BijuShet wrote: Stan, while we are all savouring this sweet moment in our sports history can you pass me some of the good stuff from your stash. Looks like yours was not a pipe dream after all.
Just follow the news/progress boss. Nothing better than that. If you keep track of where things stand today compared to where they were 10 yrs back, you will see the direction we are headed. I guess crikkit analogy is best: We recently crossed the threshold of having more ODI wins than losses, speaks volumes about how far we have come from the 83 days. Most folks know that we win more away than at home in tests these days. Long term average, boss. Nothing more.
That plus, just observe the oozing creativity that is flowing from India. I dont watch tv that often. But whenever I catch up with the local tam language shows, I see a sense of spark. When I was a kid, I never laughed so badly at any jokes. I am sure the same is true in other languages too. What we are witnessing is that India has silently crossed a threshold of multiplicative creativity. Thats why I am willing to bet my ass on some things. I dont know how else to put it.
I had a friend who covered a chess event in Madras, and boy, he saw 1500 kids jampacked in one hall that can stand no more than 300. They were patient to get their chance at fools-mating their opponent
, and he seemed impressed that Anand could single-handedly inspire so many kids. Every small effort helps. GoI will never be able to channelize all the energy thats possible. The very same energy can be disastrous if left unutilized creatively. That also explains first order all kindsa stupidities in India. sum wrote: Stan, In which other (remaining) disciplines do you see us doing well??
I am hoping Vijender will win at least a bronze. He is ranked 4 in the world {One Thai boxer was kicked out of the rankings for doping}, so that should be statistically normal, no puns intended. I just hope he does nt end up meeting some Russkie or Ukrainian or Turkmen with a desperate need to win before he gets to the semis. All others, Vijender can and does match. The other boxer, Jitender, is a super dark horse. The Cuban coach has been touting him even higher than Vijender, but he has nt had results that match this though. Again, if it is India's day, what the heck is kismat to stop our guys?
Bhupathi-Paes are spikes, one day they can win, the next they can turn up from sleep and lose to Chinese no-names. Remember they lost in peak form in 2004 in the semis. Sania-Paes is a winning bet unless they manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. I guess Sania-Bhupathi would have been the perfect match, but the Bhupathi-Paes feud has spoiled so many medals for us, directly as well as indirectly.
Saina's case is one where if luck aligns with her, she will get a medal. Same for womens 4x400 relay team and Anju. I have read so many good things about Mandeep Kaur, but she has been recovering from some ligament tear. I just hope she is back in peak form by the time of the event. She still has a week to heel herself to peak fitness.
Anju's recent form has been terrible, but she has the capability of making giant leaps in big events. The world championship bronze came on the back of a disastrous season. Vikas Gowda in discus is another dark horse, more hope than real chances. We have always had someone or the other entering semis/finals at 400 ms women. There is another Manjit Kaur who is entering 400. I would like to see what she is capable of. Beenamol is like 36+, else I would have happily bet on a finals visit from her.
To be honest, I was hoping for a few more medals from shooting. Unfortunately, some of them were near-misses. Still it is better to be 1-0-0 than 0-0-1. I have nt seen Sanjeev Rajput in news. The shooting event has 15 golds, as far as I can tell, 6 or 7 have been decided. So there is one more round where a subset of the guys will have to take part. I may be wrong here. But I believed Manavjit Sandhu was a double specialist. Same for Gagan Narang.
Do you still stand by the 2-1-1 formula( after 3 days of the olympics and most of the shooting done with a medal to show)?
Its all hunch work boss, nothing scientific here. Heart says yes, and 1 more gold will kick some sense into the politicians who also double up as administrators for SAI, SFI, IWF etc. Head says, I will take a couple more medals of any color happily. Lets wait and see. I did nt lose hope with the crikkit team even after the victory target was 120 odd. I was hoping for a magick 81 all out or something
. Given that with the crikkit team, I must be a doofus of sorts if I gave up on these guys so soon.
despite all the strides India is making we desis still need to polish up our act a bit. 