Opportunities Today :- February 2005 Issue

The Mumbai Marathon - Jan 2005

 


Squash

A sport of endurance and strategy squash is played with a stringed racket and a soft rubber ball on a rectangular court closed on all four sides. The name comes from the fact that the ball can be “squashed”. Squash was invented around 1830 in England, and was exported to North America in 1885. For many years, the winners of the British Open, a prestigious tournament played every year since 1930 (1950 for women), were Australian and Pakistani. Countries with an Anglo-Saxon influence have dominated at the team world championships, inaugurated in 1967, and the individual world championships, inaugurated in 1975. Today, Canada, Scotland, and England are well placed in the world professional rankings. The World Squash Federation (WSF) regulates the sport.

The Competition

In both singles and doubles, the ball is hit so that the opponent cannot return it legally. A return is valid if the ball touches the front wall before bouncing on the floor twice; the ball can bounce any number of times on the side and back walls. A match is played in five 9 point games. Only the server can score a point. If the receiver wins a rally, he wins the serve. Professional tournaments are played in 15 point games in which the player who wins a rally wins the point, whether he is server or receiver. The server stands in either of the two service boxes and hits the ball off the front wall. The ball must hit the front wall between the service line and the out of court line, it must then rebound and land in the back opposite quarter of the court. The ball is then 'in play' and the rally continues provided the ball hits the front wall above the “tin” and below the out of court line. Only the server scores.


If the receiver wins a rally he/she wins the service and the opportunity to score. A match is usually the best of five games and the player who reaches nine points first with a margin of two wins the game. If both players are on 8 points, the receiver can choose to set the game to 9 or 10 points.

The “LET” Rule

Because opponents “share” the court, they sometimes block each other accidentally. If one of the players feels that his view or freedom of movement has been impeded, he can ask for the point to be replayed. If obstruction has obviously caused him to lose a point, he is awarded the point directly. The referee makes the decisions regarding lets and “let and points”. The flavour of international squash returned to the Cricket Club of India as India's top five challenged the 3 top-notch overseas players in the CCI Ezra Invitation Squash tournament held just about a fortnight ago. The overseas players invited were:

1. Mohd, Aslam Iskandar Of Malaysia
2. Timothy Arnold also for Malaysia
3. Peter Genever of England

These 8 elite players had been placed in two pools where the top two players in each pool automatically qualified for the semi final after a round-robin of the 11 pts. American scoring format. Ritwik Bhattacharya who did exceedingly well against the Australians recently at the World Cup at Chennai led the Indian challenge and reached the final. Mohammed Azlam Iskander of Malaysia who is ranked No. 19 in the World won the inaugural CCI Ezra Invitation Squash tournament when he triumphed over Ritwik Bhattacharya 9-11, 11-8, 11-9 and 11-4. The final had reached dizzy heights and the huge crowd at the CCI were entertained to a thrill-a-minute bonanza.

The full house enjoyed the stroke play from both players that was of the highest order and Ritwik belied his World No. 96 ranking as he matched the Malaysian with power and speed. He displayed a full repertoire of shots; the boast, drop and the nick. Azlan won the day as his forehand was par excellence be it the drop, the boast or the rasping straight shots. He also often wrong footed Ritwik with well disguised shots. The Malaysian also made good use of the lob from the forecourt and won a couple of points as the Indian had difficulty scurrying back in time. But as the excitement and drama wore on Ritwik who had just recovered from an injury, he allowed his game to slide down. And then Mohammed Iskander who won the Malaysian Open a week ago gradually took hold of the entire proceedings and won comfortably.

The Latest Happening

The Mumbai Marathon 2005 : The 2nd edition of the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon was a most spectacular and colorful event seen in recent times in the city of Mumbai. What a fantastic turn out! Just imagine around 25000 runners and this mega event is certainly getting bigger and better. Athletes from 20 countries participated. It was a sight to behold when a host of celebrities mingled with the commoner under One Big Sporting Family. The main events itself were electrifying and the enormous prize money was there for grabs. Without a shadow of doubt African runners swept the top honours.


1. Julius Sugut of Kenya 2:13:20
2. Christopher Segwe of Tanzania 
3. Gashaw Malese of Ethiopia

The women's run was also a keen competition getting better and faster. Mulu Seboka of Ethiopia out-smarted her country mate Leela Aman and finished with a timing of 2 hrs. 35 mins. 19 secs. In third place was Russia's Timofeyuva.

CRICKET

Bangladesh wins first-ever Test Series:

There were big celebrations in Dhaka when Bangladesh won their first-ever Test Series 1-0 against Zimbabwe in a two test series contest. Many kept wondering as to how Bangladesh had been given Test status as they repeatedly lost a good number of Test matches and had drawn just three earlier. But now things have taken a turn for the better and the Bangladesh cricket team is cock-a-hoop. Recently they beat India in a one-dayer. At Chittagong Bangladesh beat Zimbabwe by 226 runs for Maiden Test Win:

Bangladesh, who became the world's 10th Test team when granted Test status in 2000 but who have struggled for respectability ever since, sealed victory just before tea on the final day of the First Test Match, as 18-year-old spinner Enamul Haque Junior took career-best figures of six for 45.


The players then ran towards each other to celebrate before being joined by Coach Dav Whatmore and setting off on a lap of honour.

My Point Of View

There were two sporting events that caught my imagination in the last fortnight. The first is the National game Hockey which has already turned professional. And the second is Football which is on the verge of professionalism. Both these sporting events hogged the limelight and will continue to do so for a couple of months.

A new chapter in Indian sports unfolded in Hyderabad as the Premier Hockey League (PHL) took shape and made an impressive start. It was quite a novel idea that came from the IHF giving the teams some fanciful names like Hyderabad Sultans, Maratha Warriors, Bangalore Hi-Fliers, Sher-e-Jalandar and Chennai Veerans. Moreover these teams will be featuring star players in the Premier Division. As far as hockey is concerned, the Indian Hockey team has done well in patches. At one moment the team was on top and then, the next moment in the dumps. I'm referring to the Asia Cup and after that the miserable showing at the Olympics. Now with a professional system in place the players will be motivated and inspired to put their best foot forward. Who knows world class teams like Holland, Australia and Spain would fear India in the future.

Football is a popular game world over. The AIFF is working towards improving India's ranking on the FIFA list. It was indeed heartening to see our honorable Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh kick-off the 9th National Football League ONGC Cup by taking a shot in the goal at the Salt Lake stadium in Kolkata. He stated it was a call to the players and the youngsters to strive for achieving excellence in the “beautiful game' to make India a major soccer power in the world. He said that efforts should be made by all to go for success in the game of soccer both locally and internationally, adding “football is a game which is played in every country of the world” and that sustained attempts be made to make India a major soccer power.

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