Sporting extravaganza

The months of June and July have been a bonanza for sports fans. While the football world cup has been the most watched and discussed event, there have been plenty of other sporting events and some memorable moments that have been overshadowed by it.

Surprisingly the biggest casualty has been Cricket. Even the historic series win in the West Indies after a long wait of 35 years did not get its fair share of news print. The heroics of Dravid and company were lost in the euphoria created by Ronaldo, Zidane and Rooney. In the final test, Dravid led from the front and came up with what I consider his best performance to date, both as a captain and as a batsman. The West Indies were well and truly up against 'the wall'. Sri Lanka created a world record by scoring 443/9 against The Netherlands. One might say that the Dutch are nothing much to write about but a record still is a record.

Even the lush green grass of center court was no match for the turf in Germany. Sania Mirza's first round exit went virtually unnoticed. Wimbledon also saw for the last time Agassi grace center court. The former champion who in his early years refused to play at Wimbledon because of its strict dress code bid an emotional farewell.

Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher continued to slug it out on the F1 circuits. While Alonso came up trumps in Montreal, Schumacher won his fifth race at the 'Brickyard' to become the driver to have won more races at Indianapolis in any category of motor racing. Even Schumacher a self confessed football fan attributed some lapses during the practice session to Germany's victory over Argentina.

One of my favorite annual sporting events the Tour de France is currently underway. While there may not be too many well known names this year, the Tour de France will be as competitive and exciting as ever. A pity it does not have a bigger following in India.

And did anybody even realize that the Azlan Shah Hockey cup was also being played during the same time? Indian Hockey has been on a downslide for the last two decades and increased coverage is crucial for Indian Hockey to regain its lost glory. India finished third behind The Netherlands and Australia.

All said and done'..the last two months have been a feast for a sports fan. I may have missed a some of the action but there is still plenty to keep me busy.