A Common Fan’s Sports Diary

It took a long time coming but we are now ready with the third post of the ‘Most memorable moments of Indian sports’ series. This time we look at India’s national game – Hockey. It will be quite a challenge as our national side has won eight Olympic golds, one World Cup and registered countless wins over the toughest of opponents. To pick out our list, we have decided to look at the context and the historical significance of each moment and not just its relevance in purely hockey terms – so the worthiness of the ones which miss out is not undermined.

Here we go

The gold at the 1928 Olympics – a walk in the park for the hockey team but a giant step for the whole of Asia

At a time when India as well as most of Asia was still under imperialist rule, the hockey team, with a fair mix of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs and Anglo –Indians put the continent on the sporting map of the world – this was the first medal by an Asian country at the Olympics, although technically we weren’t a nation yet.

This was just our first appearance and considering that we romped home in the most one-sided manner, it was pity that we didn’t participate in any of the previous Olympics. We won all five our matches convincingly scoring 29 goals and conceding none.

Perhaps the British didn’t let us – after all they were so scared of losing to their ‘subjects’ at Amsterdam that they dropped out of the event. And continued to do so till India gained independence.

The 1928 Games also introduced the ‘Hockey Wizard’ Dhyan Chand to the world but this time round the spectators were too over-awed by the brilliance of the entire team to give extra attention to the ‘greatest player to ever play the game of hockey’

An awe-struck Dutch journalist wrote “The Indian ball seems ignorant of the laws of gravity. One of those tanned diabolical jugglers stares at the ball intently; it gets upright and remains suspended in the air. This is no longer the game of hockey. It is a juggling turn. It is splendid.”

The Indian team’s performance revived interest in hockey, and overnight it became a world sport.

The gold at the 1936 Olympics – Spoiling a Nazi dictator’s well planned party

These Games were intended to be a massive propaganda affair for Hitler’s racist idea of Aryan supremacy. The Indian hockey team joined the likes of Jesse Owens in spoiling the Nazi dictator’s well-laid plans. Sadly, they don’t get as much credit for that.

The Indians did not receive a pleasant welcome in Germany and lost a practise game to a German side, 4-1. But they roared into form and entered the finals after thrashing the French 10-0.

A crowd of around 40,000 people, the biggest crowd till then to witness an Olympic hockey match, gathered for the final. Adolf Hitler was also in attendance and he was hoping for a resounding German victory over the two-time defending champions. His hopes were probably raised by the defeat the Indians suffered in the practise game.

What followed though was the sporting equivalent of the Battle of Stalingrad (where the mighty Nazi army was routed)

India was up by 6 goals when the Germans started playing rough, breaking Dhyan Chand’s tooth in the process. The Indians then changed tactics – they repeatedly took the ball up to the German circle and then back passed to mystify their opponents. Finally after toying with their opponents as if they were little children, the Indians won 8-1. This match was played on 15th August – later to be celebrated as our Independence Day for entirely different reasons.

All this was too much for Hitler handle and he left the match midway, disgusted at his team`s plight.

The supreme tribute to Dhyan Chand was by a sports club in Vienna, which built a statue of Dhyan Chand with four hands and four sticks. To the Viennese, no man with two hands and one stick could have played the way Dhyan Chand did.

There also goes a story that Adolf Hitler was so mesmerized by Dhyan Chand, that he offered the Indian captain a chance to become a German citizen and high ranking military officer.

The gold at the 1948 Olympics – Icing on the cake for a newly independent nation

This was truly the stuff fairytales are made of. India gained independence after an epic struggle which was based on the ethos of non-violence. The very next year, their former rulers hosted the biggest sporting extravaganza in the world. For the winners of World War II, the first Olympics after the war were a perfect occasion to put on a grand show of their sporting prowess.

The Indian hockey team was weakened significantly by the partition – the parting gift the British left us – losing many Muslim and Anglo Indian players in the process

Great Britain had avoided the hockey event in the Olympics fearing an embarrassment at the hands of their ‘subjects’. Now they were the hosts and India had ceased to be their colony – so the hockey event couldn’t be avoided anymore. But the Brits gained comfort from the fact that they were at home and India was fielding a weakened side.

