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In order to enlighten our knowledge in Athletics, let us know something about its past history. Track and Field is primarily an individual sport grouping
together approximately 30 different events which were formerly divided into track events (sprints, middle and long distance races) and field events (jumping
and throwing). Modern track and field began in England, where it evolved around the end of the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century mostly in
the form of running and walking races. The early 19th century saw the first professional meets and wagering. Oxford and Cambridge Universities entered the
scene around 1860 and the first official British Championships were held in 1866. The sport then spread to the United States and continental Europe. The
first modern Olympics Games in 1896 consisted mainly of track and field events.
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It has become a growing awareness that after the monsoon season in Mumbai there has been a lot of outdoor sporting events. The one sport that
flourishes most is Athletics which is usually held between October and February. Schools, colleges, gymkhanas and even private clubs that train their
respective athletes hold their annual events at various places in the city. As a matter of fact, Athletics is considered the mother of all sports from which a
person can branch out to any other sport.
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Among the various events the 100 metres dash has fascinated people around the world. This particular event has become better and faster since the last
few months. Some time ago at Athens Asafa Powell took the world by storm when he created history by being the fastest man on planet earth with a timing
of 9.77 secs. The 22-year-old son of a preacher had always threatened to erase the mark of 9.78 secs set by American Tim Montgomery in Paris in 2002 and
which has been overshadowed since by doping allegations. Powell indicated that he would be a real threat to the established stars when prior to the
Olympics last year he ran under 10 secs four times including setting the national record of 9.91 secs.
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Another athlete who has grabbed worldwide attention is Justin Gatlin. Gatlin declared himself “King of Sprints” after becoming only the second man to win
the world 100 and 200 metres titles. With this the Americans returned to big time athletics with a bang. Other powerhouses like Britain and Kenya averted
humiliation by winning their first gold medals. Britain's hard-luck marathon runner Paula Radcliffe won her first major title and Benjamin Limo made sure
Ethiopia would not sweep the long distance races on the track. Moroccan-born Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain clinched an unprecedented middle-distance double,
adding the 800 metres to his 1500 title by holding off Olympic champion Yurly Borzakovskiy on the home stretch.
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Caroline Kluft of Sweden scripted one of the great stories of modern athletics by overcoming her injury to win the heptathlon event for the second time in a
row. Although Anju Bobby George made a determined effort to snatch a medal at the World Championship she could only secure the fourth position.
However, a month later she won the gold for her long jump event at Korea at the Asian Championship and it came as a pleasant surprise when World No. 7
Anju added a new chapter in Indian athletics history when she upset the favourites to win the silver medal in the World Athletics Final in Morocco. And finally
Yelena Isinbayeva will be remembered most for breaking the world pole vault 5-metre barrier effortlessly. This was indeed a unique and incredible
performance by the Russian.
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Back home sprinter Anil Kumar forced out by injury for three long years, put up a sterling show at the Senior National Athletics. He has fulfilled his childhood
dream of becoming the undisputed king of the 100 metres for the last 10 years. Also, Anil Kumar emerged as the fastest athlete winning the men's 100
metre in the second meet of the 2005 Asian Grand Prix series in Singapore. Anil won in 10.51 seconds pushing John Herman Muray of Indonesia (10.52) to
second place. The win was sweet revenge for Anil who was beaten by Muray in the first leg held in Indonesia.
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My
Point Of View
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Having watched the 2005 US Open Tennis Tournament I began to feel a sense of pride when two Indians made their presence felt. The first was Sania Mirza
who entered the fourth round and the other was Mahesh Bhupthi who along with Daniela Hantuchova won the mixed doubles. In this age of fierce
competition when nothing is left to chance and tennis players are just clamouring to reach the top spot, the two Indians did the country proud. It was even
more heartening to observe two veterans having reached the Finals. Yes I am referring to Andre Agassi and Mary Pierce. I admired their tenacity and their
never-die spirit as they both got the better of much younger players and whipped up applause for themselves.
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It was heartening to learn that the ODI Tri-series at Zimbabwe between the host Zimbabwe and India had been more exciting and purposeful than the
earlier ones played at Sri Lanka. Practically all the matches were closely fought out. It was absolutely amazing to see the young Zimbabwean team batting
and field with a sense of purpose and urgency as they narrowly lost to India and New Zealand. India had been expected to come out trumps in the final but
the bowling department failed miserably and allowed the top order New Zealand batsmen to have accelerated in top gear. The next scheduled matches
against South Africa, Pakistan and England will put the Indian players to the acid test and the selectors will have to work towards building up a strong team
for the World Cup 2007.
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Staying on with cricket I must confess that the Ashes played between host England and Australia was the fiercest contest seen in recent years. It was
played with an incredible spirit. It was hard to believe that Kevin Pietersen who had replaced Graham Thorpe impacted on the second innings and
transformed England to a winning team. The Aussies, who had victory staring in the face, found Kevin a hard nut to crack and succumbed to defeat. England
regained the Ashes after a long gap of 18 years with much jubilation all over the country which had come to a standstill since the World Cup football in 1966.
All said and done the series will encourage and become a source of inspiration to the younger generation who witnessed their countrymen turn the tables
on the World Champs.
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It has come like a shot in the arm for Ukraine, the first team from Europe, to qualify for the World Cup finals 2006 in Germany. Ukraine had a tough Group to
encounter before qualifying against Turkey, Greece and Denmark. From Asia there are four teams Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Iran. I must share
with my readers that it thrilled me to bits to observe the latest stadium in Munich Germany called the Alliance Arena. The entire shape of the stadium looks
like a tyre with seating capacity of 66,000. The inside which consists of 3-tiers is as impressive as the outside which keeps changing its colours like a
butterfly. This stadium built with the latest technology will certainly whet the appetite for football the world over.
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