My Favourite Sports Person

A man is defined by his passion. My passion is sports. Since childhood, my love for sports has not changed; the range of sports has however changed. I now watch a lot of sports on TV and play a few. Here I talk about some of my favorite sports person and role models. 

The Wall-Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid is one of the greatest batsman to have played cricket. Very passionate and dedicated to his game, he is role model for thousands of kids aspiring to play cricket. Famously referred to as “The Wall”, born on 11 January 1973, Dravid is nicknamed Jammy by his friends.

Rahul Dravid for India

Playing for neighbour India, it was obvious for me to follow Indian cricket. Since I have followed cricket, Dravid was there carrying the weight of Indian batting forward. He was always among the runs and was always a big resistance for the opposition. Class touch, picture perfect shots and timing defines Dravid’s batting. Good player of spin and pace and in any condition and wicket, Dravid’s technique was surreal. Starting as a wicket keeper, he has always been a terrific catcher all round the field, especially in the slips.  Dravid is one of the players to have scored 10,000 runs in both ODI and Test cricket. He has been awarded reputed awards throughout his career for his flawless batting.

Dravid has always set high standards on and off the field. Very calm and composed, he was always given respect by his opponents. He is a true role model.

Churchy- Adam Gilchrist

You would never want to be missing a certain Adam Gilchrist bat. Born on 14 November 1971, he was an integral part of the almost invincible Australian cricket team. A wicket keeper batsman, Gilly was prolific. Shots all round the park, hitting sixes and fours at ease, his strike rate is among the highest. No matter what form of cricket he was playing, the approach was same. For me, he redefined batting. Gilly was a bowler’s nightmare and a glorious entertainer for the fans.

Adam Gilchrist with Ashes and Baggy Green

One of the best wicket-keeper to add to his batting, he has most catches for a player in ODI cricket. Gilchrist seldom missed catches and was always active behind the wicket. He was also someone to set high standards and deserved respect for his acts. He is most renowned for walking if he thought he was out, not even waiting for Umpire’s decision. Gilly never feared of anything and was a great example for sportsmanship. You would have to wait for long time to see another wicket keeper batsman like Gilly.

In addition to these cricketers, some other cricketers I idolise are Sachin Tendulkar, Brett Lee, Shane Bond,AB de Villiers, Brendon McCullum. 

Schuey- Michael Schumacher

Even before I knew what sport Formula 1 was, I was a Ferrari fan as a car manufacturer.  Being a Ferrari fan, it was obvious to love Michael Schumacher. Schumacher was born on 3 January 1969 in Germany. Schumacher has played important role in making Ferrari as competitive as it in now. Though privileged to be sitting in a great car, Schumi was some racer. We fans had habit of seeing his Ferrari cross the line as winner.

 

Schumi is an unprecedented seven times world champion and arguably the greatest F1 driver. He won 5 consecutive driver champions with Ferrari and the earlier two with Benetton. Shumi has almost every F1 record in his bag. His ability of driving in wet condition is considered as the best. He had the ability of producing fastest laps in vital time of a grand prix.  His second stint of F1 racing with Mercedes did not go well and has been retired now.

The Iceman- Kimi Raikonnen

Another driver you got to love is Kimi Raikonnen who cares nothing except racing. Hard to find a true racer as him, Kimi is a Finnish driver born in1979. Kimi won the driver championship with Ferrari. He has returned to F1 after taking break of 2 seasons.

Nicknamed “The Iceman” Kimi’s a hard racing driver. He can produce unreal pace, brave impossible overtakes and make overtaking for opponent as hard as it can get.  Kimi is a class act and there in nothing not to like about the iceman

Apart from these drivers my other favorites are Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button.

Moving on, here are my favourites in the field of lawn tennis. Grandslams are a must watch for me. The players I love are rated very highly but have underachieved.

