Cricket in India is said to be like a religion. Karl Marx has said religion is the opium of the masses. It is interesting to see in India's 40 degress plus heat stadiums full of spectators, cheering the T20 IPL tournament currently underway in the country. Such is the love for the game that prople are ready to shell out hundreds to thousands of rupees to watch players from all over the world sweating it out in hot and sultry weather. Spectators really get emotionally involved in the games and want to see their favourite players perform everytime.
The IPL format is very well thought out and although no one is playing for the country but regional loyalties are encouraged to drum up support for local teams. This brings crowd support and the other revenues. The players are got through an auction and even fresh players earn substantial sums to lead a comfortable life. A large number of players who otherwise would have gone unsung have become household names and have also earned handsome fees running into lakhs and crores of rupees. No one grudges them these high incomes.
The bonding between the players and the supporters is based on the trust and belief that the players are playing only and only for their team.The fans are trusting that the cricketers assembled from all over the world are honest and proud to play for their pride and dignity.
Little do they know, that sitting far away in the cool comforts of hostile environments to India. are elements who are out and out to make money at the expense of the IPL games. They are fixers who care two hoots for the IPL or the cricketers or the paying public. They want to mint money through betting on each and every ball and other aspects of the game. If they were playing by the rules perhaps no one would mind it even though it is an illegal activity. The problem is that they fix the outcome in their favour and take bets against it. This way they ensure their winning the bets and making huge sums of money running into crores of rupees.
These betting syndicates operate from safe heavens of Pakistan and Dubai as per the police agencies.They have their betting agents in thousands all over the country with Mumbai being the nerve centre and controlling the all India operations. People of all income groups lace bets and win or lose in the bargain. But it is a well known fact that the syndicates rarely lose and it is they who rake in the profits running into crores of rupees. One of the way of ensuring high and assured profits is by fixing the outcome at predetermined intervals.
They thus require the services of players who will cooperate in delivering the fixed outcome during the match. It is here where the integrity of many players is tested. For cooperating with the betting syndicates and doig what they want to be done the players receive huge sums of money running into lakhs of rupees. It is not difficult to find a few willing players out of the nearly three hundred and odd participating players of the nine IPL teams. The matter comes to light only when they are caught by the police. The rest of the cooperating players can go Scot free. They can keep the huge sums of money they have made by betraying their teams and own consciences.
The three players of the Rajasthan Royals team including Sreesanth have been caught literally with their pants down. Clinching evidence put forward by the Delhi police clearly shows how they were carrying out the'fixing' in their overs by giving agreed to runs and thus ensuring that the betting syndicates earn huge sums of money. Is'nt it surprising that it did not occur to the them that they are betraying the trust of their team and millions of spectators all over the world. Did it not occur to them that they were letting down the name of India. Did it not occur to them that if caught their careers would end and they would have to lead a life of shame. Why were they ready to risk their name and fame for a few lakh rupees.
According to a bookie the format of IPLT20 is ideally suited for betting. It is a bettors paradise. Forty overs or 240 balls give that many betting opportunities in a span of three and half hours. On some days two matches are played, doubling the betting opportunities.There are large number of persons who want to make quick money and thus put bets with the bookies. It is the BCCI and the IPL management, which having let loose the IPL monster, have to ensure that their players do not fall into the traps of the bookies. Merely parroting that they are not government or they do not have investigating agencies is not the proper response.
The BCCI wants to keep the moolah but pass on the responsibility of ensuring fair play to the police. This is not done. Why do they not have a fool proof security system which ensures players do not come into contact with bookies. Why do they not factor it into the players contracts that if they are caught in fixing activities they will forfeit their earnings and the Board will lodge an FIR and have them prosecuted.That they will be banned for life from playing cricket officially goes without saying. Why should not the Board take an undertaking from the players before and after every match that they have not done any activity at the behest of the bookies.This will also act as a regular reminder to the players to behave.
