I’ll start with India’s national sport.
It is actually not Cricket, but Field Hockey. (Hockey
is a fast paced sport including wooden sticks, rolling substitutions and miked
up umpires. To my American, Canadian, Russian, Czech readers etc., this sport
predates the one played with protective clothing and helmets in an ice rink
with a puck).
Speaking of longevity at a sport, how can one forget the
British rower Steve Redgrave? Five gold medals in as many Olympic games is
unprecedented. Lot of factors come into play like form, health, age, desire and
motivation. To be able to participate and win a medal in one Olympics is great
but to be at the top of their game for 20 years and peak during Olympics is something
extraordinary.
Jan Zelezny is in the same mould as Redgrave. At 2000 Sydney
Olympics, I saw the Czech javelin thrower in a match up with long-time rival
Steve Backley. Each time Backley threw a challenge, Zelezny responded by
throwing the javelin even further. The final was over after couple of throws.
Zelezny won 3 Olympic golds to go with 3 golds at the world championships and
remains a giant of the sport.
Very
rarely an athlete does something so great that their name gets associated with
sporting jargon. Bob Beamon did just that by breaking the Long Jump world record
by nearly two feet. In a sport where athletes are separated by centimetres and
inches, you know what two feet means.
To describe such an incredible
phenomenon, the word “Beamonesque” was added to the sporting dictionary. The
only other sportsman to have earned such a distinction was Donald Bradman.
Beamon’s record stood for nearly 23 years and was finally broken
by Mike Powell. Powell was so tired of playing bridesmaid to the great Carl
Lewis, that he went out there in 1991 and broke the one record Lewis never held
in his lifetime. As Powell himself said he had to break an unbreakable record
to get past the great man.
Another
record which looks unbreakable is the record for the highest chase in One Day
Internationals.
I am a big Roger Federer fan and followed him for most part
of his career. It goes without saying that I never liked his rivals. However, with
time, one rival truly earned my respect – Nadal. His never say die attitude and
ability to come back from seemingly impossible positions separated him from the
rest. It was his drive, determination and hard work that enabled him to win 9
Roland Garros title, a seemingly impossible record to beat.
Haas lead by two sets and 4-3 in the third with a break point on Federer’s serve. The winner hit by Federer of Haas’s return of serve, in my opinion, must be the most pivotal of his career. Haas capitulated and lost in five sets. In the semi, Del Potro came out all guns blazing and led two sets to one before fatigue got the better of him. Federer went on to beat him in five and then take Nadal’s conqueror in four sets. That’s destiny for you.
Another magical moment happened with Goran Ivansevic at Wimbledon. After losing in three finals and forever finding Sampras in his part of the draw, Goran had given up hopes of ever getting his hands on the famous trophy. In 2001, he was awarded a wild card to play in Wimbledon.
As destiny would have it, Sampras who
was again in his side of the draw was beaten by a fresh faced Roger Federer in
the 4th round. Goran then faced an epic battle with Tim Henman in
the semi-finals. He would have lost the match if rain gods had not interrupted
the match. He then played a five setter against Pat Rafter in the final to win
and become the only wild card to ever win a grand slam.
Less than a year ago, Jonas Gutierrez was suffering from a
serious medical condition. After making a successful recovery, he came back to
play for Newcastle United and scored in the final match of the season to keep them
in the premier league for another season. Although he was soon released by
Newcastle, he made an endearing contribution to the club and the fans.
I hope this off season post allowed you to relive some of the
greatest moments in sport. Please share your comments below.
Previous article - A matter of respect
If you liked this article, why not follow me on Twitter by clicking the button below? Its easy and super quick.
Follow @fplheart