England & South Africa lock horns in Rugy World Cup final

Posted on February 8, 2012 by admin

Thirty six days ago when England lost by a 36-point margin to South Africa in their opening Pool game in the Rugby World Cup, most of the rugby pundits and commentators were writing off England’s chances of even reaching the final, let alone successfully defending the trophy they won in so scintillating a fashion four years ago in Australia. But since then, a whole host of changes have occurred and England have dramatically improved both in form and result. When South Africa and England lock horns to contest the final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup at the legendary Stade de France in Paris, sparks would fly all around and there’s little doubt that spectators would observe a different game that the one on display last month. At the time, England didn’t have their talisman Jonny Wilkinson and were humbled by a ferociously strong South African team that has virtually demolished all the teams they have played so far in the competition. But Wilkinson is now back from injury in England’s colours and that is the boost that Brian Ashton’s improving side requires ahead of the titan clash with the Springboks. Although the Africans would be slight favourites for the final, given the rampant form of Frans Steyn and Ruan Pienaar, the England coach knows that his side’s spirit and passion could win the day. Its’ not that England don’t have a solid team; the fact is that South Africa have a better one. In their Pool game encounter in just over five weeks ago, the Springboks were massively better in the forward and halfback departments and blew England away right from the very first minute. So England need to be cautious in the finale in Paris and should try to wrestle the initiative from the South Africans. Since winning the World Cup in 2003 thanks to a dramatic last minute drop goal from Jonny Wilkinson, England have drastically spiraled down. But their surge in this year’s World Cup has lifted the spirits of the England supporters who now believe that England can defeat South Africa in Paris on Saturday to win their second World Cup crown in a row.

David beats Goliath: Nalbandian derails Fed-Ex!

Posted on February 8, 2012 by admin

File this under the ‘shock news’ segment. Sunday saw some surprises in the sports arena. First Kimi won the F1 title & now Roger Federer lost a tennis match! As much as you might tell me that sport is unpredictable, Federer losing at the Masters finals in Madrid is still a shocker. The super man of the tennis world seems to have been exposed to the rays of Krypton’s sun & transformed into human for one night. David Nalbandian made a came back from behind, after losing the first set, to beat the master, Roger Federer at the masters. 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 – was what the score board said. David became the first player since Boris Becker in 1994 to beat top three seeds of the world at the masters. Nalbandian ranked 25th, had earlier defeated world number 2 & 3, Nadal & Djokovic. What makes this amazing is the fact that by the end of the first set, Federer looked in cruise mode and as usual looked as if he was out to give a master class in Tennis. Then there was a minor break during the second set due to leakage is water sprinklers nearby. Maybe this threw off the great Swiss mater’s concentration off. He was then broken and soon the final set arrived with both players claiming a set a piece. Roger looked nervy as the final set started and soon his ground strokes went astray. The Swiss master’s incredible precision and phenomenal serve deserted him. Super man looked human and vulnerable. Nalbandian swooped in and knocked him off the perch as Federer’s serve was broken in the third game. This was only his seventh loss of the year. Justine Henin Hardine had earlier won with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Tatiana Golovin in the Zurich Open final. The world No 1 has won 9 of the 13 titles she made bid to win this year. But the true big story is of Nalbandian. Surely David has beaten Goliath of tennis. In fact, David has just beaten the super man of tennis. Well done, David. Now take my advice and stay away from Roger for a year or so. If you face him any sooner on court, trust me, it will be an ugly sight for you as you look up the scoreboard.