It seemed as if the event was scripted by the sporting gods, as the two teams made it to the finals. And then the Indian hockey team brutalized the British in the most non-violent manner, winning comfortably 4-0. This was the first time the Indian tri-colour flew high at the Olympics.

Why has this story not inspired a single film maker till date? This is “Chak De’ rolled into ‘Lagaan’ rolled into ‘Gandhi’

A disclaimer before we head to the other moments – For me the 1980 Olympic Gold in a tournament boycotted by all the major hockey powers means absolutely nothing.

Gold in the 1964 Olympics – a farewell and a well-settled score with an arch-enemy

This triumph is special for two reasons. First, it remains our last truly glorious Olympic campaign – it kind of marks the end of the greatest chapter in the game of hockey and not just Indian hockey.

And secondly, this win came over bitter –rivals Pakistan – the third and most probably the last of India-Pakistan finals in Olympic hockey. By winning this game, we got sweet revenge for our defeat in 1960 and also ensured bragging rights for eternity – India having won two of the three finals. A defeat on the other hand would have meant two consecutive finals losses and that would have left a bitter taste in the mouth forever – the people of that generation would have spent their entire lives just pining for a chance for revenge

To add to all this, the match was also a nail-biter. Pakistan came close to equalizing on numerous occasions in the closing stages of the game as the Indians just held on for dear life. The Indian goalkeeper Shankar Lakshman gave a heroic performance and was rightly adjudged Man of the Match.

This victory wasn’t half as pretty as the earlier wins but the Indian team was gallant as they have ever been

The Gold in the 1975 World Cup – the best team in the world for one last time

Another electrifying India-Pakistan encounter which galvanized fans on both sides of the border and created a whole new generation of hockey fans. India trailed 0-1 at half-time but came roaring back to seal a memorable 2-1 win. In another perfectly scripted tale, the winning goal was scored by Ashok Kumar – son of the great Dhyan Chand. This was India’s only World Cup title – it would have been a pity if the greatest hockey nation ever, hadn’t won the World Cup even once.

But more than anything else, it remains the last time that the whole hockey world was at our feet and we were the champions of the world – our final hurrah on the global stage. I want to keep writing about this win as if it will somehow let me hold on to this last moment. Like the last morsel of the last awesome meal before you went on a fast to death. You want to just keep chewing forever.

Soon there were astro-turfs and a bunch of seemingly unfair rule changes and the world started getting better and better and we were left far behind.

Other Notable Moments

All the other Olympic gold medal triumphs. As already clarified, these were no less in hockey terms.

The hockey gold in the Bangkok Asiad of 1998. The triumph which raised some slender hopes once again.

The hockey gold won by the women’s side in the 1982 Asiad. As hosts, we were embarrassed as the men’s team suffered a shocking 1-7 defeat at the hands of Pakistan. The women came to the party, though winning the gold medal.

The victory in the Junior World Cup in 2001. A team of brilliant youngsters which convincingly won the tournament. Sadly few made a mark at the senior level.

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Most memorable moments of Indian sports – Tennis

Most memorable moments of Indian sports – Badminton

Rinku Singh and Dinesh Patel have become the first Indians to sign a professional sports contract in America. They are now part of the MLB’s Pittsburg Pirates and if they progress well in the minor leagues, they could be pitching in the big leagues in around three years time. This is a normal process and timeline for new players and there is good reason to feel optimistic. They could possibly do for baseball in India what Yao Ming did for basketball and the NBA in China.

Until now Indian players have had decent success playing professional Cricket, Chess, Badminton and Hockey in Europe. We have also had a flop footballer (Baichung Bhutia) and a successful one (Mohd Salim). But this is our first entry into the Mecca of professional sports that is the USA.

Could this really lead to bigger things?

After all, in spite of the large number of Indians that live in the US, we haven’t had a single player of Indian origin in Major League baseball. I could possibly counter that by saying that we have only been exporting nerds and not the athletic types. Rinku and Dinesh are strongly built lads from the villages. Don’t think we have many NRI’s who are like them.

