Rio 2016

The opening ceremony of the 31st Olympiad was one of the best, if not the best in recent years. The typical Brazilian party and fun atmosphere was created with the traditional Samba dance. The venue was none other than the iconic Maracanã stadium that hosted almost 75,000 guests and local enthusiasts.
More than 10,000 athletes from 207 nations will participate in 28 sporting disciplines over the next fortnight.

Here are some interesting tidbits from the opening night:

• The "Refugee Olympic Team" or the ROT became the first of its kind to participate in the summer games
• It comprises refugees that got into Greece from Turkey; the team is made up of 10 athletes from 4 nations; Swimmers - 2; Marathoner - 1; Middle distance runners - 5; Judokas - 2
• It was truly spectacular to see these amazing men and women walk into the stadium amid a rapturous response; it showed what the human will could achieve in our trying and disturbing times and once again epitomized the true spirit of the modern Olympics
• The contingent from the USA marched in with the legendry Michael Phelps carrying the flag; the team has 292 female athletes - more than the men; it is also the largest ever female contingent at the quadrennial games
• Tennis stars Caroline Wozniacki, Giles Muller, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal had the honor of being the flag bearers for their respective nations - Denmark, Luxembourg, Great Britain & Spain
• Kiribati - a country situated in the Pacific ocean is the only nation that is simultaneously present in all the four hemispheres - North, South, East & West
• Kosovo will be featuring in the Rio games for the very first time after gaining independence
• The female torch bearer for Iran has qualified for both the summer as well as the Paralympic games to be held later in August; she's had both her legs amputated
• Fiji's torch bearer is the Captain of the Rugby 7s team - making its entry into the Olympics for the first time
• France - a powerhouse in Fencing and Cycling would be competing in 27 of the 28 sporting disciplines except Hockey
• The contingent from Pakistan was conspicuous by the absence of its men's field hockey team
• Lao People's Democratic Republic featured just 6 athletes; Malawi - 5, Malta - 7 and Mauritania - 2 athletes; in fact 101 countries had 10 or fewer athletes in their contingents - that's almost 50% of the total participating nations; The nation with 1 athlete - a 100 m sprinter was "Tuvalu"
• The flag bearer for Nepal was a 13 year old female swimmer - the youngest at Rio 2016
• The speeches made by Rio Organizing Committee Chairman Carlos Nuzman and IOC Chief Thomas Bach were stirring indeed; Nuzman was a volleyball medalist for Brazil in the 1964 games in Tokyo and Bach was a gold medalist for former West Germany in Fencing at the 1976 games in Montreal
• A specially selected group of 40 young children dressed in white, sang the Olympic anthem
• Kenyan 1500 m gold medalist in the 1968 summer games - Koichane Keino became the 1st recipient of the Olympic Laurel for his contribution to child development in his country

It was wonderful to witness the joyous moments during the opening ceremony and the athletes mixing and mingling with each other - it was like one big world party. Rio becomes the first South American City and Brazil becomes the first South American country to host the summer Olympics.

Let the games begin - Citius-Altius-Fortius

US Open 2012 - Roundup

Day 1

The final grand slam of the year has begun today. The cynosure of all eyes would be “The Flushing Meadows” at New York.

In the men’s section, former champion and last year’s runner up – Rafael Nadal has had to unfortunately pull out of this event due to a knee injury. Defending champion Novak Djokovic is one of the firm contenders alongside Olympic medalists Andy Murray & Roger Federer. The Swiss maestro is the current world number one and is in fine form coming into this slam after having beaten rival Djokovic in straight sets at the Cincinnati Masters – a tune up event to the US open. Andy Murray, the gold medal winner at the London games would be looking for that elusive first grand slam of his career. The other dark horses could be Jo Wilfred Tsonga, Juan Martin Del Potro & John Isner.

In the women’s section, former US Open champion Kim Clijsters would be playing in the last slam of her glittering career and is certain to call it a day thereafter. It would be very tough to predict a winner considering the draw. Any of the top ten players could hold aloft the silverware on Sep 1^st. However, the fan favorites would be Serena Williams, Li Na, Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, Maria Sharapova & Sam Stosur.

As I write, a few first round matches have begun and heavy thunder showers have lashed all the outside courts including the show court – The Arthur Ashe stadium.

Before rains stopped play, Australian Samantha Stosur steam rolled Croatian Petra Martic in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Chinese Li Na was leading 6-2, 5-2 against Watson. German sensation Sabine Lisicki took the first set but dropped the second against her opponent Cirstea. American veteran James Blake looked solid against Lacko and was in control at 7-5, 6-2.

