Golden Girls

Manjeet Kaur, Sini Jose, Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji and Mandeep Kaur were not exactly household names in India until recently. Neither were Krishna Punia, Harwant Kaur, and Seema Antil. But their performances in the just concluded Commonwealth Games have changed that.

For many people like me, the CWG were not that big a deal. The sporting super powers of the world are not present in these games, and some of the superstars from the Commonwealth countries decided to stay away due to well publicised reasons. Therefore the competition was somewhat limited, and therefore my interest in the games was fairly lukewarm. Until a friend sent me this video clip of the 4x400 women's relay that Manjeet and team won in fabulous fashion.

I watched the video, and ended up with tears in my eyes. I wondered why.

The fact that we had not won a track and field gold medal even in the Commonwealth Games since Milkha Singh in the 60's shows how far behind we are in these sports. Lack of infrastructure, incompetent sports federations, lack of good coaches & trainers, and many other factors contribute to us being so far behind in this area. Even limited success at the highest level is the result of incredible tenacity and personal sacrifice. And the challenges are multiplied many-fold if you are a young girl from a middle class family trying to excel in a sport.

As I watched the video, I could not take my eyes off the screen and at the back of my mind were all the challenges these girls must have overcome to be where they are today. Even though I knew the result I could feel an adrenalin rush inside me, to egg them on to cross the finish line first.

I hope these Golden Girls are harbingers of change in Indian sport and society.

Kohli comes of age

After two washouts and a solitary win, India completed the first ODI series win over Australia on Indian soil in more than 20 years. Although the series win was less than emphatic due to the washouts, there were some positives that emerged for India from the win in Kochi.

Virat Kohli burst on the scene after he captained a very talented India Under-19 team to a world cup victory a few years ago. The Under-19 team included a number of very promising youngsters, but Kohli was the first one to graduate to the next level, playing ODI cricket for India. I was never a great fan of Kohli in spite of his allround skills. His batting lacks a certain elegance that one associates with successful Indian batsman, his medium pace bowling looks pretty pedestrian, and he seems to have a questionable attitude. He did well for India in the initial period before slipping into mediocrity for a brief period of time.

However his match winning innings in the Kochi ODI has made me a believer in his ability. He played a very mature innings, and pretty much guided India to victory in a tough chase, after they were in early trouble. It was an innings of substance, perfectly paced, and played in a difficult situation. I like fighters, and I saw fight in this young man. He also brings to the table that rare ability - an Indian batsman who can bowl seam-up, which can be quite handy in England and New Zealand. We have not had this luxury since Ganguly retired. I think this young man will do well for India in the limited overs game.

The other huge positive was the affirmation of Raina's class. Raina has truly arrived as a finisher for India in the limited overs format. He is fearless, and he has the ability to scare the opposition. The Aussies have had a lot of trouble with him lately, and his confidence bodes well for India.

Of course, death-bowling continues to be an achilles heel for the Indian side, and for some reason our bowlers are unable to bowl the yorker consistently. This problem requires urgent attention, and has the potential to be the chink in our armour that could cost us the world cup.

Told you so!

It is always a good feeling to say "Told you so"!

India's 2-0 win in the Test series against Australia was as much a result of Australia's decline, as due to the selection of the best available Indian test players for the series. I have been arguing for the inclusion of Pujara, Ishant, and Sreesanth for a long time now. Pujara and Ishant made match winning contributions, and I think Sreesanth is moving in the right direction after the long layoff.

The biggest surprise of the series in my opinion was Pragyan Ojha. He bowled tight, got turn right through, and troubled almost all Australian batsman. Ojha's emergence was all the more welcome given Harbhajan's drop in form. Big kudos to the selectors for retaining their faith in this young man.

However the job is only half done. To remain a champion side, India needs another solid batsman for the middle order, a quality spinner and a fourth seamer. I really believe that Suresh Raina will struggle in England, New Zealand, and South Africa. Obviously he is a prodigiously talented batsman, and could prove me wrong, but I believe that his game is better suited for the shorter versions. Therefore another solid batsman in the middle order would be handy in the long run; particularly with Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman in the twilight of their careers.

We need a quality attacking leg-spinner. Mishra and Chawla have shown promise, but both have been extremely inconsistent. Perhaps hiring Kumble or Shane Warne for a year to work excusively with these two leggies would not be a bad investment. A crore or two should do it. Mishra and Chawla are also extremely handy lower order batsmen, and good fielders. And yes, while they are being groomed for Test cricket, keep them out of T-20.

