03-15-2008, 03:41 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-15-2008, 04:53 PM by Bharatvarsh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Britain end India's Olympic hockey hopes
March 10, 2008 06:09 IST
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/mar/10hock.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I guess this is a just an enactment of things yet to come in the summer Olympics.
Some are suggesting that we boycott this Olympics protesting China's treatment of Tibet, better do that since we look like taking the moral high ground and also save ourselves from anymore embarassment.
A billion people won 1 silver medal the last time, i don't know what to say, i guess the contemporary culture is like that, all you ever get told is that you should study till you become blind and if you ever do get time to play, we of course have that great obsession known as Cricket.
Of course after every Olympics we have the usual excuses lined up, like how we are a poor nation (ya I guess Kenyans and Ethiopians are richer than us since they seem to be winning more medals than us), that competition doesn't matter but Olympic spirit matters (what a cowardly cop out).
Or we will be happy to churn out articles like "The great Chinese myth of progress" to feel good about ourselves while the Chinese slave away to be at the top of the Olympic medal tally.
This pathetic performance is near universal not just in India but among the diaspora, the greatest achievement among NRI's is you will see some kid with geeky glasses in US winning the next spelling bee in US and everyone goes nuts about how smart we are as if we conquered the world, in Fiji despite making up nearly 40% of the population you won't find a single rugby player of Indian origin in the Fijian national team.
The only exceptions so far have been:
1) Harpal Singh (UK born Punjabi, played for Newcastle United for a bit)
2) Michael Chopra (half white-half Indian who played for Leeds)
3) Vikash Dhorasoo (played for French national Football team, a player of Telugu origin from the Indo-Mauritian community)
Here is a perfect summing up of the difference in attitude:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->No kidding. In an interview this fortnight, former soccer star Gordon Strachan said of his recent trip to Australia: "I went to a wee place called Coffs Harbour. It only has a 25,000 population but I sat there watching all these families gather on a Saturday morning for a triathlon weekend. Kids as young as 10 were doing the swimming and running.. all the way up to the full adult races. But it was all family orientated."
Wasted potential
Barring swollen cricket fields on Sunday, weekend outings for families in India are often restricted to watching Bollywood's Shah Rukh leap tall buildings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3776545.stm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I have a friend who went to India for a visit and stayed back there for a year to study, the school only had a cricket field so one day when it was empty he went out with a soccer ball and started dribbling, immediately some school teacher saw him and told him that it was only for the "gentlemans" sport (no kidding!!), i can imagine the reaction if he wanted to introduce Rugby or Kabaddi.
The Tongans and Newzealanders have this guy to show for as their pride:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hzjjUR-VFMQ&feature=related
For Indians of course we have this kid:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t98IdzRtUG0
Long live spelling bee (NOT!!)
March 10, 2008 06:09 IST
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2008/mar/10hock.htm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I guess this is a just an enactment of things yet to come in the summer Olympics.
Some are suggesting that we boycott this Olympics protesting China's treatment of Tibet, better do that since we look like taking the moral high ground and also save ourselves from anymore embarassment.
A billion people won 1 silver medal the last time, i don't know what to say, i guess the contemporary culture is like that, all you ever get told is that you should study till you become blind and if you ever do get time to play, we of course have that great obsession known as Cricket.
Of course after every Olympics we have the usual excuses lined up, like how we are a poor nation (ya I guess Kenyans and Ethiopians are richer than us since they seem to be winning more medals than us), that competition doesn't matter but Olympic spirit matters (what a cowardly cop out).
Or we will be happy to churn out articles like "The great Chinese myth of progress" to feel good about ourselves while the Chinese slave away to be at the top of the Olympic medal tally.
This pathetic performance is near universal not just in India but among the diaspora, the greatest achievement among NRI's is you will see some kid with geeky glasses in US winning the next spelling bee in US and everyone goes nuts about how smart we are as if we conquered the world, in Fiji despite making up nearly 40% of the population you won't find a single rugby player of Indian origin in the Fijian national team.
The only exceptions so far have been:
1) Harpal Singh (UK born Punjabi, played for Newcastle United for a bit)
2) Michael Chopra (half white-half Indian who played for Leeds)
3) Vikash Dhorasoo (played for French national Football team, a player of Telugu origin from the Indo-Mauritian community)
Here is a perfect summing up of the difference in attitude:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->No kidding. In an interview this fortnight, former soccer star Gordon Strachan said of his recent trip to Australia: "I went to a wee place called Coffs Harbour. It only has a 25,000 population but I sat there watching all these families gather on a Saturday morning for a triathlon weekend. Kids as young as 10 were doing the swimming and running.. all the way up to the full adult races. But it was all family orientated."
Wasted potential
Barring swollen cricket fields on Sunday, weekend outings for families in India are often restricted to watching Bollywood's Shah Rukh leap tall buildings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3776545.stm<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I have a friend who went to India for a visit and stayed back there for a year to study, the school only had a cricket field so one day when it was empty he went out with a soccer ball and started dribbling, immediately some school teacher saw him and told him that it was only for the "gentlemans" sport (no kidding!!), i can imagine the reaction if he wanted to introduce Rugby or Kabaddi.
The Tongans and Newzealanders have this guy to show for as their pride:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hzjjUR-VFMQ&feature=related
For Indians of course we have this kid:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=t98IdzRtUG0
Long live spelling bee (NOT!!)