Indian Sports and Entertainment Industry

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 19 Nov 2014 19:49

Depth also means quality and the ability to beat the top teams and players consistently e.g. in WC there was no one after Saina and Sindhu to win a 5 match series. In men's this is the first SS being won. Also the ability to produce players year after year. We still have some distance to go.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 19 Nov 2014 22:26

we should all write in and put pressure on the baboooze to back sarita instead of throwing her under the bus.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sach ... 02734.html
In a letter to Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, dated November 15, the iconic batsman said he is disconcerted by the reports that Devi faces a potential ban threatening her career, reports PTI.

"I would urge you to kindly look into this issue urgently and ensure that she is given competent support so that her career is not threatened and ends in a premature manner," Tendulkar wrote.
..
"With limited knowledge on the ongoing process, I would sincerely request to consider forming a task force of senior officials from the Indian Olympic Association, the Indian Boxing Federation backed with strong legal minds under your stewardship.

"The objective of this task force should be to deter any potential move by the Governing body to cause irreversible harm to Ms. Devis's career by placing compelling arguments in her defence. This is critical as Ms. Devi belongs to a set of passionate sportspersons who have taken immense pride in representing the country and deserve all the support and backing from various stakeholders including Government of India," he wrote.

Read more at: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sach ... 02734.html

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 19 Nov 2014 22:52

George: by depth I mean having players who can get far in MS, WS, MD, WD and XD. Having more players in top 100 is a useless stat if none of them are in the last 4 in any given tournament, while Cheen have 3/4 or 4/4 of semifinalists often.

I would trade half a dozen ok players for 2 players or two teams who are super competitive, in each of these. That would gain us medals in most tournaments, in addition to strength at Thomas Cup, Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup.

China is very strong in doubles, not "so so". In women's doubles they've won almost every world championship. They have the most wins in mixed doubles. They're behind Indonesia and ahead of Korea in men's doubles. That is in addition to being the dominant force in MS and WS. They're also consequently the most wins in Thomas, Uber and Sudirman cups.

Right now in Singles we have a level of depth beyond anything we've ever had: two women in the top 10, two men in the top 20. That was before China Open. Rankings are not yet updated, and it seems Srikanth will be in top 10 now, at #9 I think. China Open is one of the Super Series Premier events, which is akin to Grand Slam events in tennis.

Gus · Post by **Gus** » 19 Nov 2014 23:02

OT - bay area gents (looking at you surajuddin) ...how about badminton at bintang at milpitas or sunnyvale? i am usually there on mon and fri.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 19 Nov 2014 23:04

Use the health and fitness thread to corral players

Javee · Post by **Javee** » 19 Nov 2014 23:39

Watched the ISL game in Chennai (vs Pune), 15k people for football was very heart warming and yeah, Chennai won.

member_28714 · Post by **member_28714** » 20 Nov 2014 16:06

@Suraj, the comment about depth was applicable upto a few years back. Now we do have some significant depth. Of the 9 top 100 players we have 4 are under 21. anyway, lets just agree to disagree. I feel indian badminton is becoming badass now.

today sindhu once again lost a nervous match in three games but srikanth and saina through to last 8 in straight games. i mean, it was a walk in the park for both. both Wang Yihan and Wang Shixian lost. Chen Long (chinese #1) needed three games to get past our export to UK - Rajiv Ouseph.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 20 Nov 2014 17:56

>> both Wang Yihan and Wang Shixian lost

thats rare. all the chinese tier1 seem to be having tough time lately. maybe their official dope supplier has gone underground following the Lee chong wei case.

if BALCO could supply for years and years to the top most layer of american athletes including multiple olympic champions like marion jones , anything is possible esp in Cheen...

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 20 Nov 2014 22:25

Singha wrote:>> both Wang Yihan and Wang Shixian lost

thats rare. all the chinese tier1 seem to be having tough time lately. maybe their official dope supplier has gone underground following the Lee chong wei case.

Seriously, you may be onto something. LCW, Lin Dan and the Chinese shuttlers, even the women, are so fit with such low body fat ratio. Compared to them we look either plump (Saina) or scrawny (Srikanth). Would not be surprised if their off season training includes 'enhanced support items'.

Yayavar · Post by **Yayavar** » 21 Nov 2014 07:25

^^Recall what happened to Chinese swimming when one failed the dope test ('turtle soup')...all dropped off. And then they discovered a new diet and were back. Maybe the same with Badminton

member_28714 · Post by **member_28714** » 21 Nov 2014 10:32

saina out in the quarters.