But haven’t we had a national baseball side for quite some time and doesn’t this team suck big time?

We have and the team does suck but we have been picking our national side from just a handful of players. And these players have had absolutely no exposure or quality coaching inputs. It’s almost akin to somebody learning cricket in Greenland.

And now for some optimism

The physical skills required for this game are very similar to cricket – and therefore we have the potential to do well at baseball, provided we can get enough exposure and coaching and practice. Rinku and Dinesh will get lots of that in Pittsburgh and if they are even moderately successful, more Indian players could join them.

Also remember that these guys were selected out of the 30,000 people who contested the reality show – “Million Dollar Arm”. This is a nation of more than 1 billion. There would be many more who are more talented at baseball than this pioneering duo. If we can just get more people to get inspired by this example and take up the sport, we could easily have more players in the MLB. Inspiration will come if Patel and Rinku are successful and make it big.

These newly-baptized ‘pitchers’ have more than just a baseball and their sporting futures in their hands

They have a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to make baseball a popular sport in this country – to become the father of Indian Baseball.

Rinku and Dinesh

We (the few baseball loving Indians) are watching and praying for you

Dear Ricky,

As an Indian cricket fan, it gives me tremendous pleasure in writing to you now. I was pleased when you got berated in the home series by your own fans but at least you had the full-fledged support of Cricket Australia then. Now that the public is baying for your blood for being over –defensive and trying to save yourself a suspension at cost of the match and the series and your cricket board seems to have joined them with Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland asking you for an explanation, I am over the moon. Wonder how you are going to handle this now.

I am surprised that you and your team called the Indians defensive for their approach on Day 3 of the final test match. Didn’t you recognize the same stifling tactics that Australian sides have so successfully used ever since they got a bowler called Glenn McGrath? It started on the historic tour of the West Indies in 1994-95. Now you can’t take it just because you are on the receiving end. I guess that attitude is part of your DNA. You have to define the boundaries of sledging. You have a right to decide what kind of match-fixing is OK and what kind is not. And the same goes for your so-called gamesmanship. You guys pride yourself on playing cricket the hard way, right. So what is all the fuss about now? Guess sometimes it gets too hard for you.

You guys (the likes of Adam Gilchrist ) have perfected the art of selling books. You always come up with some controversial nonsense to get the public intrigued. You seem to have done the same with your last memoirs. I was wondering what your next memoirs would be called- Now that you have added another feather in your captaincy cap. You became the first Aussies captain to lose the Ashes in 20 years and now you have become the first guy to lose a series by a two test margin in 25 years. That is quite a legacy you have there. You could call your next memoirs – A rare Australian captain – that would be fitting, considering your record and your popularity. Or you could call it – Losers and Cry-babies too

All the best for the upcoming Ashes. Last time you kept complaining about the substitute fielders. This time you have will have to lock horns with a real bully in Kevin Pietersen. I cant wait for the series to get started. It’s not everyday that you see ‘A rare Australian captain’ in action.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan has spoken beautifully for me and many others – twenty somethings who have spent their entire adolescent and adult lives watching the Fab Five in action.

How different will cricket be for me; without this extraordinary bunch?

Will it wane my interest in the game?

I think hard and another exodus comes to mind

I was a tennisaholic in the glory days of Becker, Edberg, Courier, Sampras, Agassi and Ivanisevic

Now I only watch when Federer plays Nadal

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A great supporting cast but no leading man

First my heartiest congratulations to Vishy. I have waited for 13 years for this moment and now Iam thrilled to bits. For those who have read the Hindu epic ‘The Mahabharata’, I feel exactly like Draupadi would have felt after Bhima killed Dushasana and she washed her hair with the slain man’s blood to fulfil her vow. Just for the record, I have no intention of further damaging my precious little hair with Kramnik’s blood. I just share the same feeling of redemption

As for Vishy, he would have done the Count of Monte Cristo proud. I am sure he’s carried the pain of that crushing defeat to Kasparov in his heart all along and waited for a chance to avenge it. Now the revenge has been completed in the most emphatic manner.