Federer is scheduled to take on Donald Young. Maria Sharapova plays Melinda Czink.

Day 2

Federer and Murray won their respective matches on day 1. The other top players in action today include Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, Andy Roddick & Novak Djokovic. The Williams sisters are also scheduled to play their opening rounds.

Former French Open finalist Anna Ivanovic cruised to the second round with a comfortable straight sets victory over Elina Svitolina. The former world no 1 hasn’t been in the best form over the last two to three years and it would be interesting to see how far she progresses.

Wimbledon finalist Agnieska Radwanska of Poland came through 6-1, 6-1 against Bratchikova from the Czech Republic to advance to round 2.

Day 3

The sun shone brightly on Flushing Meadows. Veteran and former world number 1 Leyton Hewitt plays today. He’s been given a wild card. David Ferrer, a consistent performer at the slams, takes on South African Kevin Anderson. In the women’s side, Belarusian and mixed doubles gold medalist in London, Victoria Azarenka took the first set 6-2 against Kirsten Flipkens from Belgium and broke her opponent’s serve twice to close out the match 6-2, 6-2.  The Williams sisters looked very sharp on day 2 winning their respective opening rounds fairly comfortably.

Wild card G. Rufin was leading 6-4, 6-3 against his accomplished opponent from Serbia, J. Tipsarevic. The first major upset looks imminent.

Big serving John Isner is set to take on Belgian Xavier Malisse. The lanky American should go through based on the form book.

Day 4

Murray & Djokovic advanced on day 3. Defending champion Sam Stosur from Australia progressed to round three. Former champion Kim Clijsters was ousted in the second round by young and upcoming Laura Robson from Great Britain. Robson won the mixed doubles silver medal at the London games partnering Andy Murray.

 Federer and Venus Williams are scheduled to play in the night session. The first major casualty came in the form of 5^th seed and one of the firm favorites Jo Wilfred Tsonga, who was knocked out in 4 sets in round two by an unknown and unfamiliar left handed opponent by the name of Martin Klizen. The score line read 6-4, 1-6, 6-1, 6-1. Kilizen served well and stroked the ball extremely well of both flanks. Yelena Jankovic of Serbia made it to the round of 32 and could possibly face a tough opponent in the form of Agnieska Radwanska.

The exit of the talented Frenchman has opened up his half of the draw. American Mardy Fish locked horns with a dogged Russian, Nikolay Davydenko. He took the third set 6-2 after having lost the first two 6-4, 7-6.

Venus Williams was beaten in straight sets by the upcoming German left hander Angelique Kerber. However, the younger of the two siblings, Serena breezed through to the third round.

Day 5

Sam Stosur took on Lepchenko in the third round. 9^th seed Li Na was up against British star Laura Robson. Robson broke Li’s serve in the second game of the opening set and held on till 5-3. The Chinese broke back in the 9^th game but failed to hold her serve in the next. Robson prevailed 6-4 with some consistent serves and ground strokes. Li took the second set on a tie break. However, her younger opponent took control in the deciding set to go up 5-2 and then held her serve comfortably to progress to the round of 16 where she meets potential champion Samantha Stosur. It was a clinical display by the 18 year old Brit who served very well and returned superbly.

Andy Roddick takes on Australian sensation Bernard Tomic in the night session. Roddick has announced that he would retire from professional tennis after this year’s US Open. The 29 year old will be sorely missed, particularly his booming serves. Top seed Victoria Azarenka plays the other top ranked Chinese player remaining in the draw, Zheng Zie.

5^th seed and 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova faced Pauline Parmentier in her third round encounter. The Czech faces Marion Bartoli of France in the fourth round after her 6-4, 6-4 win. Novak Djokovic ousted Brazilian Dutra Silva 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the third round where he could meet Frenchman Julian Benneteau.

Veteran and former world number 1 Lleyton Hewitt faced Gilles Muller in his second round match and the score line read 3-6, 7-6 with the enigmatic Aussie winning the second set tie-break.

Day 6

Second & third round singles action continued. Serena Williams got past Russian Makarova with ease to make it to the round of 16. In other second round matches, big serving John Isner beat Jarko Nieminen of Finland in four sets 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3. Andy Roddick thrashed Bernard Tomic 6-3, 6-4, 6-0. Philip Kolschreiber of Germany won a thrilling five set encounter against B. Paire of France 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6.