Finding a good attacking Test match seam bowler may be harder - but this is perhaps most important for our team to win consistently overseas.

I am encouraged by recent happenings and will keep my fingers crossed that we are moving in the right direction in Test Cricket. However the moment I see Ishant or Sreesanth in the ODI team, or Pujara playing T-20, or even Yuvraj making a comeback to the Test side, I will know that my optimism was misplaced!

Two Nail-biters in two days!

Graeme McDowell is short for an Irishman. He is strongly built with a full head of hair, and facial hair somewhere in-between a stubble and a full beard. He also happens to be one of the best professional golfers in the world.

McDowell methodically won his singles match against the American Hunter Mahan to complete one of the closest ever Ryder Cup wins for Europe against the USA. Those who think of golf as an individual sport would surely have changed their mind after watching this absolutely fabulous tournament.

After almost 4 days of competition Europe and America were tied with 13.5 points each. And it all came down to McDowell's match. He was calm, he was focused, and he was relentless. The putt he nailed to win the 16th hole will become part of Ryder Cup folklore. In all this euphoria, it was important to remember that it was the European team that won the cup, not McDowell the individual. McDowell was the finisher, the final blow. But it was equally important that the Molinari brothers salvaged the half point on the 18th in their four-ball match. The 46-year old Jiminez won his singles game, Luke Donald scored 3 points overall, and Colin Montgomerie marshalled his troops well.

6,500 miles away in Mohali, another nail-biter unfolded less than 24 hours later. This time it was two very good cricket teams battling it out to win a Test Match. In a match that had fluctuated like the Sensex, India were down and out on the last day at 124 for 8, with 92 more runs required for an almost impossible win. At the crease were two injured men, both on pain-killers. VVS Laxman was struggling with back-spasms, and Ishant Sharma had a bum knee. What unfolded in the next few hours will be remembered for a long, long time. Laxman and Sharma battled hard, and played smartly. They fashioned an unlikely 81 run partnership that turned the tables on Australia, and enabled India to win by one wicket. Laxman was absolutely relentless till the very end. What a match!

Again, in this hoopla, it is important to remember that the team won. Without Zaheer and Ojha's bowling and the four Indian half centuries in the first innings, Ishant Sharma's three wicket burst in the Aussie second innings, Raina's run out of Ponting, and many other such small things, India may not have won.

For me, it once again reinforces the notion that winning is not an event, it is a process. Winning is about being relentless. Someone once told me on the golf course: Never give up, and never let up.

These two nail-biting finishes in the last couple of days have only reinforced that principle.

Brains Anyone?

A recent email conversation among friends really got me thinking about some of our flawed assumptions regarding "intelligence" and "braininess".

The IITs and IIMs are widely believed to be among the best educational institutes in India. However the scope of teaching in these institutes is essentially limited to Engineering and Business Management. Entry into IITs and IIMs requires scoring high in a tough and very competitive exam. For the IITs it is the JEE, and for the IIMs it is CAT. Passing these tests requires a certain type of ability, and if you have that ability in abundance, you are more likely than others to get into one of these "elite" institutions. For example, the JEE requires you to be good in solving certain types of problems in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

A lot of people assume that the ability to score high on these entrance tests is the definitive measure of intelligence or braininess. I studied in one of the IITs, and used to carry the same impression. Until I got into the workforce and experienced real life!

My brother-in-law Sunil is in the Indian Army. Since the time he was a little boy Sunil wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and join the Armed Forces. I have spent many hours with him discussing the Army and many other subjects. Sunil is an extremely organized person, a deep thinker, and great communicator. His approach to real life problems always impresses me, and I am not surprised that he has been very successful. He did not go to IIT or IIM, but he is a lot more intelligent than me in certain ways. I have met hundreds of people like Sunil who have great abilities that are perhaps different from mine, and I have learnt a lot from all these people.

Many of my friends are wonderful doctors, journalists, government officers, teachers, and business persons. These are very intelligent people who did not need a label to be successful in their professions. Last time I checked P. Chidambaram, APJ Abdul Kalam or Montek Singh Ahluwalia did not go to IIT or IIM. Neither did Dhirubhai Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Karsenbhai Patel, or Tulsi Tanti. Or for that matter Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal, or Naseeruddin Shah.

In the last few months I have had the privilege of meeting several young Indians who have impressed me enormously. Naman Bhandula is a confident 19 year old studying for a degree in engineering. He knows what he wants, carries himself confidently, and just seems to have those qualities that will make him very successful at what he does. Charu Singh is an 18 year old young lady, who wants to be a lawyer. I met Charu for the first time a few months ago, and was mightily impressed by her confidence, the ready smile, and also how much potential she has.