This is easily the biggest win of Anand’s life. Please make no mistake – the World titles won in the round-robin and knock-out formats just don’t compare. None of the super GM tournament wins can match this. This was chess the good old-fashioned way. Any chess aficionado will vouch for this. This win will also shut up all the critics (mostly Russian) who thought Anand was a little shaky in the classical format. He just crushed the guy, who everybody thought was the master at this format.

As far as chess goes, Anand has now completed the full collection of achievements and titles. He has now won and done everything there is to win and do in the game of chess. He has won all the tournaments in all the formats. Has won titles in classical, blindfold, rapid and blitz. Beaten man and machine. Has achieved an ELO rating of 2800. There is no peak left unconquered.

He is as complete as Roger Federer would be when he wins the French Open. Or Sachin Tendulkar would be after he gets a triple hundred, wins the Cricket World Cup and gets a test series win in Australia. He is as complete as Zinedine Zidane who’s won the World Cup, the European Cup, the Champions League, League titles and also the title of the World Player of the Year.

In the annals of Indian sport, Vishwanathan Anand now shares space only with Dhyan Chand. They are the only two guys who ran out of challenges very early in their lifetime.

Anand is well and truly a ‘complete’ champion now

WE INDIANS HAD DI**S ALL ALONG BUT DADA TAUGHT US HOW TO FU**

We are now back with the second post of the ‘Most memorable moments of Indian sports’ series. This time we look at Badminton. As you will see, India has performed at a very high level in Badminton as compared to a lot of other sports but somehow this racquet sport has never quite got its due in the country– and that is all the more surprising considering that badminton is very popular across the country and the rules are very easy to understand. Perhaps it has to do with the lack of television coverage and the low glam quotient of the players. Well, we will tackle that issue some other time. It is now time to savour the great moments. So here we go

• Prakash Padukone’s All –England Triumph of 1981 – This is undoubtedly the most memorable moment – India’s greatest player winning the biggest tournament in the world. And the manner in which he did it – simply outclassing the likes of Liem Swie King and Morten Frost on his way to the title makes this moment almost surreal. It’s a pity that we never get to see any video footage of this glorious chapter of Indian sport. This is the kind of stuff that we want to see on ‘India Glorious’. Any sports channels listening

• Pullela Gopichand’s All England Triumph of 2001 – Another equally outstanding achievement, although this one came like a bolt from the blue – but what a delightful shocker it was. India was hooked once Gopichand got to the quarters and it just kept getting better with every victory. The memory of flag waving Indian fans and Gopichand’s unbridled celebration is etched in memory – thanks to the live telecast that we got to see. It hurts when we remember the injuries which took a toll on his career after the All – England triumph. He could have given us many more memories.
• Prakash Padukone becoming World number one – Nice guys don’t always finish last – this one is a poster moment for ‘nice guys finishing first’. This was the culmination of a superlative run of form in 1980-81 which finally made Prakash the best player in the world. And it came during a highly competitive era in the sport – making this moment all the more worthy of a mention in this list. Since then no Indian, man or woman has been in the top ten of the world rankings. Padukone won a lot of other big events and this post could have easily become an anthology of Prakash’s greatest triumphs. But we decided to limit ourselves to the two biggest ones.

Before, we move onto the next two moments some perspective on the Thomas Cup, which is the competition among national teams. Till 1983-84 this was best of 9 format with 5 singles and 4 doubles. From 1984-85 it became a best of 5 format with 3 singles and 2 doubles. And unlike tennis’ Davis Cup where the same person plays two singles and you can win a tie with just a couple of good singles players, in badminton’s Thomas Cup one player can play only one singles and hence success requires greater depth – something which has been India’s undoing time and again, especially in the best of 9 days. India is always placed in one of the Asian groups which boast of all the mighty badminton nations except for Denmark. Therefore, just qualifying for the final round of eight nations is a huge achievement. The Thomas Cup is highly coveted by all the top nations and players – leading to a very high level of competition.