Frenchman Julian Benneteau came through in four sets against American youngster Novikov. Serbian Tipsarevic beat a seemingly tough opponent Brian Becker in straight sets 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

Marin Cilic got past Kei Nishikori of Japan in four sets to progress to the round of 16 and so did Nicolas Almagro over American J. Sock who was also scheduled to play his doubles match in the night session.

The other third round matches being played featured big guns Federer against Fernando Verdasco of Spain and Andy Murray against another Spanish left hander in the form of Feliciano Lopez. The matches to look forward to in the night session include Giles Simon (France) Vs Mardy Fish (USA); Milos Raonic (Canada) Vs James Blake (USA); Tomas Berdych (CZE) Vs Sam Querrey (USA).

Day 7

Andy Murray had a tough match against Lopez and needed to win three tie breakers to prevail 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-6. American Mardy Fish came through in four sets against Giles Simon. Canadian Milas Raonic put an end to the challenge from wild card and veteran James Blake. In the last third round men’s singles match on day 6, Tomas Berdych overcame Sam Querrey to advance to the round of 16.

On day 7, Andy Roddick got the better of Fabia Fognini 7-5, 7-6, 4-6, 6-4 and delayed his retirement by another day. In women’s action Petra Kvitova was shown the exit door in three sets by an adamant Marion Bartoli from France after having won the first set 6-1. Bartoli won 1-6, 6-2, 6-0.

Defending champion Djokovic beat Frenchman Julian Benneteau in straight sets and would face Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka for a place in the quarter finals. The tireless and consistent David Ferrer from Spain thwarted the challenge of veteran Aussie Lleyton Hewitt 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.

In a late night encounter, Philip Kolschreiber of Germany beat local favorite John Isner in a thrilling 5 setter 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.  Victoria Azarenka, Sam Stosur & Maria Sharapova were the top women’s players to make it to the quarter finals.

Day 8

No 6 seed Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic beat 11^th seed Spain’s Nicolas Almagro in straight sets 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 to progress to the quarter finals. A resurgent Ana Ivanovic of Serbia also advanced to the last eight in the women’s singles with a comfortable victory over Bulgarian Pironkova.

Serena Williams takes on Andrea Hlavackova followed by Croatian Marin Cilic who would lock horns with Slovakian Martin Klizan who ousted Frenchman and one of the title favorites Jo Wilfred Tsonga. In other women’s fourth round matches, German Angelique Kerber takes on Sara Errani from Italy and Agnieska Radwanska faces Roberta Vinci from also from Italy.

The younger Williams blanked her opponent from the Czech Republic 6-0, 6-0 to advance to the quarter finals where she takes on Anna Ivanovic of Serbia.

The diminutive Sara Errani shocked her higher ranked opponent Angelique Kerber 7-6, 6-4. The first set was a real slug fest with long rallies like the ones that we are used to watching at Roland Garros. Every point was fought like a battle. However, the Italian managed to hold her nerve and progressed further in the tournament.

Roger Federer made it to the quarter finals without breaking a sweat as his opponent Mardy Fish from the USA had to pull out owing to an unusual heart beat condition – very unfortunate indeed.

In mixed doubles action, the first quarter final featured Sania Mirza & Fleming against Peschke & Matkowski. The match was on serve for the first four games with the score at 2-2. The Indian ace has also reached the third round of the women’s doubles along with partner Bethanie Mattek of the US.

The Williams sisters lost their doubles match. Andy Murray got past big serving Milos Raonic in straight sets 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 and takes on Croat Marin Cilic for a place in the semi-finals. Cilic ousted Marin Klizan 7-5, 6-4, 6-0. Italian Roberta Vinci joined compatriot Sara Errani in the quarter finals after beating Poland’s Agnieska Radwanska comfortably, 6-1, 6-4.

Day 9

Samantha Stosur of Australia took on Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the first of the women’s quarter finals. Azarenka took control immediately by breaking her opponent’s serve twice to clinch the opening set 6-1. The defending champion couldn’t earn even a single break point opportunity. There was brief rain interruption.

The second set began dramatically with both players trading breaks and then holding their serves till 3-3. Sam Stosur broke the Azarenka serve in the seventh game to go up 4-3 at the hour mark. She then held her serve quite comfortably for a 5-3 lead.

In men’s fourth round action, Spain’s David Ferrer was up against a very tough opponent Richard Gasquet from France. The Spaniard led 4-3 at one stage but Gasquet leveled things up at 5-5 only to be broken in the next game.