Ice-man Kimi Coolly clinches world championship

Posted on February 8, 2012 by admin

Kimi Raikkonen: F1 World Champion 2007! Now if anyone would have told me this a couple of races back then I sure as hell would have laughed at their stupidity. But then sporting gods have a cruel way of laughing in your face. In the high voltage drama that surrounded a season plagued by controversy & allegations, we should have known that the ending would be no different. It was not more than a couple of races back that young Brit, Lewis Hamilton, looked as if he had the season all wrapped up. But the hot driving sensation by now must have realized that one can never take anything for granted in international sport. The British driving sensation came into this race 4 points ahead of teammate Alonso and good 7 points in front of the latest ‘Flying Finn’ (still think Mika was the true Flying Finn). But then in a season so full of stories & surprises the grand finale was no different. The race mirrored the turbulent season, with Massa taking the lead, followed by Kimi in the First turn itself. This left Lewis fourth, which he would and I say, should have settled for. But Lewis then ran wide, to drop to seventh. And, luck caught up with the rookie as he had a gear box problem dropping him to 18th by lap seven. Then Lewis fought back, till his very last lap, setting the track on fire. This saw him ending up in the 7th place, just a place below the title fetching position. Meanwhile at the head of the field, away from all this drama, Kimi took the lead from Massa in after the second pit stop. Unlike the Schume- Rubens incident a while back, there were no team orders at work here. It was the sheer blinding pace of the Finn on his in-lap into the pits that snatched the race lead away from the home boy Massa. On the other, Fernando continued in third. Nico Rosberg was fourth for Williams followed by the two BWM’s of Kubica and Heidfelt. As the flag came out, Kimi stole the title by just a single point finishing at 110, with Alonso and Lewis at 109. This has been the first 3-way battle for the title in the last 21 years and the guy who was the least likely to win, nailed it at the end. The race was a delight to watch and till the last few laps you though somehow, someway, Lewis would pull it off. He is young and fabulous. With the right team at his side and a right second driver in the team (not Alonso please), he might have enough time to challenge the legacy of the original ‘Red Barron’. McLaren should be kicking themselves for handing the drivers title over to Ferrari. Before the start of the season I remember Schume said ‘you cannot have two leading drivers in a team, there has to be one clear number one. Love him or hate him (I fall in the former category), When the 7-time world champion talks, you better listen. Sure he drove for the Italian team but I hope McLaren listen next time and take notes. When Michael Schumacher Speaks, you listen, got that Ron Dennis? Anyway, Kimi was given a great gift by Mclaren. The Finn took it all right and took it in what fashion! Congratulations Kimi. F1 hasn’t been this exciting since pre-Schumacher glory days.

Force India is new name of Spyker

Posted on February 7, 2012 by admin

Spyker have been granted permission by the FIA to change their name to Force India. The team, bought by Vijay Mallya in partnership with Mol family for £61m will race under the new name complementing its logo in the colors of Indian Flag from next season. Spyker had paid £51m to Midland F1 outfit in 2006 but could not make an impact in this season’s championship winning just one constructor’s point in Japanese GP. Spyker team made a loss of £9m in the first half of the year and perhaps this forced its owners to make a decision to sell the team. Mallaya also known as King of good times is the chairman of UB Group, which has beer spirits and airlines operations in India. With him in charge, there were rumors that Indian driver Narian Karthikeyan, who is currently a test driver for Williams could come into the team but Mallya put these speculations to rest in an interview, which he gave after Chinese GP in which he said: I always get asked if we will have an Indian driver and my response is – if I can find one who is ready, yes. But only under the parameters just said. Drivers are a crucial part of the team so the driver line-up is a serious matter and not a sympathy contest. When he was questioned that India should be a part of team name he replied: It is my vision that India is part of the name, yes. What it will be in the end is not decided yet so everybody will have to wait. The name is an integral part of the team identity. Everybody will have to be a little more patient. Clearly things went his way as far as name of team is concerned, but will the rechristened team be able to make any difference to constructors tally remains to be seen. India is set to host an F1 race in 2010 following a deal between Indian Olympic Association and Formula One Supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

Marc Lievremont becomes the new coach of the French rugby team

Posted on February 7, 2012 by admin

Marc Lievremont might have had a brilliant playing career for the French national rugby union team but that doesn’t guarantee that he would have a similar illustrious career as a coach. Lievremont’s appointment as the new rugby union coach of the French national team came on Tuesday in the wake of the departure of Bernard Laporte to the post of a junior minister in the French government. But doubts have already started to crop up over the appointment. The former flanker is relatively inexperienced in the coaching arena at the highest and that could be damaging for a national rugby team that has potential which was illustrated when they reached the semi-finals of the recently concluded Rugby World Cup on home soil. But Lievremont has tremendous knowledge about the present generation of rugby players and also has a Under-21 World Cup title as a coach under his belt. Acknowledged as one of the greatest ever rugby player to have donned French colours, Marc Lievremont is hugely respected by the players and rugby fans alike. This popularity could be beneficial both to the coach and the players. Marc Lievremont has signed a four-year contract with the French Rugby Federation. His assistant will be Emile Ntamack, who is also a former French international hero, and Didier Retiere. While Ntamack will coach the backs, Retiere will coach the forwards. This balanced French rugby team has lots of potential and in all likelihood the novel and enthusiastic ideas of Lievremont would be good for the progress of the national team. Although some members of the French Rugby Federation are not entirely convinced that Marc Lievremont possesses the right pedigree to take charge of one of the best rugby team sin the world, Lievremont’s energy and confidence should see him through.

