Call me lazy however I’m a sucker for easy play. Give me VVS Laxman any day and I wouldn’t ask for Mathew Hayden. There won’t be a consensus in regards to the best Indian batsman from Gavaskar to Tendulkar to Kohli however everybody agrees that Laxman was particular, very, very particular. His enchantment was world. All over the cricketing world, his wrists had been worshiped, the timing of his strokes drew awe and his runs had been by no means regretted.
Now for a minute, think about Laxman with a footballer’s legs and a marathoner’s stamina. What if he might have run 20 laps after his two-day lengthy 281 at Eden Gardens?
2021 confirmed that academies across the nation are developing such trendy marvels. Indian sports activities is seeing a picture change. Artistry is marriage ceremony industrial rigour and the alliance is displaying nice promise.
Kidambi Srikanth’s World Championship silver confirmed that you simply wanted sturdy legs to climb the rostrum. Sublime racquet abilities and sly court docket craft can get you applause however peak health brings you medals. Such has been the power ranges of high shuttlers that it’s now not sufficient to wrong-foot your opponent simply as soon as within the rally. You want to try this a number of instances. That misleading drop shot in the midst of a protracted rally of excessive tosses works provided that your lungs have that additional capability to leap to the online and kill the weak return. In trendy badminton, to win some extent, one must hit a number of winners.
In the ultimate, Srikanth was made to grasp that he must do extra to be constant on the worldwide circuit. His rival within the closing, Loh Kean Yew, was the right specimen of an entire badminton participant. The quickness he confirmed, as Shivani Naik wrote in her World Championship closing evaluation, has not been seen on badminton courts since Lee Chong Wei.
The one attribute of this recreation that largely went unnoticed however would assist him replicate Lee Chong Wei’s feats was his skill to remain in a rally whereas in uncomfortable positions. Cue to the ultimate stage of the tight second set towards Srikanth. As a final throw of cube, the Indian star switched to turbo mode, sending down a collection of smashes. Loh Kean Yew, along with his legs stretched like Djokovic at full stretch, stood like a rock braving excessive tide. His unflinching gaze by no means snapped even when Srikanth stored leaping excessive and sending down shuttles. If not for his protection, the Singapore star’s march to the gold would have been hampered. It was clear, there was no place for unidimensional gamers. Srikanth’s stamina and Loh Kaen Yew’s protection have helped them to interrupt stereotypes. Pure artists or plain energy hitters wouldn’t final for too lengthy the ruthless circuit.
Similar winds of change are howling on the hockey astro turf too. Just after the Olympics, I received an opportunity to catch India’s ahead Simranjeet Singh on Zoom. He wasn’t the star of the group, nor the top-scorer however he caught the attention due to his jaw-dropping dribbling abilities. For these following hockey for the reason that 80s, this was a throwback to the day once you had your coronary heart within the mouth when Mohammad Shahid drove between defenders like a automotive with failed breaks negotiating rush hour visitors.
At first look, Simranjeet appeared like a basic Indian participant, an audacious dribbler persevering with the legacy of Dhyan Chand and Shahid. Earlier within the dialog, he had expressed his love for Messi and marveled on the abilities and health of the soccer icon. He didn’t distance himself from my flattering comparability to previous greats however very politely begged to vary. “People tell me I have a typical Indian game, I love to listen to such praise and I am proud of it but I am not a typical Indian hockey player. I have to adapt to the modern game,” he says. Was he a mixture of Messi and Indian hockey participant? “Yes,” he replied.
The Indian hockey groups, each women and men, had been confined at Bangalore in the course of the lockdown and sweated it on the market. The outcomes had been there to see. The bunch had been simply India’s fittest Olympians ever.
Indian cricket too is able to flaunt its new power below the brand new coach Rahul Dravid. Suggested studying: Sandip G’s piece on Dravid making an attempt to shed his good boy picture as coach.
With Jadeja out, India shall be within the Test with a lone spinner and three pacers. Sriram Veera profiled the person who greatest symbolised this variation. Mohammed Siraj’s springy run-up and his tireless power to maintain running-in all day greatest highlights this mindset shift.
As for Laxman, he has simply been drafted because the director of the state-of-the-art National Cricket Academy at Bangalore. At Indian cricket’s premier ending faculty, children on cross trainers can be taught the nuance of flicking the ball from exterior off to mid-wicket by the grasp. If wiry wrists transfer across the discipline on untiring legs, Indian sports activities can go locations.
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Sandeep Dwivedi
National Sports Editor
The Indian Express
