TELEPROMPT
India shining
Mannika Chopra

Even if you are only marginally interested in sports, you had to be living in another planet not to have been touched in some way by various games over the last week. First there was cricket. India showed their mettle by topping the ODI charts, and then later winning the Compaq Championship. Then there were the wholly unexpected results of the US Open being played in New York. Then there was Michael Fennel’s critical appraisal of India’s preparedness for the Commonwealth Games.

And prior to that was young Pankaj Advani winning the World Billiard Championship, and boxer Vijender earning himself, and a first for India, a bronze medal in the World Boxing Championship. All in all, these have been heady days of games, set and match. For sheer excitement and edginess, the US Open won top spot. The results of the single’s finals were unbelievable, almost even unthinkable. As for the double’s trophy, it was an India vs India match with Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes facing each other with their respective partners.

In the US Open men’s doubles final, it was the 10th Grand Slam title for Paes
In the US Open men’s doubles final, it was the 10th Grand Slam title for Paes

As Headlines Today said, any which way, India was going to win. In the event, it was a 10th Grand Slam title for Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy. Far more unpredictable were the singles’ matches. As the championship was drawing to a close, veteran tennis correspondents had predicted a William sisters and Ralph Nadal and Roger Federer face-off. But it was not to be. For the Belgian Kim Clijsters, who came back as a wild card entry to win the tournament after a 27-month gap, it was a mother of all comebacks.

Literally. Clijsters is only the second woman who has won a major championship as a mother after Evonne Goolagong Cawley won the Wimbledon in 1980. The Williams sisters have always been a big draw on the tennis circuit and, yes, this year, too, they remained in the limelight, but perhaps not for the best of reasons. After Venus Williams crashed out, it was left to Serena Williams to see that the championship remained with the family. But Serena whose grunts, clenched fists and fritted teeth dominated the match as much as her forehand, went into an unfocussed tailspin, questioning a foot fault decision by the line judge. Later, she apologised and went on to win the doubles together with her sister.

Equally surprising was the fight between 16 Grand Slam winners Federer and the Argentinean skyscraper, all 6 ft 6 inches of him, Juan Martin del Porto. For four hours the two tussled, both for some reason wore black. You had to give it to Federer; he fought against del Porto’s obvious height advantage. In the end, the cool Swiss conceded that del Potro, a number sixth seed, was the better player. Any way you look at it, the US Open was a perfect example of paisa vasool.

As for cricket fans, with India’s win in Colombo, they must have also achieved nirvana. It was gracious of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to dedicate India’s victory in Colombo to Raj Singh Dungarpur. As far as I could tell, none of the channels put out a detailed feature on the man, the former president of the BCCI, who famously chose Sachin Tendulkar to be part of the Indian team after watching the youngster play.

Bursting the sports euphoria bubble was a special report by Times Now on Delhi’s laggard preparations for the Commonwealth Games. The feature was inspired by an assessment made by Commonwealth Games’ officials. A TV poll also validated that India was way behind in its schedule, despite protests to the contrary by Chief Minister Sheila Dixit to Barkha Dutt in NDTV 24x7’s The Buck Stops Here.

Time was when the Commonwealth Games were an example of friendly games played between the Commonwealth nations with sports people being put up in refurbished hostels. After all, unlike the Olympics and World Football Cup, the Commonwealth Games never really saw a huge draw. Now the Games, as with many other things, have undergone a huge metamorphosis, and simple thinking and high living is the last thing on the minds of the organisers.

Simplicity, however, should not be confused with austerity, the latest buzzword on TV. Ever since the ruling coalition proclaimed austerity as its new mantra, ministers have been falling over backwards to be "most austere". TV has conscientiously been taking note of the politicians who have been travelling in the economy class. So when Youth Congress leader Rahul Gandhi went on the Shatabdi from Delhi to Ludhiana, well, the channels went berserk. Star News, Aaj Tak and Zee News even lead with the story showing Gandhi sitting in coach C 3, smiling at the cameras. Star News accounted that Gandhi had made a saving of Rs 435. Austerity or tokenism, you have to wonder.



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