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“There is only one language on the football pitch — the football language. It is a unique language, and without any words you can understand your team-mate. This is what we have to learn,” says the FC Pune City head coach, Ranko Popovic.
Sports literature has been enriched by contributions from novelists, philosophers, Nobel Prize winners, palaeontologists, historians, anthropologists, even a Prime Minister or two.
F1 drivers need to undergo a period of conditioning to cope with the physical demands of the sport: no other race series requires the drivers to have so much in terms of stamina and muscle endurance.
“Football is my first love. I have been a fanatic since a young age,” says playback singer and politician, Babul Supriyo.
For many, watching sport on television is indeed a meaningful pursuit. This isn’t just limited to the so-called ‘millennial generation.’ Far greater minds have indulged in it from time to time.
The British Junior Open runner-up is keen on representing India in the world junior team championships happening in Chennai from July 24-29
In 2017, 209 under-aged players were transferred, just 1% of a market worth $6.37 billion, according to FIFA’s Global Transfer Market Report. With too much money at the top for too little talent, transfer fees have become inflated. As a consequence, clubs chase talents at brittle ages.
‘He was bigger than how he looked on TV, and with his long hair let loose, it took me a while to recognise him,’ says table tennis star Sharath Kamal.
Manpreet Singh, just 25, has already led the Indian national hockey team to Asian glory. The Jalandhar-born athlete, however, says his first love is football.
Eating happens first with the mind, then with the eyes, then the nose, and finally the taste buds. When athletes travel abroad, they get homesick! This is where they begin to lose performance.
Consistency is seriously an issue even with the best of home-grown champions.
The lessons we learned from the Australian Open, and other conclusions we can draw from the season’s first major.
Things are certainly looking up for players of Indian origin, as South Africa changes and embraces more players of colour from all sections of society. Since Hashim Amla, Tabraiz Shasi, Imraan Khan and Keshav Maharaj of Indian origin have been handed Test caps.
India’s foreign complex should have disappeared more than 70 years ago when the nation gained independence, but it has increased. Our penchant for foreign experts, coaches and support staff defies all logic.
Feted one day, forgotten the next, life as a young prospect can be a yo-yo-like experience. Few emerge unscathed.
A World Cup winner is a big tag and will always remain a proud memory.