What is painful is the fact that our own players are cooperating with bookies operating at the behest of anti India mafia groups from Pakistan and Dubai and allowing them to make huge sums of money which is then used by them to finance anti India activities resulting in killing of our citizens and other collateral damages.That we are a soft state is well known but we are also an indifferent state is now becoming clear. How long before we become a proud country which will not place bets with proven anti India syndicates. How long itwill take for our many players to realize that country is greater than money and that reputation is worth millions. How long before the organizers know how to conduct a tournament and not only rake in millions and be thrilled.
I do not know about how many have lost interest in watching IPL but I surely have.
It was some time in December 1989 when I was just 6 months old, that a man named Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar marked his entry into the cricketing world against a mighty Pakistan Team. A little boy with a soft voice, hesitant mind, less aggression but tonnes of confidence; had a pretty rough patch in the first 2 matches. It was only in the third match that he opened his account. He got his first one day international century after playing 78 matches and five years of international cricket. It was in the late 90’s that he scored his first century at Old Trafford against England. And for the next 22 years he reached that milestone a 100 times only to be compared to god.
Sachin was in his majestic form in Sharjah when he gave the Aussies a run for their money for what was called the century of the millennium. It was later named as “The Sandstorm Century’ which is still one of the best in the business. He changed the perception of people towards cricket. Till then India was a team, and after 1998, Sachin Tendulkar was the only man for whom the opponents prepared a game-plan. The 2 innings in the CB series finals which included a century (his first in Australia) were termed as instrumental in launching wins overseas. Then came the double century in a time when the chants of ‘Endulkar’ often covered most of the newspapers and the electronic media. That was the moment when the prophets of doomsday had to take bitter pills of stopping his career. He had achieved every record available in the cricket books. But then his inner instinct allowed him to carry on and on which eventually led to a century of centuries. Sir Donald Bradman was laughing somewhere in the heavens with the talent Sachin was bestowed with, almost all the people across the globe showered their blessings which only led to the longevity.
Everything has an end to it, but his fans believed in his inhuman capabilities and wanted him to go on and on. Every time he failed to score a ton, he was criticized of his age and flexibility. Perhaps they wanted him to score a ton or even more every time he stepped on to the field, scores like 70-80 had lost their significance. He finally decided to hang his boots from the colored format of the game. The man who came into the limelight with the colored jersey was now a piece of history, people had the glimmer of a hope of him appearing for one last farewell match, but then, when legends decide you have no words to say. So, with the Aussie series coming up and with loads of runs in his short domestic stint, the expectations are yet again high for what may be the last series if he fails to perform and live up to the expectations. With no test series coming anytime after 6months, the question still dangles, if this would be his last outing. He has done it in the past, and a billion eyeballs await yet another moment of him removing his helmet and raise the bat up in air to extend the validity of his extraordinary career. You have been the role model of millions like me. Thank you for adding some spice and excitement to all the fans like me.
What doesn’t break you, only makes you stronger. True words have never been said for any wrestler but the Undertaker. For most of the past two decades, wrestling fan boys all across the globe have uttered Mark Calaway’s wrestling moniker either in the spirit of religious fervor and admiration or with the disgust of a vanquished opponent. Such was his dedication and loyalty to the WWE that he never considered himself or any other wrestler bigger than the federation. Here is a man who pulled off his gimmicky masquerade in such convincing fashion over the last twenty years that even today he wouldn’t be easily recognized out on the streets in his original avatar. When inside the ring, he became the mysterious man people wanted to witness beating the living daylights out of his opponents. When outside the ring, he disappeared in the crowd much like any comic book superhero. For this very reason, so many are still unaware of the real man behind the mask. His real personality has never revealed itself as it did in the lives of the Rock, Hulk Hogan, Triple-H and Chris Jericho.
Personal Life
Mark WilliamCalaway born on 24 March, 1965. He had taken an avid interest in basketball and wrestling during his time at high school. He was a member of Basketball team at Waltrip High School. In fact at one point he was so brilliant at basketball that his coach strongly discouraged him from practicing wrestling any further. His performances in high school basketball games won him several accolades and even scholarships from esteemed colleges. This is when Mark Calaway started putting on masks while wrestling so as to hide his identity from his basketball coach. Nevertheless his undying passion and zest and his gigantic build ensured he was equally competent at professional wrestling too.
