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Scandals
and success The rights and wrongs of national
selection How T20 is hurting
Australia No
real surprises Milkha
Singh — The Flying Sikh
Scandals and success Italy, Zambia, Pakistan 2009, India… if you want your country to succeed, have something terrible happen to them By Hassan Cheema India’s
victory last month in the Champions Trophy was seen through many prisms:
from inspirational to suspicious, every emotion was shown. India came to
the tournament with a young squad led by a captain who was under
pressure; and not for anything he had It all called to mind
something that the Italian football has excelled at. Their last two
successes in the World Cup (in 1982 and 2006) have both come in the wake
of match-fixing scandals. The Totonero scandal of 1980 was the backdrop
to their success in 1982. The scandal resulted in the demotion of seven
teams — including the relegation of AC Milan and Lazio from the Serie
A — as well as the banning of twenty players. Although it had been two
years since the scandal going into the World Cup, and the Italian press
corps was more focused on laying into the coach, EnzoBearzot, the return
of Paolo Rossi — who had been banned for two years after his
involvement in the Totonero — for the World Cup. In the end Bearzot
and Rossi were the winners from that tournament; the coach giving Italy
their first world title in 44 years, and Rossi finishing as the top
scorer in the tournament after Bearzot had stuck by him in the three
round robin games where he had finished goalless and been described as
“a ghost wandering aimlessly over the field.” The success and style
of Bearzot’s team paved the way for Serie A’s ascendancy to the top
of the European scene, which was completed by ArrigoSacchi, whose AC
Milan team are the only back-to-back European Champions in the last 35
years. Two decades later, the
scandal hit closer to the tournament. The calciopoliscandal came out as
the Italian team was preparing for the World Cup. Involved among those
were Juventus, who were stripped of their 2004/05 and 2005/06 Serie A
winner trophies. In the wake of the scandal the then-team manager of
Juventus,GianlucaPessotto, who had played for Italy in the 1998 World
Cup, attempted suicide. By the 4th of July the prosecutor of the Italian
football federation was calling for the demotion of Juventus. Five days
later four Juventus players (Buffon, Cannavarro, Zambrotta and
Camoranesi) started for Italy as they lifted the world crown. Italy had
been fifth favourites (at odds of 19/2) going into the tournament. This
was not expected. In the former case,
the win became a new lease of life for the game in the country. In 2006
it was a band aid over a cancer which has affected Italian football
since; the league is now ranked behind Spain, England and Germany in the
UEFA coefficients, and the effect of the scandal and subsequent
relegations sent Italian giants, including Milan and Juventus, off-track
for years. Neither of them has truly recovered from that. Neither club
has reached the semi-final of the Champions League since Calciopoli; a
tournament they met in the final off as recently as 2003. The scandal
affected Italian football’s image worldwide, and it will take many
more years to erase it from the memories. And the Italian game, both
financially and as a spectacle, is poorer for it. So India have both an
example of aspiration, and caution, from the adventures of Italy. The
IPL, and India, are too big and important for world cricket to not have
the sort of influence that Italian football had in the late 80s. But now
India’s challenge is to make sure that influence is positive; that the
cases of Sreesanth and others are exceptions, that this cancer is not
dealt with a band aid. Considering what we know of cricket
administrators worldwide, I am not sure I should be waiting with bated
breath. hasncheema@yahoo.com caption Gianluigi Buffon
By Mushfiq Ahmad Pakistan’s
selectors did a few right things while announcing the ODI and T20 squads
for the tour of West Indies. But they also made some follies, in
selecting those who have been tried and tested and have proved to be
good-for-nothing. They were right to
expel Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat and Kamran Akmal. These three have
failed to do anything worthwhile for quite a long time. It was reported in
this newspaper recently that Shoaib Malik has not scored a half century
in One-day Internationals for almost four years. His utility as a bowler
ended ages ago. Rarely is he asked to bowl more than two or three overs
now. In fact, he bowling three overs is also a rarity. Imran Farhat has never
been consistent. If he scores a half century in a match, people must not
expect him to repeat that performance for at least the next five
matches. He averages 30 runs in an era when most of the openers around
the world average in upwards of 40. He entered the international arena
when Aamir Sohail and Saeed Anwar, both left-handed openers like him,
were about to retire. But he has never been as impressive as they were
in their prime time. Pakistan’s T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez averages
27 runs, which is also pathetic for an opener, but he justifies his
place in the team with his decent off-break bowling. Kamran Akmal proved
himself a worthy replacement of Moin Khan and Rashid Latif for a number
of years, both as wicket-keeper and batsman. But since the 2010 tour of
Australia, his performance has been below average and he got
opportunities only because Adnan Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmad and Mohammad
Salman — the three stumpers tried in place of him — have been
unimpressive with the bat. But the other
decisions of the selectors are questionable. It is amazing that they are
showing patience with Umar Amin. He has played 14 innings for Pakistan
— eight in Tests and six in ODIs — but not even a half century yet.
