A load of crap from an idle brainPersonal, Movies, Music, IT, India, Singapore, Politics, Fun

At a time of overhyped & corrupt cricketers and our so called Gods of cricket who refuse to stand up for the game and hide behind the fig leaf of “I have never seen any match fixing happen in all my life”, its refreshing to see a gold medal in the world wrestling championship.

3 cheers for Sushil Kumar and here’s wishing him the best for the forthcoming Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi in October.

Sushil became the first Indian wrestler to win gold at a senior world championship after outclassing Alan Gogaev of Russia 3-1 in straight rounds in the final of the 66 kg freestyle category at the Olympiskiy Sports Centre in Moscow.

The dominating fashion in which Sushil, bronze medalist at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, won the title clash is proof of the Najafgarh wrestler’s dominance in the category.

Sushil, known for his power-game, went on the offensive at the start of the first two-minute round in the final bout. The 27-year-old used his leg take-down moves to unsettle the technically sound Russian and scored two quick points to control the proceedings there after. And though Gogaev took a point back, Sushil closed the opening round 2-1 with some solid defence.

Gogaev went on the offensive in the start of the second period, but the experienced Sushil controlled his younger rival and scored a point with another take down to surprise the home crowd as the Indian contingent went berserk. The Russians were surprised perhaps with the loss on home turf but the Indian team officials expected nothing but gold from their champion.

Read the full article here

Above picture courtesy: Samrao

+++

A fascinating look by the Forbes magazine into the rise and eventual fall of Lalit Modi.  Will Modi take the fall lightly or fight back is a million dollar question and needs to be seen.  A good read.

The story goes like this. Before the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) third season took off, Lalit Modi, former commissioner of the league, made a close friend of his an offer, Modi thought was irresistible.

For Rs. 5 crore, Modi’s friend could buy the rights to have his company’s name plastered on a blimp that would float over stadiums where league matches are played. The mileage it could possibly attract, Modi argued, was worth a lot more than the Rs. 5 crore he was asking for.

His friend, the scion of a prominent tyre manufacturing company in the country thought it too expensive a deal and declined. Modi then took the proposal to MRF, his friend’s arch rival, who saw value in the offer and bought into Modi’s pitch. Estimates vary on how much Modi sold the rights to MRF for. But consensus is, it was anywhere between Rs. 12 crore and Rs. 18 crore.

As the season started to roll, Modi’s friend figured he’d lost out on a sweet deal. And so the next time he met Modi at a league match in New Delhi, he admitted he’d made the wrong call; and that Modi ought to figure a way out to get his brand into the IPL. Modi pointed to the 30 yard circle in the stadium and offered his friend, a buddy from his days at school, an opportunity to re-brand the circle with his company’s name for Rs. 30 crore. “30 friggin’ crores!” the friend yelled and baulked. Modi didn’t blink. “You didn’t take it when I offered you a sweet deal. This is the best I can do now,” he said. A few moments of awkward silence followed.

Apparently, Modi had gone to the home minister’s office to seek clearances for the league matches. But in an appalling breach of protocol, he refused to wait for his turn to meet Chidambaram and instead attempted to barge into the minister’s office. Now, Chidambaram is the kind of man who doesn’t suffer either fools or arrogance and promptly asked Modi to leave. A miffed Modi said some daft things, stormed out of the room and eventually created an altogether avoidable controversy that snowballed into Season 2 being shifted to South Africa.

Read the full article here

+++

There are two religions in India.  Cricket and Bollywood.  The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a marriage of the two.  The best players in the world playing for teams owned by some of the biggest actors, businessmen and playing in front of packed stadiums in the mecca of cricket, India.

An explosive start to the tournament is expected starting today when the defending champions, Deccan Chargers take on Kolkatta Knight Riders at Mumbai.

IPL3 is even bigger as not only is it back in India, almost all the world players will be there (sooner or later).  And most importantly, there is no Pakistani players (thank God for small mercies).  Hope it stays that way for years to come.

For the first time ever, IPL will not only be streamed lived on youtube, but also will be telecast live in multiplexes around the country.  Imagine watching 3 hours of cricket on a mega 70mm screen with stereo sound and hunderds of screaming fans in a dark hall.

Am sure, i don’t need to spell out my favourites.  Once a Hyderabadi, always a Hyderabadi.

Go Deccan Chargers Go !

Full schedule of IPL3 can be obtained here

All pictures source: Ibnlive, Rediff & Telugupeople

+++

Miffed at the Indian Premier League’s snub of Pakistan players, Javed Miandad says the cash-rich Twenty20 competition is turning out to be ‘a big mafia’.

“The Indian Premier League is becoming a big mafia that wants to control world cricket; it is not only endangering the existence of the International Cricket Council, but also the rest of the cricketing nations.

“It is my message to all cricket boards around the world that the IPL is the biggest danger for their future; if it is not controlled timely it will engulf all boards.

“India is trying to control the world of cricket through the IPL and wants to become a super power; India is trying it and India is doing it,” the Pakistan cricket icon told rediff.com in an exclusive interview, shortly after the players’ auction for the third edition of the IPL in Mumbai on Tuesday.

His reasoning is that “a number of players have refused to play for their own countries because they can earn more money overnight than they could throughout their careers”.

Saying the players are receiving money more than they are worth, he urged the ICC to form rules to curb the League’s expansion.

Mafia? err…ummm… Isnt your son married to the biggest mafia leader’s daughter Mr Miandad?

Full article here

+++

The mailtoday newspaper has gone further with another cartoon lampooning the Victorian police and the state of Indian students studying in Australia.

Read more in the paper about how the Australian police have systematically ignored the racist attacks on Indian students.  1447 people of Indian origin were either robbed or assaulted in the previous one year in Australia.  Yet the Aussie police refuse to acknowledge the targetted violence.

Its high time the parents in India realise that its not worth sending your kids to Australia to study some god forsaken courses for which there is no future anyway, but also that there is no future in contributing to increasing the Aussie education market.  Lest your kids come back in body bags.

Similar articles on Australia on this blog previously

More ramblings

Now Murali ends up with an egg on the face

Racism in Cricket? Read the damning Aussie report

Sreesanth’s Agression

+++