Maria Sharapova

Maria is a Russian beauty and tennis sensation. She might be the most loved tennis player. Maria is a power packed player with fierce backhand and forehand from the baseline. That is her strength. Very calm and composed on the tennis court, she understands the game very well. Her grunting and unforced errors are the only things that you tend to get irritated with. Otherwise, she is picture perfect. The way she approaches the play, the pause before serving, the way she caresses the ball, the palm hitting the thigh, the ball tossing just makes you adore her even more. She might not have won enough grand slam tournaments as she should have done. She has got time and her beauty added with the powerful strike of the ball will surely make her the loved one in tennis.

Rafael Nadal

Rafa is a dominant figure in the age of Spanish domination of sports. Making good name since childhood, people often comment on his longevity in sport. Rafa has a personality matched by none. Very dignified, shy and full of respect, Rafa is people’s favourite. Having rivalry with some of best tennis player in an era also helps to fuel his popularity. His accomplishments in grand slam tournaments have not been matched. Rafa is an attacking player with amazing defensive qualities. Rafa is renowned to turn offensive while in defensive and it has given him a lot of success. The trend of biting trophy is a Rafa trademark.

All is not lost for Nepal

Nepal failed to qualify for AFC Challenge Cup going to be held in Maldives. Nepal finished 3^rd in the Group D qualifiers behind Palestine and Bangladesh. It failed to utilize the home advantage and let down thousands of spectators in the stadium and Nepali around the world. As always seen, its inability to score goals acted as a major problem. It scored 6 goals against lowly Northern Mariana Island which was not even a contest, but failed to score against both Bangladesh and Palestine.

The loss to Bangladesh was a major setback to Nepal. The score line does not reflect the performance, but when you do not make chances count, you are left helpless. That game however was marred by bad referee decision. Nepal conceded a penalty which never seemed to be one. On many other times, linesman made mistake in their offside decision.  The referee decision made crowd very restless and they showed their frustration by throwing various things in the ground and stopped play for some time. Bangladeshis were not helping either, going down softly and wasting time. Nepal was playing good in possession and created a lot of chances, but the finishing touches were never there. Some ball went marginally wide, some hit the bar and as the game progressed, Nepal did not seem like scoring. Nepal conceded the second goal in what was the best passage of play for them. The absolutely vocal crowds were stunned and their frustration crept in the players in the field too. Nepal was unable to use the ball against them and had to face defeat leaving uphill task against Palestine to qualify for the Challenge Cup.

Nepal played highly spirited game against Palestine. The game ended in a nil-nil draw which was not enough for Nepal to qualify for second round. Nepal’s performance was highly improved in the game. The players in the wing were highly involved throughout the game. Nepal also won the battle of midfield. However, Nepal could do nothing to score against a highly physical side. The defense was organized and was able to secure a clean sheet. Both sides created a handful of chances but were unable to open the scoring. Nepal has lot of positives to take from the game.

Nepali supporter are left heartbroken once again. The support from them has not been justified by the players in the field. The spirit as well as pace of Nepali players fades out as the game progresses. We understand that players try to perform the best, but spectators like to see that seen in the field. Performance of players like Bharat Khawas, Jagjeet Shrestha, and Robin Shrestha were outstanding. Other players have to improve their performance. The coaches have some time before the next tournament and they should be involved in improving the overall performance of Nepal.

Nepal’s next tournament is SAFF Championship to be organized at home. It is the only tournament that realistically we are capable of winning. As the coaches have already said, they want Nepal to be the best team in South Asia. Nepal has not won the South Asian Cup for a long time and there is desperation now to win that tournament. With pride and rivalry involved, you can only imagine what the scenes will be like at the stadium. The supporters will be there to support Nepal whatever happens.

The preparation to that tournament should start from now. ANFA has to provide coaches the facility that they require. Nepal needs international exposure; hence international friendly should be organized. ANFA has done a good job by providing 50000 to every player. That will keep players motivated to perform good in the tournament. Nepal has to win the SAFF to stamp their authority in football in South Asia otherwise the excitement and passion in people about football may fade out.

PS: This blog post first published on 7 march 2013 in Other blog. It was also published in GoalNepal.com's website on March 7.