The word ' Great'..... Losing its Essence in sporting field

A sportsman's field is a great leveler.... Just ask Ronaldo.

It was just a month back when he was being called the greatest player in the game today.. being compared to the legends of the past..He was on the top of the world.

And look at how things stand today...

Portugal are out of Euro2008, losing to Germany, who simply outplayed and outclassed their opponents..(the scoreline gives a very deceiving picture...) and Ronaldo's credentials are being questioned.

Well i am not here to give my view on whether he being questioned is rite or wrong..I am here to just give my opinion on the use of word 'Great' by the media or in general by people all over.

In the sporting world 'Great' is just not an adjective. It's an elite group to which a very few people belong. Ali, Bradman , Sobers, Pele, Maradona, Sampras, Borg, Jordan Russell,...the list is long but not endless.. for these are the people who just not mastered their field but ruled it. These athletes have dominated their respective field and to put them in the same league as the Ronaldos',the Bryants', the Dhonis' would be disrespecting them.



The current crop of sports persons are good.. but they are not great...Yet...
Just look at their record. Ronaldo has just won 1 champions league and 2 premier league. Terry has not even won anything beyond the premier league....they have won nothing for their country..... Dhoni is still not a world cup winner...Bryant is yet to deliver a NBA championship on his own.....and putting them in the same league as Pele, Beckenbauer,Jordan, Richards.... multiple world cup winners, champions in their respective field.... is taking it too far.



It is true that sometimes in trying to appreciate the essence of past players we dont appreciate the greatness in front of our eyes. Federer is once in a generation player..and his records prove it. Nadal is a great clay court player...and thats where it should end. He is yet to prove his metal in grand slams on other surfaces and till he does it, he should not be bracketed as a great player.

The mordern media has gone overboard in terms of celebrating the success of teams and individuals. Its time they realize the actual worth of their statements. Success should be celebrated but Greatness should not be delivered with out being tested.



Last week a player won his 14th grand slam... all along battling a stress fracture... He battled for 91 holes..and not even once did he deter from his goal of winning .That is greatness. Greatness is not bought overnight... There are hurdles one needs to cross, moments one needs to grab.... to be Great.....Tiger Woods did it again.. Ronaldo needs to do it some more times.......

Wimbledon 2008... Federer's Toughest Test

Namaskar Junta

I had planned to write about my memories in VIT in the next blog, but then a small matter of Wimbledon came along..and when the topic is about Federer, then everything can wait( just a little while longer!!!!)...


Well the season is starting to change in London, the rains have come and they come and go with no pre announcement... The weather is usually pleasant but suddenly changes its mood....
This can only mean one thing.. its Wimbledon time...

With only a few days left, before the start of the most coveted tournament in tennis calendar year things cannot be any better...

We have had 2 different grand slam winners this year..Yes one of them is Nadal (French Open... as if u had not guessed it already..duh..) and the other one is Djokovic. Yes its true. Federer has not won a slam yet this year. He lost in straight sets to Djokovic and even more humiliatingly to Nadal in the final of French Open.

So has Federer's time finally passed. Is he no more the threat he used to be? Is he no more the champion he was for the last 3 years?


The answer is a yes and a no.

Yes, the great man is finally past his prime years. Yeah people would kill me saying he is only 26.. and still plays some of the finest shots in the tennis world... but to all those people i would like to raise another question.... can Federer finish a year with a 92-5 Win/loss record again??? And then u would have ur answer......

No for saying that he is no more the threat he used to be because he is the biggest threat to any one wanting to win a slam. He is the best player in the world ( but only just...!!), he is the best player on grass having not lost for 59 matches over last 5 years...and he has won US Open for last 3 years.

Federer has always been in his prime form from Wimbledon.. the US Open... winning both for last 3 years... and the Season Ending Master Series 3 times in last 4 years.. .. then why the whole point of him being past his prime and all....
Its the manner of his defeats, the manner in which he has looked outclassed at times, unable to deliver at stages where he delivered like no one else before him....The word pressure was only for his rivals, but just look at the French Open final again.

That is why Wimbledon this year assumes utmost importance for him. This is the great man's stage. A stage where he has given performances even Marlon Brando would have appreciated, cause Federer is an artist and his shots an exhibition of his talent. Of late, things have been slipping away. The forehand has not looked the weapon it was, and the back hand has resulted in more errors than winners.



Nadal is coming with French Open and Queen's success behind him, Djokovic is improving with everygame.....Roddick will be there again as he always been....Federer would be relishing it . There is nothing more satisfying for a champion than to silent his detractors....This time battle is in his arena.. but it will be his Toughest battle yet.....

End of an Era .... Revisting those days....1

Well its been almost a year.. actually it was last Wimbledon when i wrote my last blog...and things have changed...changed they have!!!!

Federer is no more the dominant force in Tennis.. IPl has come and is here to revolutionize the game...France and Italy are no more the footballing super powers of Europe...A new Ronaldo is here, this time from Portugal.. but playing and mesmerizing in the same vein as the previous one..The sensex rocketed beyond 20000.. its back to 15.4k ( more things change the more they remain the same) .... Indians have acquired more companies .. and blah blah...... and yeah..
I became an Engineer.... if tht really matters????

Well it sure does.

It brings to an end what have surely been the most memorable phase of my life, the life i would long for in days to come. Those badminton days, birthday bashes, college celebrations....the list is endless...

Well even though the times have changed and a new life awaits ahead...a moment or two to recollect those days in VIT... those moments with friends i will surely miss a lot in 10 days time...when my new journey starts...

So till that day i would be blogging, jotting down some of the wonderful memories i have had there....so keep reading .....