Taste the Indian Flavor, Olympics

The exhilarating highs and lows of the biggest sporting actions will continue unabated today. Where as US and China are fighting out for the coveted top spot with 18 golds each, India will be looking to climb up the medal tally bagging up a few more. Action Today :

Athletics:

Athletics events will finally blow the bugle today. If Krishna Poonia manages to better her personal best, one can expect her to pull a bunny out of the Olympics hat. Om Prakash Singh and Mayookha Johny should be looking forward to leave a mark.

Boxing:

After receiving a bye in the previous round, Vikas Krishan takes on Errol Spence (USA) in the Round of 16, late night today. After Vijender Singh, he can become another Indian boxer to make it to the QF, if he manages to pull this through.

 

 

Hockey:

After a dismal defeat against the kiwis, Indians are left in a do-or-die situation. They will take up the formidable Germans in the evening today. Only if Nobbs waves his magical wand...

Shooting:

Shooting has been India's forte so far. After getting India a bronze, Gagan Narang will be hoping to better the feat in 50m Rifle Prone. Accompanying him will be Joydeep Karmakar.

Vijay Kumar must believe that he can continue his good run in the 2nd stage of 25m Rapid Fire Pistol.

Tennis:

After a series of ego clashes, controversies, first round exits, I must say that watching Leander Paes and Sania Mirza beat the Serbian pair yesterday was a treat to the eye. They jelled up well and complimented each other perfectly. However their task will be cut out when they meet the 1st seed, Victoria Azarenka and Max Mirnyi in the QF today evening. Official start for the match is not announced yet,  but it should be somewhere around 1800 hrs IST.

Badminton:

And finally, the biggest of all, Saina Nehwal taking on the World No 1, Yihan Wang in the Women's Badminton Semifinals today. Saina has already created history by becoming the first Indian to enter the Olympics SF in Badminton. And as they rightly say, it is CHINA vs SAINA.






The complete guide for the Indians in action goes as (click on the yellow links to follow action):

Individual Events

1330 hrs   Saina Nehwal                                          Women's Single Badminton SF
1330 hrs   Gagan Narang and Joydeep Karmakar       Men's 50m Rifle Prone
1430 hrs   Om Prakash Singh                                   Men's Shot put Qualification
1455 hrs   Mayookha Johny                                      Women's Triple Jump Qualification
1500 hrs   Vijay Kumar                                             Men's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol
1800 hrs   Paes/Mirza                                              Tennis Mixed Doubles, QF
 0200 hrs  Vikas Krishnan                                         Men's Boxing (69kg), Round of 16

Team Events

1815 hrs   India vs Germany (Hockey)

Winds of Change

The country might have become blind to corruption, nepotism and terrorism but I would like to believe that I am not the only eye to witness the change. The transformation is gradual but inevitable. Some fanatics ( including me ) might not approve the shift, but even they can't rule out the titillation that London Olympics has kindled and the dud that the current Cricket affairs have managed.

Can this be the beginning of the end of the "Epoch in Indian Cricket"? I believe "No". At least not until a few generations have passed. The Sept T-20 World Cup could very well render this blog absolutely baseless and flimsy. But the plummeting interest, empty grounds and the shallow media coverage definitely blow the bugle.

But what is more scintillating to observe is the hype that the Olympics has built-up in the country this time around. The five circles are almost omnipresent. There are many catalysts that might have triggered this transition : Medal prospects, Cricket overdose, Arcelor Mittal's Orbit or even the end of Kalmadi.

But I annex this more with goose bumps that every Indian got when Abhinav Bindra walked up the podium and the melody of the Indian National Anthem that brings along with it nothing else but pride and honor. 

This can be an awakening or just another display of our fickle character. This can get good or worse. But I can hear the Bells ringing, Winds of change blowing, slow yet steady !!!