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Friday, March 26, 2010

Edition 13


Sachin Deserves Bharat Ratna
It was beyond doubt that the widespread curiosity in the peopl of this country for annual railway budget could be overshadowed by only one man’s performance: Sachin Ramesh Te ndulkar.
On the day, union railway minister Mamata Banerjee presented the railway budget, which was far more acceptable to the people than the general budget, Tendulkar’s historic double ton in an One Day Match at Gwalior took all shine away from her exercise.
Even as the hysterical crowd celebrated all night after that out-of-this-world show by Master Blaster, shouts of ‘Sachin, Sachin’ rent the air in every major city of the this country.
All of India overcame with emotions. That was evident when the Parliament of India passed a resolution praising his achievement while the members forgot party differences. Chief Minister of Maharashtra Ashok Chavan declared that Sachin’s name will be recommended for the Bharat Ratna, a demand seconded by his arch rival and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackery.
Even though the experts argue that rules do not allow this man to be awarded with the highest civil award given by republic of India, it will not be unopprtune to bend some rules this time. Despite 20 long and glorious years in international cricket and a mountain of achievements, the love, adoration and affection in the hearts of public for this five feet tall person has only increased day by day.
Monumental Feat
This is not the first time that Sachin has belittled a record. That is one reason why the monumental feat of becoming the first man to reach 200 runs in an ODI innings sat lightly on him.
He still has the enthusiasm of a schoolboy. The sparkle in his eyes has not dimmed one bit. Countless hours under the sun have not diminished his love for the game. As Tendulkar often says, he is passionate about cricket. And he enjoys his time in the arena.
At the heart of it all is his indomitable spirit. He still dives full length on the field, even in the dying overs of a high-octane ODI when his mind and body could have been tired.
Tendulkar travels beyond numbers. His ‘Desert Storm’ innings of 143 against Australia captured the cricketing world’s imagination.He not only made runs, often at a furious pace, but did so with correct methods. Tendulkar found gaps with a surgeon’s precision. Even when suffered a personal tragedy by death of his father in 1999, he scored 140 against Kenya in World Cup in Engl. This showed his commitment to the team’s cause. Who can forget his brutal onslaught on Shoaib Akhtar at Centurion in the 2003 World Cup?
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Hockey: Mixed Results For India
The national Hockey team of India gave a joy to the thousands of fans in the form of a victory over traditional tival Pakistan. However, the Hockey World Cup 2010 seems to be filled with the controversies.
Meanwhile, Australia smashed the euphoria born out of the win against Pakistan, by inflicting a heavy 5-2 defeat on India in a pool B encounter in the Hero Honda hockey World Cup on Tuesday.Even before Indian team could rejoice over beating the Pakistan, it received a shock in the form of three match suspension to forward palyer Shivendra Singh, for “deliberately” hitting a Pakistani player during his team’s World Cup opener. The suspension was subsequently reduced to two matches by International Hockey Federation (FIH) on Tuesday.
Hockey India Secretary General Narinder Batra said, “We are not at all happy with the decision because the foul was not intentional. We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict but we don’t have any option now. He has to sit out.”
Tournament Director Ken Read had stated that Shivendra “deliberately” hit Fareed Ahmed by lifting his stick in the 39th minute which the hosts won 4-1, leaving the Pakistani player with a small cut above the eye.
The Pakistan team management did not make any complaint but Read concluded that Shivendra breached the FIH’s Code of Conduct and was guilty of a level 2 offence — physical assault without serious injury.
Shivendra had argued that he had no intention to hit the Pakistani player after the jabbing and just wanted to run faster. Players like Aslam Sher Khan said that the thing is not knew and Shivendra Singh was made a scapegoat. “The Australians do not want a strong Indian team against them. The controversy has been raised without solid reasons. I have faced such practices in the past,” he said.
Meanwhile, former Olympians and experts blamed poor preparations and a lack of game plan as the main reasons behind Pakistan’s poor start.

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