Australian Open - Rivalry continues

It is January 15, 2011 and the Australian Open will be starting just in 2 days i.e. January 17. First grand slam of ATP tour begins a new year of grand slams for each individual tennis player and another fun filled year for tennis lovers.

Australian open for a tennis player is similar to a Shankhnaad for a warrior. In Melbourne each player gives his best shot to win a match contesting best of 5 sets. As each player has to battle out at least 3 sets, against some one who is among top 100 players, it increases the intensity of match and tests the endeavour and stamina of an individual. As this outcome of this battle affects lot other individuals (Followers, Supporters and family), it really tests mental strength of the player. Indian tennis stars, Sania Mirza and Somdevberman, are living under such mental burden.

Each individual player starts his tour with a specific goal. A few players try to enhance their existing ranking by the end of year, where as few target just the rounds of Slam and for few it is the matter of their reputation and rivalry. For a person who lived his life as a king is now fighting to reclaim his crown, where as the person who ousted the king, is to battle out to prove the unworthiness of previous king.

Next two weeks will feature tennis at its best. Players who could knock the door but could not win, Murrey and Soderling, are hungry to achieve their first. Whereas kids who could win only once, Potro and Navak, have lot to prove yet. But again everyone is looking for a clash of titans. When these two titans meet in final, it increases the intensity and competition to seventh sky and environment of the court is enigmatic enough to explode nerves of a high blood pressure patients.

Rivalry between these gentlemen is not new for tennis. Every great has come across such rivals in his career. Pete Sampras faced Agassi, Borg was against Mcenroe. But both Fedx and Nadal are contenders of greatest of all time and this fact tells why matches between them are more ferocious and entertaining than matches in past. Though I want to see Federer winning but not before another great game of rivalry.

But we are forgetting few folks who have potential to spoil the treat. In this era of these two great players we have ignored few other good players. So it is not totally impossible to see final featuring none or one among Roger and Nadal. Roger will fight with Navak whereas Nadal will face Soderling and Murrey, before securing their place in final.

In the aura of great and good players it is possible to see upsets and As Paul, the octopus, has already died, it is not possible to predict the future so easily, So lets wait and watch the game of tennis.

Saina: Does she have potential to fight with Cricketer?

Saina Nehwal is in news for past 1 month. Besides performing her career best, she has achieved what most of athletes or sport persons could not achieve. Earlier it was heart breaking to see a very small space provided to her Chennai open win. Story of her second tourney win occupied the same amount of space and media kept its promise by giving the same paper on her third win as well. But it was fascinating to see the awareness of people in India. 

Besides not getting the deserving coverage, there were thousands of people who reached to receive Miss Champ. It was more appreciable as media did not provoke these applauses; these applauses were from people of India who made Saina a shining star. Here onward media started to unearth her detail most of the media could grab her daily routines and health diets. Government placed her in the elite league by presenting her the biggest sport medal. 

But will this be a break for her? There are sports which pop up in the middle of nowhere to claim the limelight but this shine fades in front of Indian cricketing Community.

Saina has done well to reach to the number 2 and most importantly she could take her name to common people. But her success poses few difficult questions to answer. 

First question, would she able to survive and digest the limelight? There are 10s of examples where it took time for sport persons to digest the sudden glamour and most of them just slipped into the trap of glamour. Saina is also a human being, so it is okay to slip once but if she is able to stand up after first slipping then it is not difficult for her to ride and enjoy the glamour.

Second question, would her future efforts pose the threat of switching sport dharma? In my opinion in this era it is possible. People are exhausted with the extreme cricket and their exhaustion can prompt them to get rid of loyalty of cricket.

These 2 questions are somehow related to each other and answers depend on Saina's performance. Now if she wants to depict herself as the survivor (From media fame) as well as reformer (new trends of sport), she has to curb all difficulties to follow the same road map that has given her this glory. I do not know future but I can just wish the young lady and expect her to break all the records created in the history of badminton.

Best of luck Saina.

My limits are 18

This was June 21st 2007, when i joined my new company. I joined the company cause i did not have any work in my previous organization. Prabhat (My previous manager) had swore to make me a call center agent, and i swore to gain my self respect. Here on Monday, i stepped in the recreation room of STERLING Commerce. I was shell shocked. Shocked, Not because it was empty, but because it was the second most crowded place (after cafeteria) of the company. There were 5 games, 20 people were playing and 30 people were in queue.

I also joined the queue. I never knew i am standing next to pros of the table. ASA i got the chance, I picked up the racket that i never touched in my life before. Sooner i came to know it is really hard to cop up on this table with these people. The people were eying on me like i have committed heinous crime. Anyhow i finished my game and was replaced with other people waiting in the queue. I dint wanted to be eyed in this way, so i left the room thinking: one day i will play with the elite group.

Days passed, weeks passed, months also, and it is almost a year. In the whole year i asked each and every person to play with me. Some turned down my offer, some started but after playing few games either they were tired of me or they got some work. (Few were there who neither say no nor played a game) For me both the things were not reality. I was neither bored of any person nor i got work. In the whole year i played 100s of matches and i win 10's of them. I never lost the spirit of playing the game. I kept playing, kept switching games. but nothing seems working.

Now a days my game has improved. But this improvement neither clinches the games for me nor it places me into the community of moderate player. They still look at me as they did on first day. Till now winning is like a selection in IIT. The door is always open but the door is so small that i can not fit into it. I am trying to broaden the door but it is taking a long time. I wish i do not loose my spirit before i could make it large to enter easily.

For some people SKY is the limit, for me 18 is the limit in TT. Or saying in other way, SKY is my limit which has come down to 18.