Professional Life
In 1989 at the age of 27 Mark joined the WCW under the ring name of ‘Mean’ Mark Callous. His team didn’t however stay together for long and broke up in 1990 after which he left for the then WWF (World Wrestling Federation). Mark made his debut as The Undertaker in the Survivor Series in the same year and his victory over the mighty Hulk Hogan in 1991 to win the WWF Championship announced his arrival in the wrestling arena. Even the dead man avatar of The Undertaker was a massive hit with the audience. The Undertaker's character was claimed to possess mystical powers, such as teleportation and influence on fire and light. Despite some critics claiming back then that the gimmick wasn’t going to last more than a year, it has done so till date and how.
In early 1994, the reigning champion Yokozuna faced the Undertaker in two of the most famous Casket matches in WWF history. In the first one, Yokozuna teamed up with other wrestlers and defeated the Undertaker after several ambushes. The ‘spirit’ of Undertaker appeared from inside the casket, warning that he would return. In reality, he had sustained a back injury that necessitated a timeout. Months later the Undertaker was resurrected and he emerged victorious in an epic encounter at Summer Slam 1994.
Since then The Undertaker has come back over and over again to defeat the likes of Bundy, Kama Mustafa, King Mabel, Batista, Mark Henry, Shawn Michaels, Edge and Triple-H over the years to win one Championship after another, sometimes even wearing a mask similar to that used in The Phantom of the Opera.
Even in 2008 when he went on to lose the championship to Edge in a TLC match, he had to disappear from the WWE for two months only to be reinstated later that year at WWE Summer Slam where he out wrestled Edge in a grudge match. After Wrestlemania 26, the Undertaker took a hiatus again as his body was slowly showing the effects of aging. It was revealed that the Undertaker would now only be wrestling part time. However, he returns every year around the Wrestlemania season and can still put on the match of the night with any opponent pitted against him. In such an encounter in 2012, he returned once again to defeat Triple-H in one of the greatest 'Hell in a Cell' matches of all time at Wrestlemania 28.
His Legacy
The Undertaker has the most impressive streak in sports-entertainment history at the Wrestlemania. He has competed in 20 Wrestlemania matches and won every single one of them and the streak as of now stands unbelievably at 20-0. The ‘Phenom’ will be always remembered as the most athletic man to ever set foot inside the squared circle. Every night he would put his body on the line to entertain his fans with moves like the Chokeslam, Tombstone, Piledriver and Hell's gate. His matches may not have always impressed all and sundry but the persona that he carried to the ring more than made up for it. The Undertaker is the cornerstone of the WWE and will always remain so. When he retires completely from active competition it would be impossible to fill the huge void left behind by him. Such is his legacy.
Life
Born on 13 Jun 1994 in Jharkhand in Ratu Chati village, to an auto-rickshaw driver and a nurse, Deepika Kumari soon proved to be a blessing to the couple. At that time the couple would have had no idea that their little daughter would grow up to become one of their country's topmost archers.
Deepika started showing her inborn skills at a very tender age. As a child she used to rightly aim at the mangoes on the trees. As her mother recounts she never missed a single throw. When she decided to take up archery as her career for the rest of her life her family stood against her decision. As it was a career choice that was not in the mainstream her father wished she concentrate on academics. But none could stop the budding archer in her and her passion gave her the strength. She used to practice using bamboo made bows and arrows. It was then that her cousin Vidya Kumari also an archer saw her talent and guided her to take the step ahead. Once she achieved accomplishments for the country she got many offers at hand. She was later signed as manager by a company major which also looks up her training in the sport. Her father who had a meagre income of only eight thousand per month had struggled a lot in the learning times of her daughter to buy the sport equipment for her. A shy simple girl by nature Deepika's life changed after she won accolades at the National and International Level archery. At the age of eighteen she was on of the youngest sportsperson to represent India in the London Olympics 2012. She completed her schooling from a private school in Ranchi and is awaiting her class 12 results.