Day 10

David Ferrer prevailed over Richard Gasquet and will face Janko Tipsarevic from Serbia in the quarter finals. Victoria Azarenka held her nerve in the deciding set to win the tie-breaker 7-5 and the match.

With this win, she retains her number one position in the WTA rankings and could face Maria Sharapova or Marion Bartoli in the semi finals. Serena Williams takes on Sara Errani in the other semi finals.

Day 11

Novak Djokovic beat Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets 6-2, 7-6, 6-4 and looked to be in control throughout the match. He faces Spaniard David Ferrer who ousted Tipsarevic in a thrilling five setter. The men’s semi-final lineup is as follows: Ferrer Vs Djokovic & Murrray Vs Berdych. Tomas Berdych upset the great Roger Federer in four sets 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. A final between Murray & defending champion Novak Djokovic would be a mouth watering prospect.

Day 12

The Indo-Czech pair of Leander Paes & Radek Stepanek lost to the illustrious American twin pairing of Bob & Mike Bryan 6-3, 6-4. The Bryan brothers have now won 12 grand slams including 4 US Open titles and the London Olympics gold medal. The great Aussie pair of John Newcombe & Tony Roche has also won 12 doubles titles.

The first of the women’s singles semi-finals got underway at the Arthur Ashe on a bright hot afternoon. No 3 seed and 2006 champion Maria Sharapova took on top seed and current world number 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Azarenka has a 5-4 head-to-head record and a 3-2 record on hard court finals this year.

The Russian struck early by breaking her opponent’s serve after holding her serve in the opening game and quickly consolidated to go ahead 3-0. It was unusual to see Azarenka look quite unsettled from the baseline. Her opponent wasn’t letting her settle down and find her rhythm. Of the two players, it is the Belarusian that moves better and possesses better ground strokes. However, it was Sharapova who was hitting the lines and controlling the rallies. The fourth game went Azarenka’s way.

Sharapova served confidently and comfortably held for a 4-1 lead. She looked very focused and determined at this stage. Another break of serve ensued with the score line at 5-1. It appeared as though the French Open 2012 champion had a train to catch as she seemed to be in a tearing hurry. There was some respite for Azarenka who managed to get her first break of serve, may be a ray of hope. A little aberration in the opening set that was dominated by Sharapova. The gap had been narrowed to 5-3.

In the 9^th game, the double faults began to creep in and the Russian had served five of them already. And all of a sudden she was down 15-40. She managed to get to deuce and closed out the first set 6-3 on her second set point with a timely ace. The set lasted a shade under 40 minutes. In the entire first set, Azarenka struck just one winner compared to her opponent’s 10.

The Azarenka serve was again under the gun in the opening game of the second set as Sharapova’s onslaught continued relentlessly. However, Victoria repaid the favor in the very next game – score 1-1. For the first time in the match, Azarenka was up 3-1 after securing another break of serve and held quite comfortably for 4-1. It appeared as though she had begun to fine her touch at just about the right time and when it mattered.

The Russian found herself serving 2-5 down with Azarenka winning the second set on her second set point. In just under an hour and a half, the score line read 6-3, 2-6. Both women than took a 10 minute break as per the USTA heat rule.

In the decider, Azarenka needed just one break of serve to win the encounter 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. The Belarusian will play Serena Williams who steam rolled her Italian opponent Sara Errani 6-2, 6-1 in under one hour. The American is looking for her 15^th grand slam title and fourth at the US Open.

Day 13

Rain disrupted play as the men’s singles semi finals got delayed by more than an hour. However, play began 12:26 PM (ET). The first of the semi-finals saw giant killer Tomas Berdych take on Andy Murray. The conditions were very tough with swirling winds blowing around. The Czech leads their head-to-head career meetings 4-2. He also has a huge serve and a very powerful forehand.

Over the last two weeks, players have had to experience heat, humidity, wind, rain & sunshine. Moreover, there are jets flying over constantly and the sound can be very disturbing for the players.

Murray broke Berdych’s serve in the third game to lead 2-1 but was soon broken back. The conditions were getting extremely difficult and the Scot had an argument with Berdych and the chair umpire. However, play continued and the score line read 3-3 after 41 minutes.

Both players held serve till 6-5 in favor of Berdych. Murray faced two break points in the 12^th game serving at 15-40 but could save only the first one with Berdych winning the opening set 7-5 with his trade mark ripping forehand winner.