New look Tour de France in 2008 aimed at cleaning the sport of cycling

Posted on February 7, 2012 by admin

They call it the sport of truth and the cycling federation is all out to cleanse the sport of cycling from all the filth that it has come to gather over the past few years. The Tour de France is the most widely recognized and most popular cycling event in the world and the sport’s authorities have decided to revamp next year’s race. The renovation of the Tour comes as a calculated measure to dig the sport of cycling out of the deep pit that it has pushed into by doping and cheating. No doubt then that one new element noticed in the new format would be the compulsory participation of the cyclists in a series of tests that would enable the building of a blood profile for each participants. The race organizers believe that this step would enhance the blood-testing procedure. The most outstanding change to the actual race format is the introduction of the ruthless and demanding climb up L’Alpe d’Huez just ahead of the final showdown in Paris. This would not only multiply the intricacy of the Tour de France but would also refurbish romanticism and thrall in the race. The start to the race has also been hit with a change. The last time that the Tour de France race did not start with solo time trial was way back in 1966 and the Tour organizers are eager to revive the good old days of the 1960s. In 2008, the start to the race will be a challenging 195 km stage. This is a positive move since the stage would motivate more riders to go for the yellow jersey. Otherwise those who specialize in time-trials would have gone one step ahead unnecessarily. Tour de France still remains one of the most romantic cycling event in the world in spite of the doping scandals that have decimated the sport’s credentials in the past few years. The Tour organizers are eager to make amends and with the 2008 race undergoing some good changes, maybe the spot of cycling will be able to purify itself after all.

Hingis retires from tennis after admitting positive drug test

Posted on February 6, 2012 by admin

Martina Hingis might be ranked among the best female players of all time in the glamorous sport of tennis but she won’t be able to shake off the doping issue that has lifted its ugly head to entrap the Swiss tennis star. Although the WTA has refused to confirm that Hingis tested positive for a banned substance during this year’s Wimbledon, the tennis player’s decision to come out and retire from the sport is a firm indication that nothing more can be done. Hingis herself has revealed that her A sample tested positive for cocaine at this year’s Wimbledon but has denied that she ever took the drug. Hingis doesn’t go head-on to accuse the drug-testers of any mistake but at the same time, Hingis denies that she ever took any banned drugs to enhance her performance. So at 27 years, Hingis has decided to retire. This is of course not the first time that the Swiss legend has called the curtains. In 2003, a series of serious injuries forced her to retire prematurely from the sport when she was arguably at the peak of her ability. By that time, she has already racked up 5 Grand Slams, including the Wimbledon. Her return to the tennis circuit in 2006 inspired the belief that Martina Hingis could once again scale the lofty heights. Indeed since her comeback from retirement last year, she has won three titles and has improved consistently in the Grand Slams too but the shocking revelation that she took drugs, knowingly or unknowingly, has knocked the steam out of that conviction. Hingis’ claim that she never took any banned substance in her career is not too difficult to sympathize with when one considers the amount of honours she has gathered in her illustrious tennis career. Her retirement from tennis in the wake of the doping allegation signifies her resignation to fate and the suspicion that she did take cocaine to enhance her performance would of course be hard to ignore. After all, she had just retuned from 3 years of persistent injury problems.

Mclaren and Fernando Alonso part ways

Posted on February 6, 2012 by admin

Two-time formula one world champion Fernando Alonso has agreed to leave the Mclaren team after just one year into the three-year contract. The Spaniard joined Mclaren from French team Renault at the start of the year. Mclaren boss Ron Denis announced that the contract was terminated by mutual consent. The Mclaren-Alonso relationship was a turbulent one throughout the season and the Spaniard accused the racing team of favouritism towards rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton. Many thought that Fernando Alonso was throwing these accusations just because his pride and ego were getting hurt by the brilliant driving of a driver who was in his very first season in formula one driving. According to reports Fernando Alonso threatened team boss Ron Denis of providing secret information to the FIA regarding the Ferrari-Mclaren spy scandal until and unless he was made the number one driver of the team which led to a furious row between the two. The situation was so bad that the two men were not on speaking terms for most of the second half of the season. It remains to be seen where is the likely destination of Fernando Alonso for the next championship season, but if popular beliefs are to go by, the Spaniard will rejoin his old team Renault in a swapping deal with the French team’s Finnish driver Heiki Kovalainen who will in turn join Mclaren. But for Alonso, joining Renault would mean that there is a danger for the great driver to drive through the next season without winning anything as the French car’s technology is inferior to that of Mclaren and Ferrari. But in formula one things can change very quickly. This season’s championship, unfortunately, would be remembered for all the negative things, like the spy scandal, Alonso-Mclaren relationship rather than the remarkable title-winning last race achievement of Kimi Raikonen and the consitent driving of Lewis Hamilton. Hopefully, it will be a far less controversy-ridden formula one season.