My niece Ashima Arora is pursuing a graduate degree in IT, and I can definitely bet a large sum of money that she will be much more successful than me. And finally Kirat Singh, an 18 year old from Delhi, has just gone to Cornell University to pursue a degree in Liberal Arts. The amazing Kirat has been a very active participant of the "Save Tiger" movement in India, writes his own blog, and worked his way towards an admission at Cornell. If he had not gone to Cornell, he would have pursued a degree in Delhi University. I know for sure, as much as it is possible to "know" these things in advance, that Kirat will create a huge impact in the world.

None of these kids is going to IIT, and they may or may not go to the IIMs. However it does not matter. The ability to pass a specific test is not what these kids are about. They have the kind of all round "intelligence" that I can only dream about, and I am really excited to see them move on and become tomorrow's leaders.

I am happy that Charu, Naman, Ashima, and Kirat's generation has moved on beyond labels like IIT/IIM as a measure of intelligence.

A Great Opportunity to Learn

By all accounts, the opening ceremony of the Common Wealth Games in Delhi provided a successful launching pad for the games. There was widespread euphoria over the ceremony, and a lot of praise was showered on the participants and organizing committee. And rightly so.

However what amused me was some emails I received, talking about moving beyond the media sensationalism regarding the preparation for the games. One email said after the opening ceremony "Atleast this shutup [sic] the various news channels which had been sensationalising the shortcomings of our preparations." Is that really so?

In theory, good planning and solid execution of large projects is more likely to lead to success in terms of the project finishing in time, to the required quality, and WITHIN BUDGET. It also provides a better basis for repeatability. For instance, if India were to conduct the Olympic Games, how confident are we that we will pull it off? I am not sure - we will probably bumble our way through the preparations, throw tons of money and people at it during the last few months, and hopefully conduct a successful games.

Which brings us back to the comments about the opening ceremony. I think the media did a great job of exposing the shoddy execution and rampant corruption in the preparation for the games. In the process some may have gone overboard, but I did not see evidence of that on the channels I usually watch. I think the coverage was good, and it made the nation aware of the shortcomings of our planning and execution.

My sincere hope is that a successful conduct of the games does not end just with a pat on the back for the OC and Mr. Kalmadi, and a resounding criticism of the media for sensationalizing the preparation. I know that good software project companies do a "lessons learnt" session at the end of every software project. An honest assessment of this kind provides an invaluable opportunity to learn, and to do better next time around.

I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that we do not fritter away this opportunity.

Well done Sunil!

In a recent move, the BCCI made significant changes to the IPL Governing council. In essence, they slashed its size, removed some of the people close to Lalit Modi, reduced its tenure, and slashed the salary of the cricket members from Rs. 1 crore to zero!

One of my all time favourite sports heroes Sunil Gavaskar was a member of the IPL Governing council until last year. Gavaskar is known to be fearless, and always speaks his mind. He should have been contacted well before the IPL changes were announced, and his views taken into account before the decisions were taken. However it was quite a shame that Gavaskar found out about the changes from a TV News channel.

For me, Gavaskar is one of the three best Indian cricketers to ever play the game. He opened the Indian batting in an era when at least four other Test playing nations had their best fast bowling attacks in their history - all at the same time. Pakistan had Imran and Sarfraz, Australia had Lillee, Thomson, Pascoe and Walker, New Zealand had Richard Hadlee, and of course the West Indies had Roberts, Holding, Garner, and Marshall. Gavaskar stood firm against all these attacks, and just piled on the runs. Not just the volume of runs - his versatility was unbelievable. And he just looked incredibly good doing it! Every time Gavaskar came out to bat, I felt goose bumps. I don't think I have ever seen a better player of short bowling - the only other player who comes close is Viv Richards. I don't think it is a coincidence that neither of these players ever used a helmet.

The BCCI should have been proud that this giant of Indian cricket was part of the IPL. However I am not surprised that the bumbling board has managed to lose Gavaskar.

Gavaskar pointed out, quite rightly, that the IPL is a commercial organization, and therefore it is wrong to expect the cricket members of the Governing Council to work in an honorary capacity. Everyone - the franchises, the players, the sponsors, and the BCCI are making huge sums of money from this event. To expect the cricket members of the IPL Governing council to work pro bono is just plain stupid.

Well done Sunil in calling out the BCCI on this issue, and doing the right thing by refusing to play their game. I only wish Ravi Shastri had done the same.