CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS .....

The grand exhibition of sports was over. From 27 July’12 to 12 Aug’12, this carnival delighted almost all the people all around the world. This sports jamboree also obtained the tag of greenest Olympics ever. For the first time, women’s boxing was included in the programme. Women made their mark on the Olympics like never before in London, the first Games ever to feature women in all 204 national teams and all 26 sports. Three of the five biggest delegations, the United States, China and Russia, brought more women athletes than the men, and the women came through in a big way. US women won 29 of America’s medal-table-leading 46 golds, while female competitors accounted for 20 of China’s 38. This statistics shows that women are no lesser mortals, when it comes to the world of sports. They have edged out men in academics, research, politics and now the Olympics of 2012 is the latest addition in their already decorated mantelpiece.

After 16 full days of competition, 302 Olympics titles were handed out and 46 world records were broken. More than seven million fans came out to watch Olympics event. Among 10820 athletes, some of them went home with the label of legend; Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps are popular among them. The duo proved that champions are always champions. Like force, champs also follow the Newton’s 3^rd law. At the setback comes in their life, they react strongly and come out with flying colours. Lightning Bolt was the first sprinter to defend both the 100m and 200 m titles and was also part of the amazing team that broke the world record in 4x100m relay by beating the clock in 36.84 seconds. By winning 4 gold and 2 silver medals, Phelps concluded the 2012 Olympics as the most successful swimmer of the meet for the third Olympics in a row. Flying Fish is the most decorated Olympian of all time with 22 medals (18gold, 2silver and 2bronze). It is true that champions are not supernatural; they just fight one more second when everyone else quits; sometimes that one second of effort gives you the victory.

Winning a gold medal in the Olympics is one of the biggest achievements for any sportsperson. But the most important thing is not to win but to take part. Amid a sea of athletes, Oscar Pistorius, Natalia Partyka and Im Dong-Hyun were in the limelight and admiration for different reasons. Respect for this treble, who had their disabilities, but refused to use it as an excuse. Oscar Pistorius became the first amputee runner to compete at an Olympic Games. “Blade Runner” participated in 400m and 4x400m relay race in which he qualified for the semi-finals of the 400m and the finals of relay event and finished eighth out of a field of nine. Natalia Partyka, born without a right hand and forearm, reached the last 32 of the London 2012 Olympic women's singles event in Table Tennis. Both won, not the Olympics medals, but our hearts. 

  

Im Dong-Hyun is a legally blind but he set a new world record in individual and team event and scores of 699 and 2087, respectively in the ranking round and captured bronze medal in team events.

Passions helps you enjoy the journey as much as achieving the goal. Passion is the lever that helps lift the mundane to the extraordinary, the mediocre to the excellent. This threesome had passion for their game. Oscar Pistorius said,” My mother used to tell us in the mornings,’ Carl put on your shoes, Oscar you put on your prosthetic legs’… so I grew up not really thinking I had a disability. I grew up thinking I had different shoes”. Hats off to this type of attitude.

This Olympics will create difference in many people’s life. Everybody must take inspiration from them. This trio will definitely boost up the morale of handicap and disable person and become a role model too. Everybody should learn a lesson from them that it is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action. Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off. But if you don't have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.

To represent our country in a big arena is the dream of every athlete. But Liemarvin Bonevacia, Reginald de Windt, Philipine van Aanholt (Curacao formerly Netherlands Antilles) and Guor Marial (South Sudan) are unlucky. After the National Olympic Committee of the Netherlands Antilles lost its recognition by the International Olympic Committee and National Olympic Committee of newest 54^th Africa’s country South Sudan had not formed, they competed under the Olympic Flag. Guor Marial said,” I will be wearing the Olympic uniform, but inside I will be holding the South Sudan flag in my heart. These are the people I will be representing at the Olympics.” What a love towards country.

All of us can only but imagine the feelings of medal winning athletes when their national flag is hoisted and the bands play their national anthem for them.

Definitely, this Olympics will give the new dimensions of athlete’s life and also encourage youngsters to choose athletics as a professional.

 

  

Adieu London…….. Congratulations Rio’16.

A SMILING ASSASSIN, FIERCE COMPETITOR AND A GENTLEMAN OFF THE FIELD ....

There were a lot of happy batsmen out there on July 13, 2012. That day, one of the world's most fearsome pace bowlers announced his retirement. Brett lee's retirement from the international cricket was the news which spread like wildfire around the world. Due to a calf injury, Brett lee had to take the hardest decision of his life. On his retirement press conference at SCG, Lee said, “I guess you ask yourself a lot of questions when you've been injured or been through a tough time. In a team environment, you have to be committed 100%, both mentally and physically. Looking at the next two months, I just didn't have that desire any more. It wouldn't be fair on me or the rest of the team if I was to go over there with that attitude - not lack of commitment, but you just get to a point in your life when you decide enough is enough. I knew this was the right day to do it and also the time was right to make way for Australia's young fast bowlers. The great run must end.” There are many younger players around who will be filling the spot vacated by Brett lee in the Australian team. Pat Cummins and James Pattinson are the favourites who will get this trot.