David tames the Spanish bull, obliterates Nadal on his way to Masters Title

Posted on February 6, 2012 by admin

In what can be termed as nothing but ‘A master class at the Master’s', Argentine David Nalbandian destroyed the young Spaniard Nadal on his way to his second Maters Title in two weeks. David had been setting the hard courts across Europe ablaze for the past few weeks with performances that are nothing less than phenomenal. While we all knew that David was an exceptionally good player on clay, the past couple of Masters series tournaments have showed that he is in awesome form. This is only his 7th singles title of his career & he has been in the form of his life for the past month. His blitzkrieg past Nadal lasted only 69 minutes, as he put on a score line of 6-4, 6-0 against the world No. 2. The Spanish stud was left clueless with an array of ground strokes flowing from David’s racket. While you always know that Rafa is the last guy who would ever lay down without a fight, he somehow never stringed out a series of strokes to keep himself in the match. Soon the match turned ugly, if you were a Rafa fan watching & if your were backing the Argentine veteran, then it was pure delight. It is not very often that anyone gets to beat Roger Federer. It is not very often that anyone steamrolls past Rafa on any surface. In space of three weeks David managed both the phenomenal feats in the matter of a month. He took down the crowned prince & the rebellious young contender to the throne of world tennis. No wonder then that David is delighted with his performance. Netting some big fish at the masters: Nalbandian Nadal, being the champion that he is, took nothing away from David’s immaculate touch on court. He did not for once complain about his heavily bandaged knee & agreed that he was out played on the day. He said, He is playing at 100% all the time at the moment, and is in great form after his win in Madrid. I congratulate David on a great tournament. Now, that is how true greats accept defeat too. They don’t make excuses & I hope the Williams sisters are listening. It was a great month for Nalbandian. But he still could not qualify automatically for the Masters Cup in Shanghai. If I were you mate, I would enjoy the purple patch & start practicing again. When the next Grand slam season begins, you will have two top guns hunting for your head. They won’t be taking it too lightly, will they?

Paula nods her way to a glorious comeback with New York maratho

Posted on February 5, 2012 by admin

Paula Radcliffe has always been one of my favorite sportswomen of all time and with each passing day she is climbing her way to the top of my list. While it is impossible, in my own mind, to put anyone above Nadia Comaneci (‘the’ perfectionist and that is a long sounding the), Paula is soon getting into the second spot. It delights me a lot that in the times when my most adored sportswomen seem to be falling down from their pedestal, (Marion Jones & Martina Hingis! Why Martina, why?) Paula has pulled off this victory. She has given birth to little Isla just 10 months back and then has come to New York to clinch another marathon title in this city. It is an absolute tribute to Paula’s work ethic that she has managed to make such a phenomenal comeback. I still remember the images of a shattered Paula Radcliffe from the 2004 Olympics, where she had to abandon the marathon. It was a heart shattering moment as you could clearly sense the pain across your television set. But, life has come a full circle for the star. She now is happy with her new born & is back on track & looking as good as ever. In a marathon filled with stars like Lance Armstrong & Katie Holmes, (& if you take a look at the picture, you would think Katie looks more determined to win than Paula!) Paula came out the true star as she beat her long time rival, Ethiopia’s Gete Wami. Bothe had a wonderful race with Wami close on Paula’s heel & even past her at a point. But, she is Paula Radcliffe making her debut appearance in front of her cute Isla. This meant that the was not having any of it. She clinched New York marathon title & pocketed £65,000. Maybe loosing the hat and the coat would help your speed Katie, Maybe… Lance never knew how to quit… She is a clean athlete with great grit and her distinct ‘nod’ as she runs seems as if she is approving of the fact that all is under control. It is nice to have her back & she says she wants to compete in 2012 Olympics too. That is great to hear & I’m sure all the Brits and many more would be backing her. The best part to hear was when Paula said, Generally, the happier I am, the better I run. Certainly I’m a lot happier with Isla in our lives. Great to hear that indeed & I hope you don’t mind me calling you Paula; after all, we are fellow Sagittarians.