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| SPORTS TRIBUNE | Saturday, December 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India |
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Aiming for Olympic gold A century of Test appearances Sydney’s
new challenge |
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Borg finally retires from tennis SO
this is it, the final farewell. At 44 years of age, and after 27 years as a professional, Bjorn Borg, the supercool Swede, retires this week from tennis for good — apart, of course, from the occasional exhibition match or special event. He is bowing out at the ATP Seniors Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where he will most likely meet his greatest adversary, and temperamental polarity, John McEnroe. It was against McEnroe in the 1980 Wimbledon final that he played what many observers believe to be the finest ever game of tennis. The match went to five sets after McEnroe won the legendary tie break in the fourth, 18-16. ‘‘Whenever I looked at Borg,’’ McEnroe later admitted, ‘‘I felt I was looking at a death mask.’’ Perhaps more than any other sportsman, Borg exerted an inescapable psychological grip on opponents. When he walked out on a court his emotions seemed to retreat behind an unbreachable fortress of concentration. Somewhere beneath the headband, the blond mane, the wispy beard and rigid nose, was buried a tiny pair of blue eyes. And they gave nothing away. From 1976 to 1981 Borg won 11 Grand Slam titles — five Wimbledons in a row and six French Opens — and 22 successive singles victories in the Davis Cup. Dubbed ‘‘Ice Borg,’’ he had a pulse rate of 35 bpm. Ilie Nastase suggested he was from another planet. Some commentators wondered whether he was not in fact an android. Clive James compared him to a Volvo, wrongly declaring him ‘‘very dull’’. And everyone agreed he was utterly ‘‘inscrutable.’’ But Borg did betray signs of pressure; we just never saw them. He had a secret gesture he would make to his wife, Mariana Simionescu, who was sitting in the stands — a hand movement across his legs. It meant: leave the stadium. Now! ‘‘By allowing myself to be used as a whipping-boy for his anger,’’ she would explain, ‘‘I helped him stay cool.’’ ‘‘It was an act,’’ Borg has said of his unruffled exterior, ‘‘an act I came to perfect. But an act just the same.’’ With hindsight it's clear that the epic McEnroe match in 1980 marked the beginning of the end of the act. On January 15, 1981, at the Volvo Masters in New York, something strange and unprecedented happened. Borg argued with an umpire and had a point deducted. He was playing McEnroe. That summer he lost to McEnroe in the final at Wimbledon, a defeat he still thinks he should not have suffered, and, even more crushingly, in the US Open final. ‘‘I was so disappointed,’’ he confessed. ‘‘I thought it was the end of my life.’’ He left the court before the awards ceremony ended and went straight to the airport in his tennis gear. In a sense, he also left behind tennis. It would be another two years before he officially retired, before his 27th birthday, but he never again found his will to win. Borg has denied that McEnroe was his nemesis. Rather, he says, he wanted to escape the regimentation, described by Simionescu as room service, practice, room service, practice, room service and no sex (it might affect his stamina). And so he embarked on his second act: an international playboy. He was already a tax-exile in Monaco. If Borg approached tennis with supreme discipline, he put no less effort into his new pursuits. ‘‘You wake up and say, what shall we do today?’’ he said of his new freedom. One day in Stockholm, in 1984, his answer to that question turned out to be judging a wet-T-shirt competition. He voted for a 17-year-old nurse called Jannike Bjorling. He was sufficiently impressed to set up home with her. His marriage to Simionescu came to a speedy end. The new couple had a boy, Robin, but split up when Borg met an Italian pop singer and former porn star named Loredana Berte, variously described as six or 14 years Borg's senior. A custody battle for their son led Bjorling to accuse Borg of being a cocaine addict. He claimed she was promiscuous. This was Borg's most challenging period. As he later observed: ‘‘It wasn't until I stopped playing tennis that I realised that in real life problems exist.’’ Despite receiving two astrological charts a year, he was unable to foresee the approaching crises. His fashion business ventures collapsed and he was personally sued by creditors for $1 million. He had his stomach pumped in a hospital emergency ward in 1989 after what many saw as a suicide bid, but which Borg has always claimed was a combination of bad fish and sleeping pills. An attempted tennis comeback in 1991 ended in embarrassment. He played with a wooden racket, by then almost an antique, and was regularly beaten by the kind of players who would have frozen in his presence at his icy peak. Meanwhile, Berte did not accord with the traditional Swedish view of female passivity. She was said to have scandalised the King of Sweden by exposing her red leather suspenders at a formal party. Of his second wife, he wrote in his autobiography: ‘‘It was all sex, sex, sex.’’ After Berte's own failed suicide attempt, the marriage came to an end in 1993. That same year Borg met his current girlfriend, a Texan called Kari Bernhardt, and the seniors circuit was launched. Borg found a way back: to tennis, success, and some much-needed order. As he said of his lost decade: ‘‘I'm a Gemini and we're not that stable to begin with.’’ Borg had started playing tennis at nine, when his father, according to Swedish folklore, won a racket in a table tennis tournament. At 12 he was suspended from playing tennis for a few months, owing to his poor court behaviour. ‘‘When I came back,’’ he said, ‘‘I opened my mouth again.’’ He left school at 14, already seen as a potential champion, to devote himself to the sport — and, following the well-established child-star syndrome, spent many years in his twenties and thirties attempting to reclaim his mislaid youth. In running away from tennis he wanted to find the teenager he suppressed for tennis. The irony is that it was probably tennis that enabled him to relocate his identity. On the senior circuit, a nostalgic confection of camp competition, he relearned his act, but this time he hasn't had to suffer for it. The man who could make Ingmar Bergman look happy-go-lucky has even become close pals with McEnroe. ‘‘He can be funny with friends,’’ says the American. ‘‘With others he doesn't think conversation is necessary.’’ It's somehow heartening to know that Borg can still freeze people out. It may be an act, you feel, but it's based on natural Scandinavian talent. Now, having experienced his mid-life crisis in his twenties, he's about to retire, for the last time, in his forties. Life has moved at a rapid pace for the young boy from Sodertalje. For most of us, though, it will be forever stuck on the Centre Court in 1980, as he plays another of those top-spin passing shots that came from nowhere and went straight into history.
— The Guardian, London |
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Aiming for Olympic gold “SINCE
China is bidding for the 2008 Olympics, securing maximum medals in rowing will be our aim’’, uttered Chen Chuxin the senior official of the Chinese rowing team who was in Chandigarh for the sixth Asian junior rowing meet. Chen, whose country had always dominated in the sport in previous meets, was, however, not happy at the performance of his rowers in this meet. Chen said that in China more than 10 courses were there at natural lakes where even international meet could be organised. He felt surprised to see the five-lane course here as he said he had come across six-lane courses every where international meets are held. Chen, who was the only one in the whole of the Chinese contingent who could speak in English, said that rowing was among the top 18 priority sport disciplines in their country and the government pays attention to it. He said that though the sport did up attract as much publicity as football, badminton or athletics but still many promising youngsters were coming up specially in the under-16 and under-18 sections. Chen said that there was no dearth of trained coaches in China, adding that the government awarded handsome scholarship in the event to any rower performing creditably at the international level. He, however, said that there was no long-term employment opportunities for the rowers. Chen said that in the schools of China rowing was not popular, adding that at present China was preparing hard for the next Asian Junior and Senior Rowing Championships which would be held in China. |
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A century of Test appearances STAR
