PRG's Thoughts

The year in sports is pretty much done- Here is what to look forward to in 2011 Roger- Rafa- The Final Year It may just be my gut feeling but I think this will be the final year of the Roger-Rafa rivalry. I don’t think either will retire after 2011 but after this year the two-man show will slowly die out. Having said that, this could be a year filled with tension and stress for tennis fans. As a Roger fan the season ending win gave me a lot to look forward to. Rafa fans probably looked at it as an anomaly in an all round great year. On January 17 th the battle begins in Melbourne. My Take - Rafa wins 2 slams, Roger wins one, and someone else wins one. Year-end 2011 Rafa #1, Roger # 2. Cricket World Cup Don’t let the recent drop in viewership of ODI’s fool you. The world cup is different. It is still the tournament where legends are made and destroyed. Kapil’s catch, Tendulkar’s innings after his father passed, Klusener’s heroics followed by a moment of anguish, Waugh’s sle

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d pick him. He is such a random choice simply because he has been around for so long. When I thought about this post I went through every Indian sportsperson who had achieved something this past year his name was impossible to ignore. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an odd choice for Indian Sportsperson of the Year. His career is so storied and the bar he sets himself is so high that he would really have to do something spectacular to even be considered. For Sachin to ‘wow’ us at this stage in his career, or set new marks and personal bests is unlikely right? Think again. Most runs in test cricket in 2010: Sachin Tendulkar (1396 runs) Most centuries in test cricket in 2010: Sachin Tendulkar (6) Both these records are personal bests. He has scored five 50s and six 100s in 19 innings. When a sportsman who is already considered one of the greatest of all time has a personal best year, can anyone else have a shot at Sportsperson of the year? If

How many of you know Samaresh Jung? He was nicknamed Goldfinger for his 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze wins in the 2006 Commonwealth Games. But two years after this spectacular performance Samaresh, an Indian shooter and Arjuna Award winner, failed to reach either of the finals of the two events he participated in at the Beijing Olympics. India’s 38 gold medal and 101 total medal tally in the 2010 Commonwealth Games is a great achievement. It is fantastic to see sports personalities other than cricketers receive love and attention from the media and public. It is well deserved. But will this achievement be the first step of a platform on which future Indian sportsmen and women will succeed or will it be another lonely moment of Indian glory we will talk about for years? Are we destined to be like England, still talking about their 1966 football World Cup win? The impact of India’s recent success depends on how we build on this momentum and confidence at the 2012 Olympics in London. Two