World Cup Fever

Cricket world cup is here again. It seems like a festive season here in India. Its crazy atmosphere all around. The only topic of discussion particularly among guyz is cricket. What all you get to see on Newz channels are different strategies team India could follow. Politics and bollywood has taken a back seat. All crickters seems to have gone pass biggest of celebs like sharukh as far as media attention is concerned. Radios are buzzing with people calling in to give their views and ideas to team India. Movies business has gone down. Malls which used to be packed with people are absolutely deserted particularly on days when india plays. The ICC has kept india's matches over the weekend, probably having recognized the turnouts in the field for the same. Though it would have been the same, had it not been the weekends either. People bunk offices, colleges and important work just to get to watch the match. The tea stalls, shops and showrooms with TVs are crowded with people not to buy stuff but to check the score. It just seems soo differnt and feels soo united. We are hell one crazy nation filled with exuberance of cricket.

You can check out the cricket Schedule on the right (link to ICC Cricket Schedule).

Smashing Saina

Saina nehwal, an indian badminton star, is all set to make India proud. She is in a smashing & irresistible form and has been performing consistently well over the last season. She has reached the women's singles badminton final in the CWG after beating scotland's Susan Egelstaff 21-10, 21-17 . She will be facing malaysia's Mew Choo Wong in the finals tommorow. She has already beaten Wong in the group event in this CWG itself. She will be oozing with confidence due to her overwhelming performance and being on a winning streak.




She likes to stay away from glamour, unlike most other players, even after winning many international events like Indonesian open. Her hard has payed and she has managed to become world number 3 at an early stage in her carrer. We just hope sania that you win the final here tommorow and win many more events and become world number 1. Lets all pray and wish her all the best for her game tommorow. GO SAINA...

To Know more about Saina Nehwal, you can log onto :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saina_Nehwal

Commonwealth Fiasco

The newz doing the round regarding the CWG is heart wrenching. The mega event we 'd been waiting for years is just a week away, but the work done by the CWG orgainising committe headed by Mr. kalmadi has subsided all the joy we expected to have. The condition of infrastructure for the games is no where near completion. The state of place where athelets are suppose to stay, athelets village, is extremely horrid. The recent images issued by BBC (as shown on left) showing the state of housing for the athelets has brought 1 billion indians shame.

COLLAPSED FOOTBRIDGE
Apart from the insufficient facilities for the games to take place, there has been a huge question regarding security as well. Our own finance minister, Mr. P. Chidambram, has shown concerned over the security. All the countries have been asking for assurance regarding security for their players. Apart from New Zealand, U.K., and Australia , even pakistan has sent a team to reassure the security arrangements. Many countries have been talking of withdrwing from the game. Infact some of the top athelets such as Christine Ohuruogu and Phillips Idowu have already withdrawn participation, dimnishing the very feel of the game.

The tension and anxiety doesn't end here. Apart from all the lame and incompetent work done by our ministers, the nature has its contribution to make too. The rain recieved this year has been more than the rain recieved in any of the last 6 to 7 years. Rain chaos has worsened the problems of CWG, the whole of delhi is waterlogged. Some has also been talking of health concerns of the player. The possibilities of water borne diseases are extremely high. Commonwealth Games Federation chief, Mr. Mike Fennel, has already arrived in India. His verdict would have huge impact on the occurrence of the CWG.

Between all this chaos and disorder, i have this intution that things would end well. As an indian, and more as a sports lover, I just wish that all countries partcipate and make this event a success. At this point, I just feel that CWG happen and our indian athelets do well and bring some smile on our faces.

MALKHAMB

Malkhamb is a traditional indian sport, which blends in itself gymnasium and martial art. The malkhamb is known to have existed ever since 12th century thou was restored from antiquity only in 19th century by Balambhatta Dada Deodhar, the fitness instructor of Peshwa Bajirao II during the reign of the Peshwas. It was used as a form of practice for the wrestlers.



Malkhamb involves few variations, Rope malkhamb and Pole malkhamb being the most common. This sport cum art requires extreme flexibility of body and immense physical strength. It can be performed as an individual or as a group. The group malkhamb requires great metal stability and team work to put up various entwined postures. I happened to attend one performance recently in a community event and it was breath taking. It thrills and at times can make ur heart pop out.




It's wonderful to see today's youth promoting an ingenious art form, Malkhamb, which is an extension of gymnasium and martial art. Malkhamb's presence in reality shows recently has made it more popular now. Apart from its popularity merely as a form of entertainment, one needs to realise its potential as an international level Game.The irony is that India herself has not recognised it as a sport that needs to be included in the national games let alone other nations. It must be accepted as a National Game ASAP and then can be promoted further to Commonwealth and Olympics. We need to preserve MALKHAMB as a precious heritage and not let it disappear.