• The 1978-79 Thomas Cup run – after years of one man shows, Syed Modi joined hands with Prakash Padukone to give India its most power packed squad ever – and what an impact this team made. Along with the doubles specialist Uday Pawar, they stunned mighty Malaysia 5-4 to make the finals round. This is also India’s greatest victory in the history of the tournament. Unfortunately, their finals foray was derailed by the powerful Danes. Its unfortunate that Padukone and Modi never paired up during the early 80’s when both of them were at their peak. But in retrospect, Prakash’s decision to focus on his singles career gave us moments one and three.

• Saina Nehwal’s quarter-final appearance at the Beijing Olympics – This selection might surprise a few but it has a strong case. It does not involve a title triumph but gets in on the basis of Saina’s pre-quarter final victory over a Chinese player ranked fifth in the world – in front of a raucous Chinese crowd at the Beijing Olympics – thus becoming one of the few athletes to stop the Chinese juggernaut at these games. I will never forget this moment till Saina achieves something bigger than this and then will replace this moment with the new far bigger moment. Saina is a super talent and I am sure she will make me change this list soon.

There is also a unique connection among the individual moments on this list. Prakash Padukone mentored Pullela Gopichand who in turn is Saina Nehwal’s coach.

Other Notable moments

Prakash Nath’s finals appearance at the All-England Championships in 1947

Nandu Natekar’s remarkable run in 1954 when he won three international tournaments on the trot and rose to world number 4. These were also the first international titles won by an Indian player

Dinesh Khanna winning the singles crown at the Asian Badminton Championships in 1965.

The 1951-52 side’s 6-3 victory over Denmark in the Thomas Cup. This Danish side had two All –England champions and both were beaten in this tie.

The 1987-88 side with an ageing Padukone and a fading Modi which made the Thomas Cup finals after beating Japan and Thailand 3-2

The finals appearance of the 1999-00 side lead by Gopichand and Abhinn Shyam Gupta – this was the last Indian side to play in the finals

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Most memorable moments of Indian sports – Tennis

This will be a series of articles where I will be trying to list the five most memorable moments from each of the many sports that we play. I was looking for some similar information once and could not find it. So I thought, why not make the effort myself. So here I am starting with tennis. The moments are in no particular order. And as I am only putting down five for each sport, I am sure I will have to leave out a few moments. And remember these are the memorable moments not simply the greatest moments. This is a subjective exercise. So rather than criticizing the list, help in enhancing it. More glory to Indian sport.

• Leander Paes’ bronze medal effort at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics – The greatest singles effortever – on the largest stage for all sports – an individual medal after 44 years. This event has no prize money and no ranking points, just national pride and honour. Not surprising that Leander was at his very best.
• 

  261th ranked Amritraj stunned 30th ranked Masur to get India off to a flier in 1987

• The run to the Davis Cup final in 1987 – this one stands out for the amazing semi-final victory over the mighty Aussies in Melbourne. We had our opponents on the ropes at 2-0 but they roared back to 2-2. And then against Wally Masur and a raucous Aussie crowd Ramesh Krishnan guided us home.
• The Davis Cup final of 1974 that never was – India reached the final but refused to play against South Africa in protest against their apartheid policies. Was it a missed opportunity to rue forever? No, it was a show of uncompromising opposition to colonialism and racism – anything else would have been an affront to our own struggle for freedom and dignity.
• The quarter-final victory over the French in 1993 – Another Davis cup moment against a far superior opponent. Played on red clay – France’s favourite and India’s least favourite surface. Started on a disastrous note when senior pro Ramesh Krishnan was thrashed in the opening match. Leander showed indomitable spirit to keep India in the fray and Krishnan returned to win the deciding match in a marathon five setter spread over two days. This campaign also included another upset – over Switzerland in Calcutta.
  

  The Giant Killers of 1993

• Leander and Bhupathi winning the Wimbledon doubles title in 1999 – This victory is probably the greatest moment for the Indian Express also – as they were lovingly called before they split up. These guys made all 4 grand slam finals that year and as long as the Indian Express rolled at full speed it was one heck of a ride for the Indian tennis fan. It’s also a sad reminder of what could have been.
  