Why does he remain in the team? We know of highly talented players who
were ousted for not performing well in just two or three opportunities
that they were given. Interestingly he is part of the Pakistan squad for
both ODIs and T20Is. Similarly odd is the
selection of Sohail Tanvir in the T20 squad. He didn’t get a single
wicket in his last three T20I he played late last year. And then there is the
persistence in ignoring Abdul Razzaq. He has been treated unjustly for
more than two years. Here are the facts about him.
He was kept out of the T20 team throughout 2011 and much of 2012
despite the fact that he was the man of the match in the last match of
2010 when he scored 34 not out and got three early wickets. Similarly, he was
thrown out of the ODI team after the 2011 World Cup, although he played
a crucial role in the win against Australia, with both bat and ball, and
made a half century against New Zealand when all other batsmen had
failed. And when he could not do well it was because he was sent to bat
at number eight, which is unfair to someone who has an ODI average of
30. After the Champions
Trophy debacle, it was expected that the selectors would realize their
folly and reinstate him in the team because this was in the larger
interest of the team. But unfortunately they did not do that. mushfiqahmad1000@gmail.com caption Shoaib Malik and
Kamran Akmal
How
T20 is hurting Australia In the
saturated landscape of multiple cricket formats and intense scheduling
Australia have fallen the most. As arguably the most successful cricket
nation of all time, going back 136 years, the country has taken a hit
that it will probably never recover from. When two formats,
Tests and ODIs, were the focus, from the Packer days on, Australia had
the ideal nursery to ensure they were preparing for global domination,
and to be ready for it when the opportunity arose. When the mighty West
Indies ran out of gas in the mid ‘90s, after more than a decade and a
half of complete rule, Australia pounced and took the crown. And they
did not let it go for another decade and a half, until a greedy little
sod turned up. That little sod was
Twenty20. When T20 became an addiction the world over, Australia had no
choice but to run with the hounds. Consequently the need for three teams
to represent themselves successfully in each of the international
formats has left Australia short on supply and confidence. Their previous
strength, the Sheffield Shield, and its high-quality six-team
first-class competition has in truth now become its weakness. Six teams
from which to choose three different teams doesn’t wash anymore. New
Zealand are in the same predicament. England, on the other
hand, have 18 teams to choose three international teams from, and they
do it fairly well. They are ranked respectably in all three formats:
second in Tests, second in ODIs, and fifth in T20. Australia are fourth
in Tests, third in ODIs, and seventh in India and South Africa
also have large pools of domestic sides and competitions to choose their
three teams from. They are strutting along nicely, with India third in
Tests, first in ODIs, and third in T20. South Africa are first in Tests,
fourth in ODIs, and sixth in T20. India have recovered somewhat from a
difficult year in Tests, entering a transition with a new batting
line-up. If you can select
teams with minimal overlap between them, with individuals specialising
in each format, you will maximise the opportunity of winning. But if you
have to play individuals across all three teams, then body and mind will
be compromised. Michael Clarke has
settled on playing the two longer formats due to his injury woes, and he
is better suited to doing so anyway, while Shane Watson, also vulnerable
to injury, needs to settle on a game plan for Tests. He must make up his
mind about where he might properly perform in two forms, as it would
appear unlikely he can cut it in three — as has been the case lately.