Murray responded with two breaks of serve to lead 4-1 in the second set. The weather seemed to have improved along with the Scot’s temper. The sun shone brightly and the intensity of the gusty winds had reduced considerably.

However, as the match progressed, the sun played hide and seek with Murray winning the second set 6-2. The third set had a similar plot with three breaks of serve giving the Scot a 6-1 win and a two sets to one lead. The British number one and London Olympics Gold medalist certainly handled the hostile conditions better than his lanky opponent who continued making unforced errors.

In the fourth set, Murray quickly took a 3-0 lead that was nullified soon with the set eventually going to a tie-break. Berdych lead 5-2 and it looked as though a fifth set lurked round the corner. But the yet to be crowned grand slam champion held his nerve to clinch the tie-break 9-7 and with it the match and a place in Monday’s final. Murray would be playing in his second US Open final and fifth grand slam final overall. Can he win his first ever slam this year? We hope he does, finally!

The other semifinal between defending champion from Serbia – Novak Djokovic and Spaniard David Ferrer lasted 30 min with Ferrer leading 5-2. The match was suspended due to inclement weather till Sunday 11 AM (ET).

Day 14

Ferrer held serve comfortably to win the first set 6-2 on a much brighter day with clear weather and friendly winds. The second set went in the Serb’s favor as he quickly took a 5-1 lead with two breaks of serve. He took the set 6-1. The opening game of the third set saw Ferrer’s serve being broken again. Djokovic held for a 2-0 lead but the dogged Spaniard leveled things up at 2-2 and then took a 3-2 lead on his own serve.

However, the lead didn’t last long and the Serb prevailed 6-4 and looked supremely confident and in total control of the match. Two breaks of serve ensued in the fourth set with Djokovic leading 5-2 after a shade under two & a half hours. The Spaniard didn’t possess any special weapon to disturb his opponent’s rhythm.

The inevitable was delayed by a further three minutes with Djoker prevailing 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. He now takes on Andy Murray on Monday. Their career head to head record is in favor of the Serb 8-6. However, Murray got the better of him in the semi finals at the London Olympics winning 7-5, 7-5.

The women’s singles final is scheduled to take place at 4:30 pm (ET). Serena Williams looks to be the firm favorite against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and should win her 15^th grand slam singles title.

As expected, Serena got off to terrific start breaking Azarenka’s serve twice in the opening set to win it 6-2. The American was dominant and served extremely well. Her opponent could manage only two winners in the entire set. However, the second set began with the Belarusian getting the early break of serve which she managed to consolidate and leveled the match at one set a piece. The score read 6-2, 2-6. Unforced errors began to creep in from Serena’s racquet.

The third set was closely fought with Azarenka finding the momentum with a break and served at 5-4 only to be broken back by the great champion who held her nerve and clinched the final set 7-5. It was indeed a fitting finale that capped a wonderful two weeks for the American who won her fourth US open 13 years after her maiden triumph. Slam no 15 and fourth on the all time list behind Steffi Graf (22), Martina Navratilova (18) & Chris Evert (18) – a remarkable achievement indeed!

Day 15

The much awaited men’s final began at 4:00 pm (ET). In his 5^th attempt at winning a grand slam final, Scot Andy Murray recorded a rousing five set victory over arch rival and defending champion Novak Djokovic.

He became the first Brit to win a grand slam since the great Fred Perry won his last US Open 76 years ago in 1936. The legendary tennis player passed away in 1995 at the age of 85. He can now rest happily in his grave. Incidentally, it was on the same day, Sep 10^th 1936; that the great man won the last of his eight grand slams.

The first two sets went Murray’s way 7-6 (12-10), 7-5. However, the Serb responded magnificently to level the match at two sets all by winning the third and the fourth sets fairly comfortably, 6-2, 6-2.

Murray seized the initiative in the final set and finally heaved a sigh of relief after 4 hrs & 54 minutes winning his first grand slam 7-6, 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2. Djokovic was cramping a little bit towards the closing stages of the match and called for a trainer.

The 1988 men’s singles final between Swede Mats Wilander & Ivan Lendl (now Murray’s coach) lasted 4 hrs & 54 minute as well. However, Lendl ended up on the losing side.

Some interesting statistics:

• Serena Williams in 2012 – London Olympics Gold medalist, Wimbledon Champion, US Open Champion
• Maria Sharapova in 2012 – London Olympics Silver medalist, French Open Champion, US Open semi-finalist
• Victoria Azarenka in 2012 – London Olympics Bronze medalist, Australian Open Champion, US Open runner up
• Victoria Azarenka in 2005 – Junior Australian Open Champion, Junior US Open Champion

 

The above facts clearly indicate the domination of these three top ranked tennis stars this year.