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 21 Nov 2014 10:50

Generally speaking, what is wrong with doping? Since it is banned, the countries with better research and access would try to find ways to beat the system anyways. The poorer countries would either lose out or get caught. There is no ban on better equipments(IIRC except cycling?). The athletes are anyway the physical apex as a species and some races have inherently better bodies to suit certain sports. Is that fair anyways?
I think we should let people dope and make it MAD.

member_28714 · Post by **member_28714** » 21 Nov 2014 16:48

srikanth through to semis of HKSS. whupped HK's top player.

sets up a semi final match with Chen Long - officially china's #1. But LinDan keeps beating him all the time.

My money is on KS. Open season for Cheen hunting ra macha!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 22 Nov 2014 02:46

Srikanth's ranking should further improve now. Winning China Open Super Series Premier, and making it at least to semis of HK Open Super Series ought to put him higher than #10 . Here's the current rankings

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 23 Nov 2014 13:10

Srikanth lost the semifinal in 3 sets to world #2 Chen Long. He is coming along very well. He has an attacking game and guile to earn a top 10 ranking, but he doesn't yet have a tight enough game and strength of defense to challenge top 3 consistently. The general impression on badminton forums is that he deserves his top 10 ranking and has improved visibly in the last 6 months to get this far, and that he needs sustained coaching in the next 6-12 months to make it into the top 5 and win more SS or SSP events.

He's already seen as better than Kashyap, and much more promising due to his height, reach, attacking skill and tactical mind. In any case, he has already won the All England of the east, in the form of the China Open. Much more can be expected from him with proper guidance from Gopichand. He's at that important inflexion point where some players move into top 5, while others stagnate or lose direction. Thankfully he's backed by one of the most respected coaches in the sport.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 09 Dec 2014 20:05

India 3 goals Netherlands 1 goal in Champions Trophy in Bhubneshwar. 11:32 left in the match.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 09 Dec 2014 20:22

India wins 3-2 and beats the world #2.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 09 Dec 2014 20:37

India will play Belgium in Quarter finals on December 11th.

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 09 Dec 2014 21:15

Will wonders never cease. We lost two matches in a row because of stupid last minute goals, to both Germany and Argentina. I expected Netherlands to maul us, because they crushed those two teams. Instead we win ?

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 10 Dec 2014 21:25

You can watch all of the hockey 4 Quarterfinals Live tomorrow at

http://www.fih.ch/en/news-5487-hero-hoc ... -out-phase

Times are Indian Standard Time.

Netherlands v Pakistan (11.30 hrs)
Argentina v Australia (13.45 hrs)
England v Germany (17.15 hrs)
Belgium v India (19.30 hrs) <--- 9 AM EST (eastern USA)

There is no chance of these matches ending in a draw.

Comer · Post by **Comer** » 11 Dec 2014 20:17

India enters semis. vs Pakistan on sat.
Came back from 0-2 to finish 4-2.
Check the pace of the counter attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um3gYT5KnQA

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 11 Dec 2014 20:24

Good stuff!!! Way to go!! Bakis are next!! Defeat them and then arrest them only to release when they hand over Hafeez, Dawood, Lakhwi, Omar Saeed, etc.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 11 Dec 2014 20:31

It is the whole team effort!!!!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 11 Dec 2014 22:17

Loved the last goal. The Belgians were looking around with a 'where did the ball go ?' look while we were far down the field about to overwhelm their D. AG2014 win, winning the series against Australia 3-1 and now making at least semis in Champions Trophy should improve our ranking. It's a pity Hockey India pushed Terry Walsh out. I hope Sports Minister Sonowal helps him return.

Considering the tournament is in far away Bhuvaneswar, it's an impressive accomplishment on the part of the organizers to have clear live Youtube feed of the matches while they're in progress, on the event website.

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 12 Dec 2014 19:21

Even as Dharamvir scored that goal it was whole team effort., SV Sunil is an excellent runner., I have seen him many times scoring on the counter attack. The whole team is peaking at the right time!!

Tomorrow (Saturday) Semi Finals are

Belgium Vs. Netherlands (11:30 AM IST, 1 AM Saturday EST)
England Vs. Argentina (1:45 PM IST, 3:15 AM Saturday EST)
Germany Vs. Australia (5:15 PM IST, 6:45 AM Saturday EST)
India Vs. Bakistan (7:30 PM IST, 9:00 AM Saturday EST)

and you can watch them live on this link (for free)

http://events.fih.ch/new/competition/347

for past videos
http://events.fih.ch/new/competition/34 ... 2014-12-11

member_28911 · Post by **member_28911** » 13 Dec 2014 19:04

SBajwa wrote: and you can watch them live on this link (for free)

http://events.fih.ch/new/competition/347

for past videos
http://events.fih.ch/new/competition/34 ... 2014-12-11

For members in India, use Hola browser extension to access the Live Youtube stream of the match.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 13 Dec 2014 22:13

We lost 4-3. Poor defense cost us the match.