As for David Warner, the highly resourceful yet hugely ill-disciplined
rogue, the more T20 he plays, the less effective he will be in Tests.
Already he has lost his place to his erratic form in the long game. By
and large Tests and T20 don’t go together. That players get
injured due to the brutal demands of the international calendar, and
can’t play regularly only exposes those who aren’t properly prepared
at domestic level, and so Australia have suffered significantly in
confidence across the board. They simply don’t have the numbers to
compete across all forms. Not enough cream will
rise to the top when you have only a limited number of cows producing
quality milk. In the good old days of the roaring eighties, a settled
squad of 16 or so could comfortably cover both Tests and the one-day
game over the course of a year or two. However, times have changed
drastically and for ever. Of those playing
Sheffield Shield cricket at present, Australia have selected 56 players
out of the six state teams to play in an international fixture at some
stage. The number itself isn’t unusually high, but for Australia it
represents a large percentage of those playing domestic cricket. That is
not sustainable when you’re looking to win across all forms. As a fantasy, if
Australasia were selecting from both New Zealand and Australia’s 12
domestic teams combined, then you might have an even playing field
against England and Co. In short, the vast
majority of the cream of Australia’s players are trying to play all
forms at once. The same model for the national team is being applied to
the six state sides: we must pick our best players at all times in all
formats. The burnout effect on that 80% is one thing, but the lack of
fierce focus on a given job is becoming catastrophic for them. England
and India are able to dig deep into their reserves and can comfortably
find enough players who are specialising competently to do a job in any
of the three formats. The very finest
players, of course, will transfer their skills to more than one format.
For example, Clarke, Warner and Watson; Alastair Cook, Jonathan Trott
and Kevin Pietersen; Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers;
Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels; Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum;
Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, all
feature among their country’s most important top batsmen in the two
longer formats. Where it gets tougher
is when they have to play in all three. India manage it the best, with
about half the team featuring in all forms currently, but Australia,
West Indies, New Zealand and Sri Lanka do it out of compulsion: they
have no choice but to play their best men in all three. Does it bring
the best out in them in all three? No, and it starts to affect their
cricket when they are most needed. In essence, T20 should not be a
priority against the other two. Most of the
higher-ranked countries are consistently selecting players for two
formats, with rare exceptions who play all three. MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli,
R Ashwin and AB de Villiers come to mind, but even they struggle to pull
it off day after day, and they must be careful their Test form doesn’t
drop. How long can Dhoni keep it up? England played a
completely new T20 team against New Zealand recently, and while losing a
close match they protected certain individuals for the more important
formats, as well as preparing the new blood to play better T20 in the
future. Overall and long-term, England are investing well. India need to
work on their Test team, but by and large they have the numbers and will
always stay in the top bracket. Australia have tried
rotating their best players. Alas, that only upsets the fans and
broadcasters big time. England don’t get that criticism, because they
have a greater pool of competent cricketers. They have also clearly
stated their intention, so there are very few last-minute changes to
upset the marketing and promotion of the contest. Criticism is kept at
bay. It’s simple
mathematics. The nations with larger player bases will ultimately win
out, now that the format numbers have increased permanently. England,
India and South Arica will from here on always have the edge over
Australia, and certainly over the rest. The only way Australia
will bounce back is if T20 is dropped from the international schedule
completely, and rightfully sent back to the domestic scene. Going back
to just Tests and ODIs in the international schedule will also assist
the weaker nations and will allow world cricket to find a proper balance
of power, enabling the game to grow globally and sustain its integrity.