allrounder Wasim Akram became the third Pakistani after Javed Miandad and Salim Malik and the 24th player in the world to play in 100 or more Test matches. The second Test between England and Pakistan at Faisalabad in 2000-01 was Akram’s 100th Test match. Wasim Akram, who made his Test debut against New Zealand at Auckland in 1984-85, took 15 years and 308 days to achieve this milestone. Englishman Colin Cowdrey was the first player to enter the club of 100 Test matches. Cowdrey, who made his Test debut against Australia at Brisbane in the 1954-55 series, played his 100th Test match against the same country at Edgbaston in the 1968 series. He took 13 years and 228 days to complete his century of appearances. England’s opening batsman Geoff Boycott was the second player to play 100 Test matches. Boycott who made his Test debut against Australia at Trent Bridge in the 1964 series took 17 years 28 days to play his 100th Test match against the same country at Lord’s in the 1981 series. At 40 years 254 days, Boycott remains the oldest player to accomplish this feat. The third player to play 100 Test matches was West Indian Clive Lloyd. Lloyd took 17 years and 137 days to complete his century of Test appearance, the longest time to achieve this milestone. In the Mumbai Test against India in the 1966-67 series, Lloyd made his Test debut. He played his 100th Test match against Australia at Kingston in the 1983-84 series. India’s Sunil Gavaskar, who was the first player in Test cricket to cross the 10,000-run mark, was the fourth player to appear in 100 Test matches. Gavaskar who made his Test debut against the West Indies at Port of Spain in the 1970-71 series, played his 100th Test match against Pakistan at Karachi in the 1984-85 series. He took 13 years 225 days to complete 100 Test matches. In the 1988 series against the West Indies at Leeds, England’s David Gower became the fifth player to appear in 100 Tests. He also completed his 7,000 runs during this Test match. Gower who made his Test debut against Pakistan at Edgbaston in the 1978 series took 10 years and 50 days to play 100 Test matches. Indian middle-order batsman Dilip Vengsarkar was the sixth player to enter the elite club of 100 Test matches. Vengsarkar, who played his first Test match against New Zealand at Auckland in the 1975-76 series completed his century of Test appearances after 12 years 305 days against the same country at Mumbai in the 1988-89 series. In the 1988-89 series against Australia at Brisbane, West Indies’ Vivian Richards became the seventh player to play 100 Test matches. Vivian Richards who made his Test debut against India at Bangalore in the 1974-75 series, took 13 years and 362 days to complete the century of appearances. He celebrated his 100th Test match by leading his side to victory with a day and half to spare. He also took his 100th catch in the same match. Australian Allan Border, who holds the record of highest number of Tests (156 Tests) and most number of runs (11,174 runs) in Test cricket, was the eighth player to enter this elite club. Border made his debut against England at Melbourne in 1978-79 series and took nine years and 361 days to complete his 100 Test matches at the same venue against the West Indies in the 1988-89 series. Border also holds the record of highest number of catches (156) by a fielder. The first genuine allrounder to enter the club of 100 Test matches was India’s Kapil Dev. Kapil Dev, who made his Test debut against Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1978-79 series, played his 100th Test match against the same country at Karachi in the 1989-90 series after 11 years and 30 days. At 30 years 313 days, Kapil was the youngest to accomplish this feat. Pakistan’s Javed Miandad was the first player in Test cricket to score a century on his debut as well as in his 100th match. Miandad made 163 in his first Test match against New Zealand at Lahore in the 1976-77 series. He scored 145 in his 100th Test match against India at the same ground 13 years and 54 days later. In the 1989-90 series against England at St. John’s, West Indian Gordan Greenidge became the second player to score a century in his first and 100th Test match. Greenidge who made 107 in his first Test match against India at Bangalore in 1974-75, scored 149 in his 100th Test match. He took 15 years and 163 days to become the 11th member of the elite club of 100 Test matches. After Gordan Greenidge, another West Indian Desmond Haynes achieved this feat. Haynes played his 100th Test match against England at Trent Bridge in 1991 series. He made his Test debut against Australia at Port of Spain in the 1977-78 series and took 13 years 123 days to enter this elite club. The second genuine allrounder after Kapil Dev to play 100 Test matches was England’s Ian Botham. Botham who made his Test debut against Australia at Trent Bridge in the 1977 series, played his 100th Test match against New Zealand at Wellington in the 1991-92 series after 14 years and 189 days. He was the 13th player to play 100 Test matches. England’s Graham Gooch was the 14th player to play 100 Test matches. Gooch played his 100th Test match against India at Calcutta in the 1992-93 series. He took 16 years 202 days to complete the century of appearances. Gooch