Ashokk · Post by **Ashokk** » 14 Dec 2014 00:01

Champions Trophy: Pakistani players celebrate India win with obscene gestures

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 14 Dec 2014 02:35

No surprise. We let in these primitive barbarians. What else was to be expected ?

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 14 Dec 2014 07:02

Match was very close and Indian team is still better. Somebody should have shot these a holes and then blaming non state actors.

Supratik · Post by **Supratik** » 14 Dec 2014 18:28

We lost 2-1 to Aus. This team has potential but still a long way to go to be consistent. Hope they peak by Rio16.

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 14 Dec 2014 23:10

HIL will hopefully go the ISL way. Leveraging our viewership potential is key--making it financially worthwhile to bring in foreign players but exclude the pakis. Fact remains that we need to beat them repeatedly until there is no competition.

Sonugn · Post by **Sonugn** » 15 Dec 2014 00:12

Don’t mess with us

The morning after, a fuming Hockey India president Narendra Batra blasted the FIH.

In a television interview, Batra even called the world body "spineless". In a statement posted on Facebook, Batra said, "Hockey India is disappointed with FIH TD's decision. I am instructing my CEO to inform FIH that in case this behavior by teams is within normal and tolerable limits of FIH then we may not be interested to host any more tournaments in India and the tournaments may be shifted to countries which tolerate this kind of nonsense and uncouth behaviour."

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 15 Dec 2014 04:22

Well done to Hockey India. Now please, get back Terry Walsh. He was doing a good job with the team.

member_28714 · Post by **member_28714** » 17 Dec 2014 20:00

Sania just schooled Wan Xixiang in the first round of the Super Series Final at Dubai. Srikanth is up next against Momota from Japan.

This is not an elimination tourney. 8 players 2 groups of round robin followed by semi's and finals.

Search Google for Destination Dubai.

member_28714 · Post by **member_28714** » 17 Dec 2014 21:48

Srikanth also won his match. Yay!

Suraj · Post by **Suraj** » 17 Dec 2014 22:31

Momota is higher ranked than Srikanth. He also has a good record against his remaining pool opponents Sugiarto and Jorgensen.

Saina didn't just win, but won in straight sets against her old nemesis Wang Shixian.

member_28714 · Post by **member_28714** » 18 Dec 2014 20:50

Saina and Srikanth won both their matches today is straight games. Both should go through to the semis, barring a disaster tomorrow. I think Saina is already through.

Both Wang Yihan and Wang Xixiang lost both their games and are out of the running. Re-education camp for the coaches on the cards.

ritesh · Post by **ritesh** » 19 Dec 2014 17:55

http://www.scoopnews.in/det.aspx?q=43344
By Farooq Ganderbali

Nice article, posting some titbits below....

What happens after the Pakistani burlesque on a hockey field ends? Expression of regret or remorse? That is not a Pakistani tradition where they are taught to be at their ‘aggressive’ best when confronting the ‘enemy’. So, the team’s coach and the captain first scoff at the idea of saying sorry but later do come out with an apology of sorts with the proviso that the matter be buried at once.

The Indian hockey officials for once did manage to get the better of the international hockey organization. The International Hockey Federation (FIH) had all these years thought nothing of changing hockey rules the way the Europeans wanted; it was goodbye to the ‘Asian’ style of playing hockey. Now the FIH was told that unless the offending Pakistanis were punished India would not host any of its international events. Bilateral hockey ties with Pakistan were to be put on hold. Well, threat worked as a huge loss stared at FIH face.

In the meanwhile, the Pakistanis were up to their antics. After refusing to accept that their hockey players’ conduct was unacceptable, they claimed they had done nothing objectionable. Then they relented a bit to avert harm to their hockey setup and offered a token apology even as their coach put all the blame on the Indians—the spectators, the players and the media.

This is a standard Pakistani practice whenever they are caught with their pants down. Whenever a Pakistani team loses to India it is always because of extraneous reasons like bad umpiring, never because India played better. Remember, many Pakistanis in ‘responsible’ positions, not just the Hafiz Sayeed types, routinely blame India for terrorism and all ills in their country. Yet their government talks of ‘peace’ with India!

More instructive of the Pakistani mindset was the reaction in the country’s media. Even when sadly coming to the conclusion that the Pakistani players had indeed exceeded the limits of decency at Bhubaneshwar, an article in Dawn justified the players conduct describing the Indian spectators as ‘unruly’ that required a ‘fitting’ response.

ritesh · Post by **ritesh** » 19 Dec 2014 17:58

Its Kolkata Vs Kerala in the ISL finals, who will take the cake???

My vote goes to Kolkata