 

 

 

 

 

Reflections

The lows

1.    Four women’s doubles badminton teams were expelled from the games for not trying enough and for having performed below potential to get a favorable draw in the medal rounds. The teams were from South Korea, China & Indonesia

2.    Quite a few cases of doping were reported during the 16 days of competition

3.    The quality of officiating in some of the sporting disciplines such as boxing, fencing, wrestling was not up to the mark

4.    Twitter was used as a medium for racist remarks against athletes which was very unfortunate

The highs

As is any Olympics, the highs outnumber the lows by a huge margin.

1. The Baltimore bullet swam into history on the last day of the swimming event – the 4x100m medley relay winning his 18^th gold medal to cap a remarkable Olympic career with 22 medals in all – a dream run that began in Athens in 2004. Phelps would certainly go down in history as the greatest Olympian of our times. The 27 year old has decided to hang up his boots, his trunks rather!
2. Lightning strikes every four years in the form of Usain Bolt who proved beyond doubt that he’s a living legend in the field of short distance running. He managed a triple double while retaining his 100m, 200m & 4x100m relay with consummate ease. The Jamaican team comprising Nesta Carter, Micheal Frater, Yohan Blake and the great man himself smashed the world record in the relay – the final event of the athletics program, to win in 36.84 seconds. One still wonders why he slowed down towards the final 10m or so in the 200m event. He could so easily have finished with a time under 19.3 seconds
3. In Basketball, the American men’s and the women’s team won gold medals re-asserting their Olympic supremacy in this sport. The US men’s team has now won 14 medals in the Olympics – an amazing feat
4. In tennis, Andy Murray steam rolled Roger Federer in three straight sets to win gold for Britain at Wimbledon. He must have wondered what had gone wrong just a month ago
5. Title favorites Brazil were beaten 2-1 by a young and inspirational Mexican side that took home its first gold medal in football. The opening goal was scored by Mexico in under 30 seconds. The Brazilians would have to wait for that all elusive gold medal. May be they’ll win it at home in front of their fans in Rio in four years time.
6. Two future Chinese stars emerged from the swimming pool in the form of 20 year old Sun Yang & 16 year old Li Shiwen. Yang won the 200 m freestyle as well as the 1500m freestyle very comfortably. Swimmers from France, South Africa & Lithuania made their mark in the pool as well. Missy Franklin, the 17 year old from the US made her presence felt winning four medals in her first Olympics. She won the 4x100m medley relay gold with her teammates Rebeca Soni (Breast Stroke), Dana Vollmer (Butterfly) & Schmitt (Freestyle) in world record time. Franklin will be one of the stars to look out for in Rio; The backstroke is her main event
7. The youngest female Olympian to win gold was K. Ledecky in the women’s 800m freestyle beating legend and local favorite Rebecca Adlington. She’s just 15
8. In men’s hockey, The Germans proved too strong for the Netherlands beating their arch rivals 3-1.
9. In archery, the South Korean women’s team stamped their class once again and won gold. The women’s teams have won gold medals in the last 8 Olympics in succession.
10. Mo Farah of Britain won both the 5000 & 10,000 m events in front of his delirious home fans. The Somali born athlete was a joy to watch and was one among several of his compatriots that helped the host nation amass a record 65 medals – 29 of them gold. Britain won more than 60% of its medals in Track Cycling, Rowing, Athletics, Boxing, Sailing & Equestrian.
11. China finished second in the medals tally just above Britain with 87 medals in all comprising 38 gold medals. The country had won a remarkable 100 medals in Beijing four years ago with 51 gold medals and topped the medals tally. As expected, the Chinese dominated their favorite sporting disciplines namely Diving, Swimming, Badminton, Table Tennis, Gymnastics, Weightlifting & Shooting
12. However, USA took back the numero uno position this time winning an impressive 104 medals – 46 of them gold. Bulk of their medals came from Swimming & Athletics
13. The Russian Federation finished fourth. The former USSR was a force to reckon with in the Olympiads gone by
14. And it would be grossly unfair to not make a mention of the wonderful, informative and up to date coverage of all the events on Star Sports & ESPN. The entire team did a fabulous job. Kudos to Alan Wilkins, Vijay Amritraj, Steve Dawson, Sanjeev Palar, Paula Ali, Christie Simpson & Jatin Sapru. These are the names that I could recall.
15. The world came to a party for 17 days and the Londoners can be proud of what they have seen and achieved. Sir Sebastian Coe can look back with joy and happiness for having delivered one of the greatest summer games that saw 44 world records being broken

I have tried to highlight a few major achievements since it would be impossible to mention all the athletes and their laurels across 26 different sports. Many congratulations to each one of them.