made his Test debut against Australia at Edgbaston in the 1975 series. Australian David Boon completed his century of appearances in the 1994-95 series against the West Indies at Port of Spain and became the 15th member of this elite club. Boon who first played against the same country in 1984-85 at Brisbane, took 10 years and 139 days to complete the century. The 16th player to enter the 100-Test club was Australian Steve Waugh. Waugh played his 100th Test match against South Africa at Sydney in the 1997-98 series. He made his Test debut against India at Melbourne in the 1985-86 series and took 12 years and eight days to play 100 Test matches. Australian Ian Healy who completed the century of Test appearances in second shortest time — nine years 138 days — was the first wicketkeeper to play 100 Test matches. Healy made his Test debut against Pakistan at Karachi in the 1988-89 series and played his 100th Test match against South Africa at Adelaide in the 1997-98 series. Healy also holds the record of highest number of victims behind the wicket. West Indian Courtney Walsh was the 18th player to play 100 Test matches. Walsh who holds the record of most number of wickets in Tests cricket-486 wickets in 124 Tests-made his Test debut against Australia at Perth in 1984-85. He took 13 years and 110 days to reach this milestone against England at Georgetown in the 1997-98 series. Australian Mark Taylor became the 19th player in the history of Test cricket to play 100 matches. The first Ashes Test between Australia and England at Brisbane was Taylor’s 100th Test match. Taylor who made his Test debut against the West Indies at Sydney in the 1988-89 series took nine years and 298 days to achieve this distinction. This was the third shortest time to reach this milestone after Mark Waugh — 8 years, 342 days and Ian Healy, who completed this feat in nine years and 136 days. Pakistan’s middle order batsman Salim Malik was the 20th player to play 100 Test matches. Malik who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Karachi in 1981-82, took 16 years and 280 days to reach this milestone against Zimbabwe at Lahore in 1998-99. Mark Waugh became the sixth Australian and 21st player in the history of Test cricket to play 100 or more matches. The third and final Test between Australia and India at Sydney in the 199-2000 series was Mark Waugh’s 100th Test match. Mark Edward Waugh who made his Test debut against England at Adelaide in the 1990-91 series, took eight years and 342 days to reach this milestone. It is the shortest time taken by any player to achieve this target. In the history of Test cricket which now has a span of 124 years, no two players have reached the milestone of playing in their hundredth Test in the same match before Atherton and Stewart. At Old Trafford, Manchester, against the West Indies in the 2000 series, two former captains of England, Mike Atherton and Alec Stewart reached the milestone of 100 Test appearances. Stewart scored a century (105) in the match and became only the fourth man in history to score a century in the 100th Test match. Stewart who made his Test debut against the West Indies at Kingston in 1989-90, took 10 years and 162 days to reach this milestone. He also became the second wicketkeeper after Ian Healy to achieve this feat. Mike Atherton who made his Test debut against Australia at Nottingham in 1989, took 10 years and 359 days to achieve this distinction. |
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Sydney’s
new challenge IF
the foreign competitors at the Sydney Olympics could see the main venues
now they might think they are trapped in a nightmare. Heat mirages slide across the broad Olympic Boulevard. From a distance the massive bulk of Stadium Australia shimmers like a clock in a Salvador Dali painting. This is the Australian summer. It is more than 40°C on hot afternoons in a place too far inland to capture cooling onshore winds. Look carefully and you might spot an ice cream and cold drink seller in wandered around the Olympic precinct and the last air-conditioned bar and bistro serving cold beer has closed. Today, a nostalgic walk brings with it risk of sunstroke and dehydration. In the final Olympic reckoning, the State Government of New South Wales says the net cost of the games to taxpayers was $ 940 million, none of it carried forward as public debt. This figure was reached after sales of $ 605 million in broadcast rights, ticket sales of $ 355 million, sponsorship deals totalling $ 357 million and general tax revenues of $ 413 million from Olympic related spending. The site development costs were also offset by the conversion of the Olympic Athletes Village into the new eco-tech suburb of Newington, with