A Round-Up of S(p)orts

In the history of world sport, the start of year 2008 will go down as a phase where youth, aggression, controversy, confidence, power, money and raw talent took center-stage as age-old champions were dethroned, gentlemanliness was thrown out of the dictionary, sledging became an 'art', heroes emerged from the most unlikely corners, and experience was bid farewell. And all the action seemed to be happening in the sport-loving country of Australia...

India's Cricket Tour Down Under will probably go down as one of the most talked and written about events in sporting history. For youngsters and next-generation champions like Ishant Sharma, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa- it was a coming-of-age series. They will go back as battle-hardy men, having come as untested boys. But, unfortunately, the series is one that the cricket world will want to set aside as a dark memory that is best forgotten- despite there having been some truly memorable and riveting cricket that was played. Because what happened before and after got more attention than when a batsman took guard. The lines between agression and ugliness blurred considerably, as players hurled abuses at each other faster than Lee's most stinging deliveries. As a result, the cricketing world and the two countries were divided over twenty-two men, as the insults got even uglier and more personal. I run out of adjectives trying to explain just how disappointing it is to see seemingly mature men using phrases like 'monkey'(arguably!), and 'obnoxious little weed' for each other. Are these the same men we have grown to god-worship?! At the end of the day, it was the so-called 'gentlemen's game' that lost. Rather poorly.

On the other hand, Sourav Ganguly was bid an unceremonious farewell from the ODI team- after enjoying one of the best form-runs of his life. Dhoni's insistance for youth makes sense, but does a senior who has served the country so long and well not deserve even a warning before being dropped like a hot potato?

On the tennis front too, there were no dearth of controversies. Sania Mirza whipped up a storm when she opted out of the Bangalore Open- rather ironically, "to stay out of controversies", while Leander Paes' captaincy of the Davis Cup team wasn't taken too well by the youngsters- and turned into an ugly, immature public spat- lapped up with relish by the gossip-loving media. The Australian Open saw eventual-champion Maria Sharapova's infamous father, Yuri, making a throat-cutting gesture after his daughter's convincing upset win over world no. 1, Justin Henin. And one wondered where the profesionalism was gone...

But there were the truly memorable and feel-good moments as well...

The rise of the young Ishant 'Lambu' Sharma from a first-chance rookie to the lynchpin of the new-face Indian pace attack.

Indian getting the better of Australia in their own home fort- Perth- beating them at their own game on a bouncy, pacey wicket with a bowling attack that was younger than their youngest bowler- and that was without their two spearheads- Zaheer Khan and R.P. Singh.

The rise of Jo-Wilfred Tsonga- the unseeded Frenchman who notched up several upsets to reach the finals of the Australian Open- leap-frogging over everyone else on the popularity charts with his Mohammad Ali-looks, infectiously ready smile, calm temerament and booming serves.

The little master- Sachin Tendulkar- getting a standing ovation from Aussie crowds wherever he went, everytime he walked on or off the ground- whether he was on a duck or a century- a heartwarming display of affection and respect for a true gentleman who has enthralled the entire world with his willow for 18 long years- and who still steps onto the field with the enthusiasm of a sixteen-year-old.

The emergence of the Serbian tennis players- Ivanovic, Jankovic, Djokovic, and Tipsarvic- from politially turbulant childhoods with scanty resources, to come out to challenge and be some of the best and most loved players the game has known.

The farewell to Adam Gilchrist- a man who will be missed by cricketers the world over for being a truly delightful batsman and wicket-keeper, but- more importantly- for being one of the few who was left in the dying breed of perfect gentlemen.

The fact that the Australian Open finals this year had neither a Nadal or a Federer- for the first time in a record ten major fianls! Yet another story of the champions' throne being threatened by determined, fearless young blood.

When Novak Djokovic got up on the podium to give his 'thank you' speech though, the 21-year-old spoke with the kind of maturity, grace and sense of humor you thought all sportsmen had lost in this era of aggressiveness. "Even if Tsonga was standing up here, it wouldn't be undeserved. He was amazing all though the tournament" He said, mincing no words in praising his opponent, "I know you guys (the crowd) wanted him to win. No, no, its okay. I still love you all!" He added with his charming smile- winning over all the hearts he hadn't already. And restoring hope that there still was high value placed on 'nice'ness :)

But undoubtedly, the most radical event in the recent scheme of world sport was the forming of the Indian Premier League. The auctioning of the international players was given phenomenal media coverage, and it threw up more surprises than one could digest. To think that an Uthappa or a Raina or even a Yusuf Pathan would fetch way more that a Hayden, McGrath, or a Ponting tells a story of a hug turn-around. As cricket is moving into the big-money league with soccer, and American basketball, one wonders if the average Indian fan will be able to digest the concept of supporting a team, and not individual players. Will we be able to pray for a Symonds to hit a Bhajji out of the park? Or for a Lee to rattle Tendulkar's stumps first up? For an Indian cricket fan to whom cricket is more of a religion, and cricketers more of demi-Gods, how hard will it be to look beyond the names and enjoy the game? It will certainly take a while. But one hopes that the big money and the fame are by-products of some good, solid cricket, instead of the other way round.

After all, at the end of the day- as cliched as it sounds- we want the sport to win, don't we? :)