—Cricinfo caption Michael Clarke caption David Warner
No
real surprises What was the
entire hullabaloo about the Pakistan cricket team’s tour to the West
Indies? It will be just another tour with hopefully a different, and
more pleasant, ending. That we performed
pathetically in the Champions Trophy in England and Wales is an
understatement. That there will be wholesale changes in the set up is a
consummation devoutly to be wished. Has there ever been an instance when
any significant change has taken pl The teams to go to the
West Indies have been announced. There are some obvious changes. No real
surprises. Frankly speaking the squads by and large chose themselves
with the selectors perhaps having to ponder on a few alternatives to
fill the last few vacancies. You can please some of
the people all the time and all the people some of the time; but you
cannot please all the people all the time. This adage applies to the
task of the selectors. The Chief of the Committee Iqbal Qasim is an
upright and “no-nonsense” person and he and his mates have done a
decent job. Some names have
been left out and some included. Good to see Shahid Afridi back. The
reason he has been inducted in the side (I maybe quite wrong here) is
that the pitches in the West Indies unlike the tracks of the past are
now made to assist spinners and Pakistan needed a right-arm wrist
spinner. It is hoped that as
added bonus he may come off with the bat. Let us for the moment forget
what his performance has been over the last twenty or so short format
games. But can we forget the fact that it was rumoured that he was left
out of the Champions Trophy Team because of opposition from the captain
and the coach? Can we also guarantee Shahid a place in the playing XI?
That is up to the tour selection panel. Hopefully he will not have the
same fate as many a senior Pakistan player of the past who ended up
being mere tourists in the twilight of their careers. One humble advice to
Afridi for whatever it is worth. Please do not issue provocative
statements at the drop of a hat. Concentrate on your cricket and your
modeling. You are better seen than heard. I am sorry to see Raza
Hassan’s name missing. He could have been included for Abdur Rehman
who should be preserved for Tests. Also Usman Qadir, the
talented young leggie, could have been thrown into the squads. And if
you have to go in reverse gear and keep a revolving door policy some
place should have been found for Fawad Alam, Khurrum Manzoor and maybe
Faisal Iqbal. But remember the squad
officially can only have 15 and any extra players are at the expense of
the tourists’ board. May I suggest to the
Media Division of the PCB that the team should be announced in the
alphabetical order? This way it will not become so obvious that Haaris
Sohail was the “debated” sixteenth player in the ODI line up. Also
why reveal the team in probable batting order. I hope that my conjecture
is completely incorrect. There are four pace
bowlers in the ODI squad and five in the T20. One southpaw quick bowler
in place of a left-arm spinner. No quarrel with that. The batting and
fielding need significant improvement. PCB should immediately commission
a batting consultant. Either Inzamamul Haq or Saeed Anwar, if available
and willing, will do just fine. Zaheer Abbas, and Aamir Sohail are too
highly placed for this job. Javed Miandad is the
Director General of PCB; and Mohsin Khan is a former chief coach. It
will be unfair to give them a limited assignment. But time is of the
essence. Do not drag your feet. What about changes in
the support staff. The fielding coach has struggled. The fielding
remains at best pedestrian. The pre-Champions Trophy short-term crash
programme for pace bowlers is yet to throw up match winners. This was an
opportunity to change coaches and maybe experiment with a new captain
and vice-captain as well. Wild thoughts but pause and think and you may
understand what I am trying to say. I am also not sure
whether all is well with this selection; and with the relations between
the selectors and the team management and the board management. Maybe
the selectors are not unanimous; maybe they and the captain and the
coach are not on the same page. The Interim Chairman
has made a very profound statement, on return from ICC parleys, that
Pakistan cricket was at its lowest point because of the strings of
defeats and controversies. Defeats yes; but for the last three years,
since Misbah ul Haq took over the captaincy, there has not been any
controversy as such. The Interim Chairman
has the reduction of Amir’s punishment for felony as the top priority
item on his agenda. That is a worthy cause. But then PCB should also
take up cudgels in support of Salman Butt, who seeing the light at the
end of the tunnel, “apologised” to the entire nation for his
misconduct (big deal), Muhammad Asif who is perhaps the best swing
bowler to emerge in international cricket for many years, the long
serving and harassed Danish Kaneria, the rightfully wronged Asad Rauf
and the much maligned Nadeem Ghauri. No one will disagree
with the fact that Pakistan Cricket has never been at such a low point.