During his notable thirteen years of tenure, Lee achieved numerous cricketing feats. For his sheer pace and regularly clocks 150 km/h and above, he is accredited by the nickname of “The Speedster”. He was not just quick, but he could swing the ball at good pace, that was his hallmark. He played 76 Tests, 221 ODIs and 25 T20s in which he took 310, 380 and 28 wickets and also had a handy batting average of 20.15, 17.81 and 16.83 respectively. He retires one wicket shy of McGrath's Australian record of 381 ODI scalps. He has maintained a stunning strike-rate of 29.4 marginally less than Shane Bond’s strike rate 29.2 in ODIs (upto 100 wickets). He is only player to have picked up hat-tricks in both ODIs and T20s and both hat-tricks came in World Cups against Kenya and Bangladesh respectively. He was also the part of Cricket World Cup 2003 winning team and ended the tourney with 22 wickets of 83.1 overs at an average of 17.90, a wicket behind Sri-Lankan left-arm fast bowler Chaminda Vaas. He hurled down the second highest bowling speed 99.9 mph (160.8 km/h) at Napier, New Zealand, in 2005 slightly less than Akhtar’s fastest 100.2 mph (161.3 km/h).

Brett Lee was feted as one of the top-five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2006 as well as the Wisden Young Cricketer of the Year and Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2000. He was also included in the ODI Team of the Year at the inaugural ICC awards ceremony held in 2005. In ODIs, he was ranked by the ICC as the No. 1 ODI bowler in January 2006. Year 2008 was the golden year of his life span. In this year, he was a celebrated part of the ICC ODI and Test Team of the Year and also acquired Allan Border Medal, Australian Test player of the year and McGilvray Medal. 

When somebody has been trying to bowl over 155km/h for 16 years straight, it takes a lot of wear and tear on the body. Thus, Lee suffered several injuries but his comebacks each time were really inspiring. His team spirit, enthusiasm towards games and never give up attitude make him different from other players. His capacity to play through pain is well known but if anything that enhanced his reputation in this regard was the bowling through the latter stages of the triangular CB Series’12 and the West Indies tour’12 with a broken toe and bowling at an average speed of 145 km/h. The decision to return well before predicted eight-week recuperation time was demonstrated his love towards the game. In World Cup’11 quarterfinal match against India, when he sprinted round the boundary and dived full length in a bid to save the boundary, the ball hit on his face and causing a cut to the side of his right eye but he was soon back on the field with a plaster covering the cut and dodged the set batsman Yuvraj Singh by consecutive three fuller deliveries just inside the wide line. That’s the real spirit of the game.

Lee’s contributions are outstanding in world as well as Australian cricket. In his presence, winning rate of Kangaroo team in Tests and ODIs are 71.05% and 69.23% respectively. Throughout his career, Lee played in an Australian team that triumphed nearly every major tournament. Outstandingly, 297 of Lee's 380 wickets came in wins. The percentage of wickets in wins for Lee (78.16%) is second only to McGrath, who picked up 301 of his 381 wickets in wins (79%). He had raised the bar for pace bowlers of this generation by bowling consistently at extremely fast speed even during days before retiring. He inspired young kids to play cricket and bowl fast. His sledging and wicket celebrating style were phenomenal. He never indulged in any indecent form of sledging and sledged the rival player with a witty smile. Although his international playing career has over, he will continue playing in India's lucrative IPL Twenty20 league and Australia's Big Bash T20 series.

There is an artistic side to Lee too, away from the cricket meadow. He plays bass and acoustic guitar for the rock band “Six and Out” alongside other New South Wales cricketers. And he has become enormously popular in India where he wrote and recorded the song “You're the One For Me” with Indian legend Asha Bhonsle, which reached number two on the Indian charts and led to a role in his first Bollywood movie Victory. In 2007, he initiated Mewsic, a charitable foundation which aims to ensure that music is widely recognised as a powerful tool to heal, empower, educated, and advocate for marginalized children in India. So he considered India as his second home. It won't be surprising if Lee is seen removing the dust of his guitar or holding the mike as a commentator in the second phase of his life.

One of the world's great players of the contemporary era retires but his legacy will live on. Whenever someone says cricket is the game of passion, enthusiasm, spirit and never give up attitude, Brett Lee is the paradigm. Many colts, look up to lee, and want to follow his footsteps. He was a good role model to young troupe in all forms of the game. Brett has been an absolute ornament to the game; a fine player, a fierce and brave competitor, a generous opponent and one who always upheld the highest standards of sportsmanship. His charging run up, leaping celebration and flashing smile will be missed by all cricket fans. Truly, Brett Lee is the great ambassador of the game.

MISS YOU "BINGA"