Career
Being born in a poor family with little to spend she found it extremely difficult to bear the expenses of her training. Help came her way when she joined the Tata Archery Academy in Jamshedpur in 2006 where she started the real practice with the aid of the proper equipments and training along with a stipend. With the training and her best efforts her first laurel was the cadet World Championship title in November 2009 at the age of 15. There was no stopping after that she she shined with a silver medal at the 2010 World Cuo stage 4 in Shanghai.
Her biggest achievement came when she made the Nation proud by winning a gold in the individual category and another gold in the team category. She further went on to win two silver medals at the World Cup stage 2 in Antalya in June 2011. A month later at World Championship in Turin she along with her team mates Laishram Bombayla Devi and Chekrovolu Swuro won the silver medal and booked three quotas berths for the London Olympics 2012. In August 2011, Deepika returned home gladly with a hat trick of silver medals. She did India proud by winning the World Youth Championship in Legnica in the junior category, where she also won a bronze with her team. Finally at the last stage of World Cup in Shanghai, the bright archer added individual bronze and the team gold to her fast growing medal collection. Her greatest accomplishment at the senior level came when she won a silver at the World Cup Final in May 2012 making her the World Number 1 Archer.
With a dream of an Olympic medal in her eyes she told a newspaper "I can't express what an Olympic medal means to me, its my dream, my life." Though she failed to bring a medal this Olympics but this teenager is a big asset to our country and a role model for many. She is big hope of India in the sports arena.
Lionel Messi, the Argentine player who captains the Argentine international team and plays for Barcelona in the Spanish league, is one of the most skilled and talented players in the history of world football.He with his great pace and skills has crushed many records and has helped Barcelona as well as his international team achieve glories.
Success
Messi has won the Ballon'd Or award three times and the Uefa's best footballer award two times. During his reign, Bracelona has been guided to five Laliga titles and three Champions league title. He is often compared with Diego Maradona, the God of football who himself declared him as his heir. Recently, he made a surprising history by scoring five goals in one match against Bayern Leverkusen in the Champions league. He is also the second player to score 60 goals in one season after Gerd Muller. He has also won a gold medal in the Beijing olympics.
Childlife
Messi started playing football when he crossed five for a local club Grandoli. At 11, he suffered from growth hormone deficiency. His treatment cost him $900 per month. Club Barcelona was made aware of his illness and also his talent. The director of the club made a contract with him in which all his medical bills would be paid by the club if he moves to spain and joins the club.
Career with Barcelona
Messi, after moving to Spain played for Barcelona's C grade and the B grade team. He made his debut with the club's official side when he was only 16. In an year, he made his league debut against Espanyol. His first goal for the club came at the age of 17. He was applauded by the visitors at the Camp Nou for his brilliant passing and attacking tactics with Ronaldinho.
Messi soon became a regular starter for Barca. In 2006- 07 season, Messi saw himself away from the field for three months due to a broken metatarsal after a match against Real Zaragoza. He became the second player to score a hat trick in El Classico (matches between Barcelona and Real madrid) resulting a 3-3 draw.
Messi proved that he is the second Maradona by replicating his glorious goals. Against Getafe, he scored a goal nearly a copy of the Maradona's goal of the century. He ran the same 62 metres with the ball beating the same number of players (six), scored from the same position and ran to the corner flag just as Maradona did. The Spanish press started calling the superstar 'Messidona'. He also scored a goal against Espanyol that was similar to the Maradona's 'Hand of God'.
In 2007-08 season, Messi got the Fif Pro World XI player of the year under the forward category. He was sidelined for six weeks following a muscle injury. In 2008-09, when Ronaldinho departed from the club, Messi was the focal point of Barcelona attack. It was the first time that any team had won the Champions league, La liga and the Copa Del Rey in a single season. He was given the Fifa world player of the year ahead of Christiano Ronaldo and the former winner Kaka.
In the 2010-11 season Messi scored twice to beat Real Madrid in the semifinals and also scored at Wembley to clinch the Champions league title third time and fourth overall.
Personal Life
Messi had started a Leo Messi named charity that gave children access to education and health care. The foundation is supported by his own funds. He was also the goodwill ambassador of UNICEF. He was the most appealing youth icon as was proved when a facebook page created on him saw 6 million people following it within a few hours.