I do not remember in any ICC tournament Pakistan returned winless. That
is the bad news. The good news is that the team can only perform better
and improve their rating as it cannot sink any deeper. I am confident
that on the pitches next to the beaches of the Caribbean which may not
be pacy and venomous, Pakistan will emerge winners in both formats. It is indeed a pity
that the PCB agreed to axe Test Matches from the programme. But then, as
they say, beggars are not choosers. Hopefully, all will
perform in unison towards the goal of bringing laurels to the crescent
and green. We pray for their success and wish them well. Post script: News has
come after this piece was completed that Iqbal Qasim has resigned as
Chairman of the Selection Committee. The alacrity with which it was
accepted is not easily digestible; almost as if the PCB were waiting for
it. It is said a new
selection committee will be formed to choose the team for Zimbabwe. Why
did we not wait and have the new committee select the team for the West
Indies as well? All this does not sound kosher. chishty.mujahid@yahoo.co.uk caption Mohammad Hafeez
(left), Iqbal Qasim (centre) and Misbah-ul-Haq
National
Games: National
Games, which remained in the headlines for several days due to their
controversial nature, were finally held at the well-facilitated, but
poorly-maintained Pakistan Sports Complex in Islamabad. Around 2000
athletes from the three armed forces, four provinces, Federally
Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and
Kashmir (AJK), Islamabad and Railways took part in the spectacle. WAPDA, Higher
Education Commission (HEC) and Police did not field their athletes in
the week-long extravaganza on which a hefty amount was spent by the
government. Because of concerted
efforts from the Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) there were
apprehensions at one stage that the event would not be held. Besides, a
group of athletes of the Punjab who had won medals in the 32nd National
Games in Lahore last year had filed a petition in the Lahore High Court
against the games being restaged. But the court only ordered the
organisers not to use the term 32nd with the National Games. Following the court
order the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) advised the organisers to respect
the court and they did not use the term 32nd. The decision of the
court made the status of the extravaganza doubtful. In December last
year, the 32nd National Games had been conducted in Lahore under the
auspices of Arif Hasan-led POA. The legal battle
between the POA and the PSB over the implementation of the National
Sports Policy has crippled the country’s sports and damaged the future
of the talented athletes in different disciplines. Army, who before this
event had collected the title for 24 times in a row, once again lifted
the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with 6464 points. They were followed by
Navy with 2675 points and Punjab with 2312 points at the second and
third spots, respectively. In the affairs,
Army’s Olympian swimmer Kiran Khan broke the 50m freestyle
nine-year-old record of Rubab Reza. She also became the first athlete of
the world to collect 15 gold medals at an event. Kiran, who had featured
in Beijing Olympics but was ignored for London Olympics, did a marvelous
job and her stupendous performance came as a chilled pie in the eyes of
her detractors. In athletics, due to
the absence of WAPDA, Army did a fine job but their athletes did not
show any extraordinary performances because of the less competitive
environment. “WAPDA are not
playing; that is why there is no competitive environment and we don’t
try much as we know that we will achieve our target quite
comfortably,” one of the leading athletes of Army told The News on
Sunday. While covering the
event in the federal capital, I found that Pakistan’s sports
authorities don’t take their jobs seriously. There was no proper
planning. On the arrival day the
athletes of several units suffered a lot. They had to wait till 3:00am
in the night for their hotels. There were no suitable transportation
facilities and some of the athletes even slept in the PSB Complex mosque
to take some rest before fielding in the evening session. The schedule of the
competitions was frequently changed. Due to the existence of parallel
bodies some illegal teams had emerged. There was little discipline
during the event. The brawl between the netball teams of Army and
Balochistan marred the whole affair. A player Rashid from Balochistan
was severely injured during the fight. There are always
chances of such events and the organisers should have made tight
security arrangements. Some of the security personnel had been found
sleeping in their chairs at nights while at the gates of the hostels. The Pakistan Sports
Complex has all the proper facilities for such a major event but the PSB
has badly failed to maintain these facilities where one cannot hold any
international event. The condition of the
washrooms was repugnant. There was no proper facility of drinking water.
