Am trying to analyse some noteworthy performances below mainly from the Indian point of view. The list might be biased towards some sports which I like and enjoy much more than others, but what the hell..whats the point of writing a blog when you cant glorify your sporting heroes :-)
Most Promising Performance of the Year: Ashish Kumar (Gymnastics) and Virdhawal Khade (Swimming)
These have traditionally been events where nations like USSR / Russia, USA and China have built their Olympic dominance (apart from Athletics). India has been amongst the weaker participants in these sports and we usually participate only to make up numbers and to gift a sport administrator and his family a trip abroad. This is what makes their performance significant. Competing against and winning against the Chinese sporting machinery is no mean feat, especially when your own nation hardly follows the sport or cheers for you. Lets hope this means a new dawn for Swimming and Gymnastics in India.
Other Noteworthy Performances: Bimoljit Singh and Sandhyarani Devi (Wushu)
Disappointment of the Year: The Indian Shooting Team at the Asiad.
Technically speaking this should not even count as a disappointment. Barring Ronjon Sodhi and Gagan Narang none of our shooters are in the top 5 rankings of their respective disciplines. However we choose to glorify them after their performance in the CWG against average or mediocre teams like Australia and England. Their true test was always going to be against China and the Middle East Countries and this is where they fell flat. NRAI is also to blame. Faulty selection process, cumbersome process to import guns and ammunition added to the woes of our shooters. However all said and done, Shooting still remains one of the most promising events where India can expect an Olympic medal.
Other Disappointments: Tiger Woods (Golf), Lance Armstrong (at the Tour de France)
Indian Performance of the Year: Vishwanathan Anand and Sachin Tendulkar
Playing against one of the strongest players in the world in his home town can be a daunting prospect for anyone. Add to that a 30 hr car journey (due to the Volcanic erruptions in Europe) and psychological warfare by the Topalov camp in not wanting to give Anand an extra day to prepare for the match can be enough for any top sportsperson to crack. Things got even worse when a miscalculation in moves cost him the first game, things could not have been worse for the reigning world champion and it looked like Topalov would run away with the match. But like a true champion Anand won the next game flawlessly and went on to beat Topalov with Black in the final game to retain the World title.
I dont think I need to write anything about Sachin's 200 at Gwalior. It is definitely amongst the top 3 global sporting performances of the year according to my list (am sure a lot of sport analysts and journalists would agree). But our great man didnt stop at that, he continued tormenting his opponents and had a fantastic year in Test Cricket as well capping it with his 50th Ton.
Other Noteworthy Performances: Saina Nehewal (Badminton), Sushil Kumar (Wrestling), Vijender Singh (Boxing), Womens 4 x 400m relay team
Match of the Year: Holland vs Brazil (World Cup Football) and Ranji Trophy Final (Mumbai vs Karnataka)
Well I am not a football fanatic and do not watch the Premiership or La Liga regularly, I do try to catch the important matches. However the World Cup and The Champuions Trophy knock out stages are a different matter and I try to watch each and every match. I am a big Brazil fan and expected them to win this year. Simply because it is one of tose teams which plays its best on the big stage. They are capable of raising their game at the appropriate moment. Be it a terrific free kick or a brilliant save from a goalkeeper, the Brazilians always find something special at the World Cup. So to see them outplayed was a shock, but I enjoyed every moment of the match. I think the football played was of the highest quality and Wesley Sneijder had that extra bit of special play in him to deny the samba boys.
Talking about Cricket, one can quote dozens of interesting T20 matches or ODIs, but for the sake of the game and purists I have confined my search to Test Matchs only. The first test of the India vs Australia Test series was a prime candidate for this title, but the patriot in me won. We rarely watch domestic cricket because the matches are boring, pitches are lifeless and the big stars rarely play. I do not remember any domestic match (barring the IPL) in the last 10 years generating so much excitement. A perfect pitch, some brilliant performances by youngsters (Abhimanyu Mithun and Vinay Kumar deserve a special mention) and a nail biting finish made this match a memorable one. Lets hope the trend continues in domestic cricket.
Global Sporting Performances of the Year:
- Rafael Nadal: Rafa capped a brilliant year by winning the US Open title to complete a career slam. Barring Roger Federer no one has displayed this kind of brilliance on the court lately. Even Roger would agree that this has been one of the most dominating performances in recent times by any tennis player. Although Roger will always be the GOAT in my books, Rafa is getting closer and will rank quite high when he hangs up his boots.
- Fabian Cancellara: Winning the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix back to back, Wearing the Yelloe jersey in the Tour and winning the World Time Trial Title for a record 4th time, this man had a fantastic season and looked nothing short of invincible in the cobbled classics and TTs.
- Spain: Rarely has a team come back and won the world cup after losing their first match. A team known for its attacking style of football scored only 7 goals in the entire tournament but still played brilliantly, lifting their game to the highest level when required and won their first World Cup. With the Euro and World Cup trophies they have finally shed the underachievers tag.