See you in Rio de Janeiro. By the way, the Olympic flag has reached the next host already!

Saina Vs China

Saina Nehwal took on world no 1 and top seed Wing Yihan of China in the women’s singles semi-final. She hadn’t beaten her opponent in their five previous meetings in various top events. The talented Indian shuttler had taken three of those encounters to a deciding third game.

Given her current form, one would have expected Saina to take the match to a third game. A win against a superior player always seemed improbable. In the opening game, Saina tried to win points with her trade mark drops and smashes but it didn’t work since everything was coming back at her. Moreover, the pressure of the occasion and the enormity of the task ahead possibly got the better of her.

She had to change her approach and pin her opponent to the baseline and play longer rallies which she did on a few occasions but it was too late by then since Yihan took the first game 21-13. The current world champion looked very sharp and was mentally tougher during the opening exchanges. Moreover, Saina committed around five uncharacteristic unforced errors.

In the second game, Saina ran her opponent close to take a 11-10 lead going into the short break. There were some remarkable rallies with Saina tossing the shuttle back and trying to engage her opponent in longer rallies and force the error. The short attacking rallies are generally not effective against the Chinese given their natural speed and reflexes.

The Indian ace played a delightful drop shot to level the score at 12-12. From then on, it was Wing Yihan all the way. Her discipline, control and mental strength were on display as she won the game with a similar score 21-13 ending the Indian’s hopes to make it to the gold medal round.

All said and done, she was beaten by a better player on the day. As usual, our news channels were quick to react with their usual frenzy with tickers such as “Saina fails to make it to the finals”, “Olympic Heartbreak” etc. Her poor father had to face a barrage of questions. I wonder how our media treats our sportsmen. There’s either too much hype or excessive criticism. I feel there is scope for being a lot more mature and balanced with their comments and judgments.

However, there were some meaningful and intelligent insights from former stars such as Vimal Kumar & Anup Sridhar. The legendary Prakash Padukone chipped in too.

All these three gentlemen felt that Saina should have been a little more patient and should have slowed down the pace of her game and tossed the shuttle a lot more. However, the support in the stadium for our Indian star was heart rending. She did give it her very best. We can only hope she recoups quickly enough so that she can focus on her bronze medal match tomorrow.

On other factor that was baffling was the scheduling of the event. Saina played a late match last night and was back on court this morning (9 am – BST). May be some rest would have helped. She now faces another Chinese opponent Wang X whom she has beaten in the past. Given Saina’s level of form and fitness, she must return from London with a highly creditable bronze medal and nothing else. We wish her success in her encounter tomorrow.

The Opening Act

Light showers preceded the opening ceremony. However, the evening skies cleared up soon enough for the proceedings to begin.

The event was named “The Isles of Wonder” and was directed by the legendary Danny Boyle better know in Asia for his Oscar winning movie “The Slum dog Millionaire”. The show began with local hero and Tour De France winner Bradley Higgins ringing the huge Olympic bell much to the delight of the 80,000 spectators in attendance at the Olympic stadium. Rural Britain was depicted with images from Northern Ireland, Scotland & Wales. Men could be seen playing a game of cricket.

There were little children singing in groups. Famous quotes from William Shakespeare followed. The 18^th & 19^th century industrialization was wonderfully depicted with excitement on the one hand and fear & hardship on the other. Several chimneys sprouted from the earth with smoke billowing out from each one of them. Thousands of workers could be seen laboring hard. Iron ore and steel production that epitomized the revolution was on display. The Olympic rings then came together with all the pyrotechnics and the suspended rings looked majestic making the evening look even more resplendent.

The James Bond act ensued with our famous 007 agent Daniel Craig calling on her Majesty – The Queen and then taking off in a special chopper. The Queen made acting look so easy and effortless. The organizers needed only a single take to shoot the sequence of images. The unfurling of the union jack followed shortly after her Majesty was welcomed by the President of the IOC – Dr Jacques Rogge.

UK’s National Health Service set up shortly after World War II was enacted. One could see little children being attended to by nurses. Bedtime stories were read out to them. Enter J.K Rowling of “Harry Potter” fame and all her imaginative creatures and characters immediately came to life.