more than 5,000 residents moving into its villas from February. Newington looks bland, some critics liken it to 1920s Bauhaus architecture, but the homes are claimed to be as energy efficient and environment friendly as technology currently permits. The challenge now, according to the Olympics Minister, Mr Michael Knight, is to prevent Olympic Park from deteriorating into a costly and desolate ruin. Dubbed the “bastard hero” of the Olympics because of his ruthless manner and unpopularity during a series of ticketing fiascos, Mr Knight has a plan. Mr Knight, who revels in the unflattering hero tag, told the state Parliament the entire precinct needs at least 20,000-30,000 visitors a day to stay viable. His vision calls for at least another 10,000 permanent residents in further housing developments, retail malls, office space, eat streets and serious marketing of the venues for trade and consumer events and exhibitions as well as sport. The difficulty for Mr Knight is that the government has already poured billions of dollars into deficit funding of convention and exhibition facilities at Darling
Harbour, which is close to the city and major hotels, and of course, right on the water. The sporting life of Stadium Australia is currently stunted by the The Aquatic Centre, however, is the one part of Olympic Park that is currently thriving. At 4 am its pools are taken over by Olympic hopefuls — some barely into their teens but all trying to be the next great Aussie swimming champion after Ian ‘Thorpedo’ Thorpe — doing laps to a cacophony of exhortations (some painful) from coaches looking to coax every possible competitive refinement out of their charges. The diving, lap and water polo pools are virtually full for 16 hours a day with waves of hard trainers, recreational and the social swimmers, and those future Olympians who can still hear the roar of the crowd of Sydney 2000.
— The Guardian, London |
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Youngsters justify selection ALL the youngsters included in the one-day international series against Zimbabwe have justified their inclusion. Now the selectors should give them continuous exposure to boost their confidence. They have proved that in the absence of senior players, they can shoulder the responsibility confidently and effectively. When Yuvraj Singh and Reetinder Singh Sodhi could not prove their mettle in the first three matches, a lot of hue and cry was raised. What a surprise that Ganguly even announced 13 players prior to the start of the match in the fourth one-day match thus outrightly rejecting Reetinder Singh Sodhi. Had Reetinder Sodhi, the hero of the fifth one-day international, and Yuvraj Singh not been included in that match, their future would have been in jeopardy. Previously also Pankaj Dharmani, who is still giving a consistent performance while playing for Punjab and North Zone, was sidelined by giving him only one chance in the one-day international match.
PRITPAL SINGH Indian cricket Kudos to the Indian cricket team for the well-earned victory against Zimbabwe at Cuttack. Once again, the game’s uncertainties were evident. Dahiya and Agarkar not only played a major role but also kept their heads cool as demanded by the situation. Similarly Australia deserves all praise for its 12th win continuously and setting a world record. Let India re-establish itself after bad performances at Kenya and Sharjah. Newcomers should be introduced in the team. Y.L. CHOPRA II Indian cricketers made history for wrong reasons. Unluckily India were bundled out by the islanders just for 54, which was the most dismal performance by any Indian team evewr. It was not actually bad luck but lack of coordination and perfection by the players in almost each and every department. Only ‘little master’ Sachin Tendulkar raised some hope in bowling by giving just 13 in his first seven overs and took a couple of wickets. Jayasuriya hit a perfect 189, the highest ever in Sharjah. It was also the highest- ever score by any skipper of Sri Lanka. It was also the highest-ever individual score against India at Sharjah. It is time the players understood that playing international matches is no child’s play. Time and again, we get defeated. H.S. DIMPLE Andy Flower Andy Flower’s two Test innings in the recently concluded series against India did not get the recognition he actually deserved. His 232 was in fact the highest by a wicket-keeper in Test history. I have reached the conclusion that it is never easy to win a Test match at home without Anil Kumble and it is not that difficult to lose a Test series at home even against a team as lowly placed as Zimbabwe. ARCHIT GARG |
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