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| SPORTS TRIBUNE |
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Lone rangers All about
the ball Test class Spectators at receiving end
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Hard target India’s hockey coach Vasudevan Bhaskaran is not expecting his team to win the eight-nation Sultan Azlan Shah tournament, which begins tomorrow in Kuala Lumpur. His target is only a podium finish, but considering the strong field and India’s recent track record, even that looks virtually unattainable. India have been grouped in Pool A with South Korea, hosts Malaysia and defending champions Australia. Pool B comprises Pakistan, Argentina, the Netherlands and New Zealand. The Dilip Tirkey-led side will take on Australia tomorrow, followed by matches against Malaysia (June 19) and South Korea (June 21). India would have to get past both Malaysia and Korea to qualify for the semifinals. (Last year, the Indians lost badly to these two teams in the round-robin fixtures of this tournament). If they manage to reach the last-four stage, India could run into Pakistan or the Netherlands. In that case, winning the bronze medal would be an uphill task, to say the least. The Azlan Shah Cup is of utmost importance for India as this is their last major event before the World Cup, which begins in Monchengladbach on September 6. The team has had a feel of the German city, having played in a four-nation tournament two months ago. India lost 1-4 to Germany and 3-5 to Spain, but defeated Argentina 3-2 — thanks to Rajpal Singh’s brace — to finish third. Incidentally, this was the first assignment for Bhaskaran after he replaced Rajinder Singh Jr as the chief coach. On the whole, it has been a typically dismal year for India so far. The team lost 1-3 to Pakistan in a six-match home-and-away Test series. The then coach Rajinder tried a new-look forward line, including Didar Singh, Rajpal Singh, Tushar Khandekar and Arjun Halappa, but the strikers rarely delivered when it mattered the most. The Commonwealth Games in Melbourne saw the Indians finishing a poor sixth. This flop show precipitated Rajinder’s sack, even though he claimed later that he had himself stepped down. History repeated itself farcically as yet another Indian hockey coach left on a bitter note, lambasting the powers that be for the sorry state of affairs. Bhaskaran has been in the hot seat before. He was the coach when India won the Azlan Shah Cup in 1995. This time, the team can at best finish fourth or fifth. Anything better than that would be too much to expect from a team that is not yet top class in coordination and finishing. At the World Cup, India have been placed in a tough group with hosts Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea and England. A decent performance in the Kuala Lumpur event, coupled with the experience of having played in Monchengladbach, could stand the team in good stead for the premier hockey tournament. However, an all-too-familiar fiasco would make life even harder for Bhaskaran and his boys.
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Lone
rangers Football aficionados from across the globe throng World Cup venues or sit glued to television sets to watch the likes of Ronaldo, David Beckham, Raul and Luis Figo in action. But most of them are hardly aware of the brilliant players from lesser-known footballing nations. These gallant fighters are the trump card for their teams. At times they even outshine their fancied opponents, single-handedly bringing their countries to the centre stage. This World Cup is no exception, with teams like Trinidad and Tobago and Costa Rica making their presence felt thanks to some noteworthy individual performances. In the World Cup opener, hosts Germany defeated Costa Rica 4-2 but Paulo Wanchope netted a brace, exposing the weaknesses in the German defence. Similarly, Shaka Hislop, the Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper, kept the Swedes at bay and earned a creditable draw for his team. Ecuador spoiled the Polish party with an all-round display by Agustin Delgado, while Didier Drogba showed his class when he scored against Argentina and denied them an easy victory. Wanchope is undoubtedly the biggest star in the history of Costa Rican football. Graceful as a gazelle yet deadly as a lion, the striker has terrorised many defences throughout his long career. The previous time he had taken the field in a World Cup match, the big striker found the net against Brazil in Suwon (Korea). He has 45 international goals to his credit in 70 matches and had netted eight goals in the 14 appearances in the World Cup qualifiers. Ecaudor, who lost their first two matches on their way to a opening-round elimination in 2002, stunned Poland in front of a pro-Polish crowd. They owed their upset win to Delgado. He set up one goal and scored another to bag the man-of-the-match award. Delgado is a natural centre forward blessed with a powerful shot and the gravity-defying ability to rise in the air. Equally adept with his head and feet and well versed in the art of pulling defences out of shape, he has forged a reputation as one of the most feared strikers in South America. He became the first Ecuadorian to score in a World Cup when he notched his country’s only goal in a 2-1 defeat by Mexico in 2002. Failure to advance to the second round proved a disappointment, but he put all that behind him by helping Ecuador clinch a berth at Germany 2006 with five qualifying goals. Swedes were shocked when they just could not get the better of the opposition’s defence. Hislop in the goal thwarted them repeatedly. He pulled off one big save after another despite the fact that his team played almost the entire second half with 10 men. Hislop, who currently plays for West Ham United FC, qualified for the Trinidad and Tobago side due to his parents’ nationality; he had previously played one game for the England under-21 side. In 2005, Hislop’s side qualified for the World Cup with a victory over Bahrain. In his first ever World Cup match, he kept a clean slate as the 37-year-old went on to thwart the Swedes, especially Juventus striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, helping grab a point for the smallest nation ever to compete at a World Cup finals. The star striker of debutants Ivory Coast, Didier Drogba, tormented the Argentinian defence time and again. He made history by scoring the first World Cup goal for his country. However, Drogba said after the match that he would have swapped his goal for a point. This Chelsea forward is captaining the national side and was the second highest scorer in the African qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup with nine goals in eight matches. He was also voted runner-up to Samuel Eto’o for the African Footballer of the Year Award in 2005. Drogba, who has found the net 24 times in just 33 caps, has such an image in his homeland that songs have been written in his honour, and there are drinks and other products bearing his likeness. They say that elephants never forget, but no ‘Elephant’ international in living memory has enjoyed such popularity. All these players could have become front-runners for the Golden Ball and Golden Boot had they been playing for major teams like Brazil or Germany. Though their teams rarely go past the first round, they have proved their worth at the highest level and helped their countries register their names in the annals of football history. |
