian journalists then were as poorly looked after as the Indian cricketers. One assisted them in every way possible, in their travel, stay, food and inside stories. Sharing and caring was the order of the day.
Several journalists were as much a part of a touring Indian side as the players themselves. Many who did play cricket were welcome to bowl at the nets, as with a squad of 15 players, an extra hand was always acceptable.
There are a few funny tales that one can relate to and laugh about now, however, I was livid with the journalist friend at that moment.
Rajan Bala was a journalist who enjoyed belittling and debating on cricket and a cricketers’ performance. He once sent me a lovely photograph of my getting out against Bengal, with the words “You do like outswingers”. In the second innings I proved him wrong by getting runs with a message, “ Yes, especially when they hit the middle of my bat”.
Rajan Bala, remained a good friend and one who even in Test matches gave me a few throw downs on the morning of the match. I looked at it as a lucky ritual whenever he was around, as it had proved successful in my domestic cricket journey and finally when I played for the country. Rajan never failed to praise or criticize me and that was the close bond then that we shared between a player and a journalist. A similar bond also existed with many of the other players as well.
The well-known writer Behram Contractor, B”usybee”, once wrote a humorous piece, when in a match, I decided to try out a motorbike helmet while fielding at forward short leg. He made fun of the incident in his column. Many years later, I happened to meet him on the day Raman Lamba died after getting hit on the head at short leg. The very next day there was a column by the great man apologizing to me for his naïve comment
The famous cricket writer, K.N. Prabhu, wrote a flowery piece on a short sweet and delightful half-century that I made in a Ranji Trophy match. To add a twist to it, he finished the piece by giving me a backhander as well. He said, “If Yajurvindra concentrated a bit more on his batting rather than on blow drying and styling his hair, he would achieve far greater laurels”. One then did have a mop of hair!
There was never a dull moment between the journalists and the players. One could showcase ignorance through the popular parlance of saying that one never reads or listens to comments during matches. This is a myth that a cricketer likes to project, however, every piece is elaborately scrutinised. How else will one have memories?
(Yajurvindra Singh is a former India cricketer. The views expressed are personal.)
–IANS
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New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The eighth meet of the 2024 Wanda Diamond League is set to take place on Sunday at the Charlety Stadium in Paris, France. The premier track-and-field meet will feature Paris 2024-qualified Kishore Jena and Avinash Sable. Kishore Jena will be competing in the men’s javelin throw against the likes of Anderson Peters (Grenada), Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Jakub Vadlejch (Czech Republic), Julian Weber (Germany), and Arshad Nadeem (Pakistan).
Avinash Sable will eye a strong finish in the men’s 3000 metres steeplechase against a participating field of 17 runners, including the likes of Simon Kiprop Koech (Kenya), Abraham Kibiwot (Kenya), Ryuji Miura (Japan), and Daniel Arce (Spain).
The men’s pole vault event will feature Swedish pole vault sensation Armand Duplantis, who set a new world record (6.24m) at this season’s Xiamen event. Along with him, five Olympic champions, six world champions, and 12 reigning European champions are set to compete in Paris.
Earlier, reigning Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra had clarified that the Paris Diamond League was not part of his calendar and he is focused on getting ready for the Paris Olympics.
Diamond Disciplines at Paris 2024:
Men: Pole vault, javelin throw, 110 metres hurdles, 400 metres hurdles, 200 metres, 800 metres, 3000m steeplechase
Women: High jump, discus throw, long jump, 100 metres, 400 metres, 1500 metres, 3000 metres steeplechase
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming Diamond League 2024 – Paris live coverage and broadcast:
When: July 7, 2024
Where: Charlety Stadium, Paris, France
Time: 7:30 PM onwards
Live streaming in India: JioCinema
TV broadcast in India: Sports18 – 3
–IANS
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Johor (Malaysia), July 6 (IANS) Top Indian star Abhay Singh will feature in two finals at the Asian Doubles Squash Championships in Johor, Malaysia, on Sunday. On Saturday, he and Velavan Senthilkumar, the top seeds, stormed into the Men’s Doubles title round with a commanding 11-9, 11-2 win over the Japanese pair of Tomotaka Endo and Naoki Hayashi in 23 minutes in the last-four stage.
Later, Asian Games medallist Abhay and the experienced Joshna Chinappa, the third seeds, defeated the Hong Kong pair of Cheng Nga Ching and Lai Cheuk Nam Matthew of Hong Kong 11-8, 11-10 in the Mixed Doubles semifinals.
“I’m very pleased to be in both finals, winning two gold medals was the goal before we came here so that’s what we are focused on tomorrow,” Abhay said.
“The men’s match was a comfortable 2-0 while the mixed match was a bit challenging, but still pleased to come through without dropping a game. Being in another final of an Asian Championship is an honour, looking forward to converting them both,” he added.
Abhay and Joshna will meet second seed Tong Tsz Wing and Tang Ming Hong of Hong Kong for the Mixed Doubles title and Abhay and Velavan will lock horns with second seed Ong Sai Hung and Syafiq Kamal of Malaysia in the men’s doubles final.
“Solid performances by both pairs to reach the finals. Once the Asian Championships were announced the Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) along with our strategic partner HCL held the National Championships from where the pairs were selected,” SRFI secretary-general Cyrus Poncha said.
–IANS
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Kolkata, July 6 (IANS) Head Coach Chaoba Devi announced a 23-member squad, who will travel to Myanmar for the two FIFA-friendly matches. The Blue Tigresses will play against hosts Myanmar on July 9 and 12, respectively.