  Paes-Bhupathi win Wimbledon

Other notable efforts:

The Davis Cup final effort of 1966,

The win over Yugoslavia in the Davis Cup with Leander beating Ivanesevic,

Ramesh Krishnan’s win over World number one Mats Wilander at the Australian Open,

Ramanathan Krishnan’s semi-final efforts at Wimbledon in 1960 and 1961, and

All of Vijay Amritraj’s near misses – losing in 5 sets to eventual champion Jan Kodes in the Wimbledon quarters of 1973, losing to Jimmy Connors after being two sets up in the Wimbledon quarters in 1981 and losing to Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon in 1979 after leading 4-1 in the fourth and being two sets to one up– a victory in any of those would have surely cracked the top five.

For the hardcore cricket fan, the pain of the Caribbean disaster refuses to subside. Every time he sees either Ireland or Bangladesh on TV, which is quite often, it comes throbbing back. But it’s not all sad on the Indian sports front. Vishy Anand is finally world no 1. Leander Paes has moved up to no 2 in the world doubles ranking. Indian sport is alive and kicking. That is, if you know, that, there exist other sports beyond cricket.

I have closely followed a large number of sports, and over my lifetime of being an Indian sports fan, there has been much to cheer and shout about. My first memory, of watching a sport, is of the 1987 cricket world cup. So, in a celebration of 20 years of being a sports fan, I have decided to make a list of my greatest moments as an Indian Sports fan, and as a mark of respect to other sports, and a mute protest against cricket, the list will not include any cricketing moment. Anyways, there are enough TV programs like “Cricket Legends”, “Sachin The Great”, “India Glorious “, to remind us of our Cricketing conquests.

So here goes

• Pullela Gopichand’s triumph at the All-England Championships in 2001 – This is the gold standard for individual achievement. His feat is akin to an Indian beating Federer and Nadal and winning the singles crown at Wimbledon.
• Leander’s bronze at Atlanta, Malleswari’s bronze at Sydney and Rajyavardhan Rathore’s silver at Athens – the rare sight of an Indian on an Olympic podium, draped in the tricolor, was a real goose bump moment. I actually stood up as the Indian flag went up.
• Leander Paes and Ramesh Krishnan conquer the French at Frejus, in the 1994 Davis Cup quarter finals – Every time, I thought, we were finally done for, there was another stirring comeback. India came back from 2-1 down on the final day, in front of a hostile French crowd. Davis Cup tennis at its finest.
• Geet Sethi’s five world professional billiards crowns (1992, 1993, 1998, 2001 and 2006) – This champion from the land of Mahatma Gandhi, gave the Brits another non-violent beating in a truly British game.
• Vishwanathan Anand winning the world chess title in 2000 – Going by our continued success in chess, there’s a strong case to make it our new national sport.
• Ramesh Krishnan and Vijay Amritraj inspire India to a mammoth upset over the Aussies in Sydney, in the 1987 Davis Cup semi-final – Another David vs. Goliath moment from the Davis Cup.
• Narain Karthikeyan becoming the first Indian in Formula One in 2005 – step aside Schumacher and Alonso. We finally had an Indian to cheer for
• All the victories of Paes and Bhupathi – Their break-up is by far the saddest moment in Indian Sport.
• Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna at the Hopman cup 2007 – India making it to the world stage was a miracle in itself. They continued their fairytale run beating the favorites’, Czech Republic and Croatia, and almost made it to the final.
• Jeev Milkha Singh’s glorious run in 2007, winning the biggest events on European, Japanese and Asian tours – Great son of a great father.
• Jaspal Rana’s three gold medals at the 2006 Qatar Asiad – Trust me, I was under the impression that he had long retired. Humiliated by the authorities, shunned by the media and ravaged by fever; his three gold medals, even as the much fancied shooters fell by the wayside, is a picture perfect story of sporting redemption.

Let me just add, that this list is not in any particular order. This is just a collection of my most treasured memories, from the last two decades. We are not exactly setting the Ganges on fire in other sports, but we’re definitely better off than cricket.