The indoor halls, on which heft amount has been spent, were in a
dilapidated condition. The tartan track was
worn out. Not only the athletes but also the sports journalists suffered
a lot because of the presence of only a nominal media centre. On the
initial two days there was no computer but subsequently six computers
were installed; two of them later stopped functioning. The reporters
also had to struggle a lot for obtaining results. There was no shuttle
service which could facilitate them in their work. The PSB used
Rs30milliion only on renovation of the complex, but the paint was found
to be sub-standard. For installing the
sound system the PSB had made a deal with a company. But a source
claimed that the Board would pay it less and receive a large bill from
it. The company did not agree to this arrangement and then the Board
managed to deal with another company for installing the sound system for
the opening ceremony. The result was that the sound was usually not
comprehensible. It is the
responsibility of the new government, particularly of the federal
minister for the inter-provincial coordination (IPC), to bring
improvement in the Board’s functioning and appoint competent and
honest people in the Board who could work for the development of sports. Our sports organisers
need to learn how to hold an event. If they have resources then it is
not difficult to hold such an extravaganza in a befitting manner. 73.alam@gmail.com caption ISLAMABAD: Athletes of Pakistan army celebrating with holding their trophies at the ending ceremony of National Games at Pakistan Sports Complex
Milkha
Singh — The Flying Sikh The Bollywood
movie ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ hitting the world screens in a few days
depicts the life of the legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh, who was
fourth in the 400 metres at the 1960 Olympics. The Milkha saga is tailor
made for the celluloid. He was eleven when
made to run for his life. Having seen his parents and other relatives
slain in front of him in the aftermath of the partition in 1947 in the
Pakistani city of Faisalabad, then called Lyallpur, Milkha escaped to
India by hanging onto a Delhi-bound train. After ro In a big services
meet, Milkha saw some athletes who had India written on their vests. On
his enquiry, he was told, “These army men have been representing India
in international meets as they are the national champions in their
respective events.” That day Milkha set
his sights on earning an India vest. He got fully focused. Every day, he
ran for hours. If due to duty commitments he couldn’t find time during
the day, he practised during night. Fellow soldiers would keep the
dinner. Within a couple of
years, he had broken the national records for both 400 & 200 metres
and Milkha was representing his country in the biggest event. At the 1956 Olympics,
Milkha got eliminated in the first round and felt out of place. He said
afterwards, “The clear superiority of the others shocked me but at the
same time it inspired me.” He gathered courage to
ask American Charles Jenkins, the winner of the 400 metres, for
guidance. “He was nice enough to write a training schedule for me.” From then onwards,
Milkha concentrated on his next goal — to excel at the international
stage. His preparation included unconventional methods. The determined
boy ran on the hills and on the sands of the river. He trained so
vigorously that sometimes the training schedule would end up with Milkha
vomiting blood. He fully arrived at
the international athletics’ scene at the 1958 Asian games. Milkha
first won the 400 m, creating a new Asian record. Pakistan’s Abdul
Khaliq, also a Punjabi soldier, retained his 100 m title. Now both were eyeing
the 200m. An added incentive was the title of the best athlete of the
Asiad 1958; one has to win at least two individual golds. Khaliq led the
field all the way with Milkha just behind him. Just short of the finish
line, Milkha made a sort of a dive and flung himself ahead of Khaliq to
win the 200 m race and was declared the continent’s best athlete in
the bargain. The golden run
continued. A few weeks later, Milkha triumphed again, at an even more
competitive field — the Commonwealth Games. He beat a world class
field to win the 400m — till date the only gold won by a male Indian
athlete at the Commonwealth Games. Next he set sight at