Sir Simon of the London Symphony Orchestra walked in next to the roar of the cheering fans and began his show. One of the personalities on the keyboard was Mr. Rowan Atkinson – better known to the world as Mr. Bean. He was at his humorous best fiddling with his mobile phone and enthralling everyone present with his mannerisms and characteristic expressions. The famous Greek composer Yanni’s composition could be heard.

The evolution and growth of British music over the centuries was up next after which the growth of social media and its effect on Britain was depicted.

On the whole, this opening ceremony did showcase the culture, art, literature, music and the social life of both old and New Britain. It was thoroughly enjoyable though certainly not comparable to the magnificent show put up in Beijing four years ago. Yet, the evening was a one to remember considering the difficult and tumultuous times that we are in. The entire show was commendable considering the fact that it was put up at roughly one-tenth the cost of Beijing 2008.

The march past of the 204 nations was next and lasted for almost an hour and a half. More than 10,000 athletes were in attendance from well known countries as well as the not so well known nations such as Belize, Benin, Burkina Faso, Comoros, Cook Islands, Gabon, Gambia, Guam, Lesotho, Kiribati, Nauru, Federated States of Micronesia, Sao Tome & Principe etc.

David Becham crossed the Thames in a motor boat along with the GB women’s football Captain and handed over the torch to Sir Steve Redgrave who then ran into the stadium and passed on the torch to a group of seven youngsters specially chosen to light the cauldron. The youngsters lit the copper petals. The flame spread into a concentric circle and the stems were moved to a vertical position to form the cauldron. There were 204 stems in all depicting the total nations participating in the 30^th Olympiad. Sir Paul McCartney mesmerized the crowd with his soulful rendition.

Let the games begin….

Trivia 3

1. Charlotte Cooper won the first gold medal in tennis at the 1900 Paris games
2. The US Basketball team was known as the “Dream Team” in 1992, however, in 2008, they we called “The Redeem Team”
3. Of the five Olympic rings, the yellow ring represents the continent of Asia
4. The mascot of the 1972 Munich Games was “Waldi”
5. “Inside Track” is a famous book on the legendary Carl Lewis
6. The mixed doubles event in tennis would be staged for the first time in London 2012
7. The track and field event with the longest distance is not the marathon but the 50 km walk
8. The “Woodies” – the well known doubles pair of Todd Woodbridge & Mark Woodford  added the tennis gold to their illustrious kitty in the 1996 games at Atlanta
9. Frank Fredericks of Namibia became the only sprinter in the Olympics to win silver medals in both the 100 as well as the 200m events
10. The Asian female athlete to win a bronze medal in the women’s 200m at the Sydney games in 2000 was Susanthika Jayasinghe from Sri Lanka
11. Linford Christie of Jamaican origin who represented Britain at the summer games became the oldest athlete to win gold in the men’s 100m event at the 1992 games in Barcelona. He was 32
12. The legendary Mohamed Ali lit the Olympic flame at the start of the 1996 games in Atlanta
13. Greece marched twice at the 2004 Olympic games in Athens – 1^st as per tradition; 2^nd being the host nation
14. Russia and Japan are the only two nations to have won 5 Olympic gymnastics team titles each
15. In the 1956 Melbourne games, the equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden
16. The famous movie – “The Chariots of Fire” is based on the exploits of the legendry sprinter, Harold Abrahams in the 1924 Paris Games

Anagrams 4

Unscramble the word/words below to get the answer based on the hints provided:

1.       EOJ ZAERIFR – Mohamed Ali’s rival

2.       AOY GIMN – Basketball

3.       ROODIH – Seoul 1988 Mascot

4.       VAOAP MIRUN – Legendary Olympian

5.       GERSIE KUBAB – Always raised the bar

6.       NIL AND – Chinese Shuttler

7.       SAUKEK TIKAIAJM – Japanese swimmer

8.       SIUSSAC LACY-Boxing legend

9.       ROCHT YEARL – Symbolic of every Olympics

10.   TAINRAM GINISH – Tennis star

11.   LEYTEFESR – Wrestling or Swimming

12.   CEANLAB MABE – Think gymnastics

13.   SISUSDC ROTHW – Track & Field event

14.   NAIVBHA RINDAB – Ace Indian Shooter

15.   LEDSRUH – Need to cross them

16.   VETENS GRADEVER – British Rower

17.   ANJ YEEZNZL – One of the greatest Javelin throwers