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All about the ball Fans
marvelling at the goalfest in the opening games of the World Cup may
have to thank the revolutionary “Teamgeist” football being used for
the first time, says a leading sports scientist. According to Ken Bray of the University of Bath (UK), the new football is likely to continue bamboozling goalkeepers in the later stages of the tournament. The Adidas Teamgeist football is rounder than ever before with only 14 panels and fewer seams, making its surface smoother than conventional footballs with a 26 or 32 panel hexagon-based pattern. This makes it aerodynamically closer to a baseball and when hit with a slow spin, will make the ball less stable giving it a more unpredictable trajectory in flight, says Bray. “With a very low spin rate, which occasionally happens in football, the panel pattern can have a big influence on the trajectory of the ball and make it more unpredictable for a goalkeeper," says Bray, author of How to Score (Science and the Beautiful Game). Teamgeist (meaning team spirit) is supposed to be 30 per cent more accurate while sailing through the air than any other football made so far. The seamless and glassy surface ball weighs 444 grams. It costs £ 75, reports the Daily Mail. German researchers took three years to develop it.
— Agencies |
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Test class The second cricket Test against the West Indies at St Lucia saw the blossoming of Mohammad Kaif as a Test player. Regarded as a specialist in the shorter version of the game for his razor sharp fielding and batting in crisis situations, Kaif hit a superb unbeaten 148 — his highest score in any form of the game. Kaif, who is in prime form on the Caribbean tour, took six years to score his maiden Test ton, but that was primarily because he got to play just 11 matches during that period. While his contemporary Yuvraj Singh — now an integral part of the Test team — made the transition to the Test arena three years after him, Kaif had to wait a while to make a comeback to the Test squad. This was due to many reasons. His technique was more suited to one-day cricket, where quick scoring and rotating the strike are required. His superb fielding has also been a big bonus in the ODIs. But in the longer version, things were different. Just like a 100-metre runner can’t run a 5,000 metre race, a specialist ODI player finds it difficult to adjust his slam-bang game to the hard grind of Test cricket. Kaif had to prove that he had the mental make-up for playing Tests, loads of concentration, coupled with perseverance and the ability to modify his batting style . Going by his recent form in his ‘bread and butter’ one-dayers, it looked highly likely that he would not be included in the one-day team for the Caribbean series. A place in the Test team was a very distant dream. However, coach Greg Chappell’s faith in Kaif’s calibre has been a major morale booster for him. That Kaif has come good in the Caribbean is as much a compliment to Chappell’s foresight as to Kaif’s class. With VVS Laxman looking out of sorts, Kaif’s brilliant display has lent solidity to the Indian middle order. Kaif has truly come of age as a complete batsman. With two matches remaining in the series, Kaif will be looked forward to delivering a series-winning knock. |
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Spectators
at receiving end India is way ahead of other cricketing nations in terms of number of Test and one-day venues. India boasts of 19 Test venues and 34 ODI centres, while Australia has seven and 14, respectively, England (seven and 16), South Africa (eight and 10), New Zealand (eight and seven), West Indies (six and nine), Pakistan (16 and 15) and Sri Lanka (seven and five). However, there is greater stress on quantity rather than quality of the stadia. The improvements, if brought about, are for select enclosures and most of the changes are cosmetic. For their vested interests, the organisers upgrade some enclosures and provide a variety of comforts to VIPs in corporate boxes, even as these facilities are denied to spectators in general enclosures. In India, students and other ordinary spectators should be treated as VIPs because they shell out money from their own pocket to watch matches. In contrast, bureaucrats, politicians and other influential people avail of complimentary passes and free food. They are freeloaders in every respect. A spectator belonging to a general enclosure faces several hardships to watch his heroes in action. He buys ticket — often on the black market — and waits patiently in the queue for hours before managing to enter the enclosure. Imagine his plight when he returns from the filthy toilet only to find someone occupying his “tiny cemented square”. The primary reason for overcrowding in general enclosures is the sale of tickets much in excess of the seating capacity. This happens through printing of duplicate tickets. Since these seats are unnumbered, the fraud perpetrated by the organisers themselves cannot be easily detected. This is a regular occurrence at many centres where even complimentary tickets are sold at a premium. Take, for instance, the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) where even complimentary member’s ticket is priced (Rs 5,000). It is said that charity begins at home. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI’s) over-zealous Secretary Niranjan Shah should look at the pathetic conditions at the Rajkot stadium. This centre has seen many ugly incidents. Many problems will get sorted out if board officials undertake rounds of stadia during international matches. |