the 1960 Olympics — his ultimate aim. In the year in between, Milkha
competed in numerous meets in Europe, winning almost all of them. He was
also awarded America’s Helms trophy for being the best 400m runner of
1959. Milkha was in the form
of his life at the Rome Olympics in 1960. He easily went through the
preliminaries to reach the semi-final. The field at the Rome Olympics is
widely acknowledged as the finest gathering of the 400m runners. In the
lead up to the event, Milkha had beaten all of them with the exception
of American Otis Davis. In his semi-final,
Milkha was second only to Davis. Most of the pundits predicted silver
for him in the final. But Milkha had gold in his mind and that was how
he started. He made a flying
start and after 250 metres, he was ahead of the rest. At that moment he
did something which he deeply regrets even today. Milkha thought he was
going at too fast a pace and might fizzle out towards the end. He slowed
down a bit and even glanced back a little. That fraction of a second
made all the difference; one by one, three went past Milkha. “I
desperately tried to catch up at least with the man in the third place,
the South African Spence, who I had beaten at the Commonwealth Games. As
the race ended, we apparently finished equal.” The announcement of
the result was withheld for sometime as the official photo finish was
awaited. Unfortunately, Milkha was fourth with the South African just
edging him for the bronze. Still, Milkha had
broken the Olympics record — such was the strength of the field that
day: the first two bettered the world record and the third and the
fourth going past the Olympic record. Milkha remains the
only South Asian athlete to break an Olympic record. But this was a scant
consolation. Milkha remained immersed in sorrow for days. Even today
this brings tears in his eyes. His son Jeev Milkha,
the highest ranked Indian golfer in the world, says, “Father is going
to die with this regret at the back of his mind.” He came out of it in
the only way he could; competing in the meets again. He was good enough
to retain the 400 m gold at the Asian Games of 1962. Farhan Akhtar plays
the role of Milkha in the movie. He worked tirelessly for almost two
years to get into the lean and muscular figure for the role and also to
develop a running style akin to that of the great athlete. Sonam Kapoor is the
lead lady who portrays Milkha’s first girlfriend inspiring him to join
army. He also had a little flirt with an Australian female athlete. Pakistani actress
Meesha Shaafi also acts in the movie. The movie has
beautiful tracks in the voice of luminous singers including Diyya Kumar,
Shreya Ghosal, Daler Mehndi and our own Arif Lohar. Milkha hopes the movie
will inspire the youth to excel at sports in general and athletics in
particular. One expects the Pakistani youth is also motivated by the
fascinating tale of South Asia’s greatest male athlete who was not
only born in this country but also got his most popular title — ‘the
Flying Sikh’ — here. ijaz62@hotmail.com |
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done
on the pitch. Regardless, the squad’s triumph wasn’t as unexpected
as it has since been portrayed. Most of the players (Dhawan and Karthik
aside) have been regulars in the Indian team over the past year as
they’ve extended their lead atop the ICC ODI Rankings, after all. But
in light of the spot-fixing scandal that struck the IPL, the success has
come as a well-timed tonic for the nation.
T20. It might not seem much grounds for comparison but when you look at
the last two Ashes, each team’s last tour of India, and the recent
Champions Trophy result and Australia’s off- field disintegration
during it, England are way out in front and looking strong for the
future.
ace
in the cricket set-up after a debacle. Everyone seems to have vested
interests in not rocking the boat and upsetting the applecart. There is
no one to cast the first stone. There isn’t anyone who is willing to
bell the cat. Enough of these idioms. What I meant is that we should be
satisfied with our current situation and not expect any wonders. 
aming
the streets of Delhi for a few years and doing menial jobs, Milkha
joined the Indian Army, a decision that changes his life. Sports have
always been an essential part of the army routine. The young Sikh soon
discovered that short distance running, 400 and 200 metres, was his
forte. Soon he was the best in his unit. 