“My team is a mix of senior and junior players. I am satisfied with the combination of the squad. After playing Uzbekistan last month, we started our National camp within the next 10 days. All the players are fit, which is a good sign. They didn’t want to relax, they were undergoing intense training at their respective clubs,” said coach Devi.
The Blue Tigresses were last seen in action during the tour of Uzbekistan for two friendly matches against the hosts on May 31 and June 4. They lost one match and drew the second one. Coach Chaoba is aware of the areas that needed more work and said, “As a coach, after Turkey and Uzbekistan, we were facing problems in defending aerial balls. We were trying to improve in this area in the camp.
“We trained at the National Centre of Excellence in Kolkata for two weeks and played two practice matches. Those matches proved to be good. We also used young players in the starting eleven. They gave their full efforts and fought to keep their positions. There are healthy competitions among the players to be in the starting XI. We need some youngsters who can run and face difficult situations, like Mousumi Murmur and Aruna Bag. I am happy they have improved a lot in a short time,” the coach said
“We played with Uzbekistan last month which was also a higher-ranked team. Playing against higher ranked teams benefits our players as they can have intense matches and get ready to play in big tournaments. In the first match, we lost badly. All of us found it unacceptable. The girls gave their hundred per cent, and we drew the second match. The girls have the potential, and we are trying to get the best out of them,” she said.
India are currently 67th in the FIFA Rankings, while Myanmar are 54th. The Indian women’s team played five matches between February to May.
India will naturally benefit from playing two higher-ranked teams in two months, the coach said, “Ranking does matter. The federation is also trying to arrange for more exposure tours. If we play more such games, the team will improve. We need to play quality games.”
“A well laid out plan should be there. We need to inform the girls well in time to keep them prepared. There is a lot of activity going on around Indian women’s football, and we need future players. We have scouted talents from IWL and IWL 2. We coaches can get the best of the talents and select the best ones,” Chaoba added.
Th 23-member squad for Myanmar friendlies:
Goalkeepers: Shreya Hooda, Elangbam Panthoi Chanu, Maibam Linthoingambi Devi.
Defenders: Loitongbam Ashalata Devi,Hemam Shilky Devi, Sanju,Wangkhem Linthoingambi Devi, Aruna Bag.
Midfielders: Naorem Priyangka Devi, Sangita Basfore, Karthika Angamuthu, Neha, Nongmaithem Ratanbala Devi, Mousumi Murmu.
Forwards: Kajol Hubert Dsouza, Anju Tamang, Soumya Guguloth, Sandhiya Ranganathan, Karishma Purushottam Shirvoikar, Lynda Kom Serto, Pyari Xaxa, Jyoti, Rimpa Haldar.
–IANS
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London, July 6 (IANS) West Ham United have announced the signing of Wolverhampton Wanderers central defender Maximilian Kilman.
The 27-year-old has put pen to paper on a seven-year contract at London Stadium after spending six hugely successful years at Molineux, where he played under new Hammers head coach Julen Lopetegui and was named captain last year.
“It’s an amazing feeling to be a West Ham United player. As soon as I was aware of the interest from the Club, it was an opportunity I was keen to pursue, so I couldn’t be more delighted to be here,” said Kilman to the West Ham media team.
Possessing plenty of Premier League experience, Kilman has forged a strong reputation as a hugely talented and reliable defender with more than 150 appearances at Wolves, where he played his part in their run to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals in 2019/20.
“I really enjoyed working with Julen during his time at Wolves – he’s a top-class coach and someone I learned a lot from, and I am confident I will continue to improve as a player under his management here,” added the 27-year-old.
Having started his career at non-league Maidenhead United, where he was managed by Hammers legend Alan Devonshire, Kilman has thrived ever since moving up to the top flight with his August 2018 move to the Midlands, and is now thrilled to be taking the next step of his career in east London.
“Having spoken at length to both Julen and Tim [Steidten], I was hugely encouraged about the ambition of the Club and their plans for the future. They want to make a big noise here at West Ham and as a new player coming in, that’s an incredible thing to hear,” concluded Kilman.
–IANS
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Calgary (Canada), July 6 (IANS) Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat knocked out world no. 4 Anders Antonsen in the quarter-final of the Canada Open to advance to the semifinals.
Rajawat outclassed Antonsen 21-11, 17-21, 21-19 in a competitive one-hour and 19-minute quarterfinal on Friday night (IST). It was also his first win over a top-10 ranked player. He will now lock horns with France’s Alex Lanier in his second World Tour Super 500 semifinal.
In the first game, the 22-year-old Indian shuttler took a 7-4 lead against Antonsen before the score was tied at 9-9. Following that, Rajawat took five straight points to reclaim the lead. The Danish made a valiant effort to rally, but Rajawat eventually won the opening game with seven straight points.
The second game saw Antonsen proving his class with a strong comeback. Rajawat matched the competitiveness of his opponent with a 17-17 score before Antonsen unleashed his true potential with four consecutive points to take the match to a decider.
Rajawat led the final game 5-1 at one point, but Antonsen answered with six straight points to lead the game at 7-5. Although Rajawat made a spirited comeback, earning three points, the seasoned Dane led by just a slim margin at the mid-game break, 11–10. It was a close battle between the two players until Rajawat closed the gap with back-to-back points at 19-19 to win the match.
Rajawat continued his stellar run in the tournament with another win over a higher-ranked opponent. Earlier, he defeated world number 24 Rasmus Gemke of Denmark and Japan’s Takuma Obayashi, ranked 33rd in the previous matches.
He remains the sole Indian in the competition after the women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand made a quarterfinal exit. The third-seeded Indians lost to Chinese Taipei’s Pei Shan Hsieh and En-Tzu Hung 18-21, 21-19, 16-21 in the quarterfinal.
–IANS
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