Wednesday, November 2, 2011

F1



When you mention the word F1 to any Indian before some five or six years, the probability of knowing this might be very less. But now due to the TV coverage, kind of social media exaggeration and an involvement of an Indian team in this sport, the name becomes obvious ie, Formula-1, the race that had ruled the world finally has arrived in India as well.

I started watching Formula-1 in 2003, when some sports channels show some kind of races ( and difficult to understand as well) every weekend. First I began to understand the race -the Saturday's session what they called as qualification and the next day's main event, the Race. It all started here and then I could easily understand the different kinds of strategies used by teams and the regulations as if I am watching this sport for years .

And my hero at that time is none other than Michael Schumacher of Ferrari, the King Of F1.(guess,he will be the King for ever). The sad thing is that no one could match Michael Schumacher in speed and strategies.He always comes first. Suddenly of no where a sort of minnow (KImi Raikkonen) began to make an impact. In sports when I watch some neutral teams play, I always go with the under dogs. So when Kimi Raikkonen surprised every one with some kind of aggressive driving,he became my favorite. He had a great car with good speed and aerodynamics but it wasn't reliable.

When Schumacher retired (although he came back in 2010)in 2007, Kimi replaced Schumacher and won the Championship of that year. 2008 and 2009 dint prove lucky for Kimi, that forced him to leave F1 and join Rally, a kind of car race in 2010. With Kimi's departure my interest in Formula one gradually decreased. It is also a kind of sport that struggle to give opportunities for others. Once a racer gets a contract with a team, he can drive through out that year, not giving enough rooms for other racers to race.

Now I am no great F1 fan, but when you see your country hosting such a massive event with lots of media attraction from all round the world, It gives you Joy and Pride.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

India On Top Of The World

It's been 28 years since Indian cricket team led by Kapil Dev won a world cup for India. Now in 2011, the cricket team led my Mahendra Singh Dhoni achieved this feat. India began their journey with a great win over Bangladesh in the opening match of this world cup. Despite India's loss against South Africa in the league match, Indian team came back strongly in the much anticipated matches against Australia and Pakistan in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively.

Australia's world cup dream came to an end with the loss to India in the quarterfinals. With this loss Australia, after dominating the game for more than a decade is out of the world cup.

The semifinal between India and Pakistan can be regarded as the greatest match the game has ever witnessed. This match obviously is a vital key to the Indo-Pak relationship that gradually degraded after 26/11 attacks. It was happy to see Indian prime minister witnessing the game along with his Pakistan counterpart. India eventually won that game, bringing joy to the whole nation.

The journey got accomplished when India took Sri Lanka in the final of the cricket world cup 2011 at the Wankhede stadium, that is regarded as the home of Indian cricket. Sri Lanka, though they played really well in the first half, couldn't stop the Indian batsmen from scoring runs during the later part of the game. When Indian captain Dhoni hits a six with the blink of his eye, the long and successful journey came to an end. Emotions were high as all the 40,000 people in the stands of Wankhede erupted in Joy. Players were seen in tears of joy when India is crowned as the champions. These are some of the moments in life that remain fresh in the minds of all the Indians till eternity.

Congratulations Team India for making it happen after 28 long years.

Estatic Indian team seen after winning the World Cup