Sports lovers never had it so good
Sports lovers have never had it so good. So much of sporting activity, of such amazing quality and variety from all across the globe has been beaming into Indian homes much to the delight of the sports lovers.
And such has been the intensity of the games that live channels on TV have been in fits trying to squeeze in all the action and yet missing out on some of it.
Here’s the brief list: The football World Cup has been on and will be culminating in a grand finale on July 11. Wimbledon has been in an unprecedented phase where even the first round matches can’t be missed out on. Then there is England whitewashing Australia in the Natwest series. Not to mention our very own Saina Nehwal going up and up in international tournaments, as also the Asia Cup in which India lifted the trophy after 15 long years. Then there was US Open golf in which Tiger Woods was expected to make it to the top but did not.
All this happening simultaneously is creating a problem of plenty, especially when the games in all strands have been compelling clashes.
Let’s start with Wimbledon. It has been a confounding run so far on the greens of tennis. Isner and Mahut played a historical match which stretched over two days, 11.05 hours and ended only with the fifth set going into a 70/68 figure with Isner taking the game finally. This was the longest ever match in Wimbledon history with aces spilling over — 100 plus by the two doughty players. Not that we saw the entire action — while ESPN and Star Sports gave priority to the world cup, squeezing in tennis when they could, Star Cricket was agog with the Natwest series and Ten Sports did not pitch in. So viewers missed most of this epic battle.
Then there was Federer who has never had it so intense. Just when you were relaxing thinking Federer would sail through, news came in that he was struggling against a 26-year-old Columbian in the first round. He almost lost it and the match stretched to the final set with the master running around the court like a shredded chicken as Alejandro Falla 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0, finally getting away without getting slayed. On four occasions, the six-time champion stood just five points from defeat and Fella’s 35 plus aces stretched Federer as never before.
Not that his second match was any better. It stretched to four sets and with tricky youngster Ilija Bozoljac giving in more than 30 aces. All this happened when the historical battle between Isner and Mahut was on, but viewers got to see only Federer as he was a bigger story.
Next day, as Nadal also seemed to be struggling, there was no way anyone got to see much of his match as three channels were spilling over with Italy being kicked out from the FIFA world Cup, Portugal playing a decider.
Of course, Saina’s badminton feat could be just read in the papers the next day as there was no free airwave for her to be beamed in.
Such has been the fever of the football world cup (incidentally India stands at a dismal 134 FIFA ranking in football with no place in the world cup at least for a decade) that an otherwise blockbuster of an India-Pakistan clash in cricket went unnoticed till the very last over when the duel in the middle of Dambulla finally forced the viewers to switch channels from other games and return to their first love — cricket. Much of the Asia Cup has gone unnoticed in a nation that worships cricket which in itself is an amazing occurrence.
In such circumstances it is only logical to think that DD Sports would have come into play but as it happens with DD all the time, it was just not interested.
While Saina Nehwal was playing the games of her lifetime in the Super Series world tournament, DD sports was doing what it has been doing for two years now — showing highlights of the good old Beijing Olympics! Why our national TV network can’t get proactive enough to catch the action defies all reason. Will it ever learn to move with the times? Not a single aye would be heard in this connection.
The frenetic sporting action will stretch into July when most of the major tournaments, be it tennis or football, will end. But till then, the action has just begun. Already Italy and France have been knocked out amid friction, fear and revolt. Federer, too, has been struggling and his fights will only get more intense considering the likes of Andy Roddick and Novac Djokovic are waiting to play the maestro. So, tune in and stay tuned.
Source: Sunday Pioneer, June 27, 2010
And such has been the intensity of the games that live channels on TV have been in fits trying to squeeze in all the action and yet missing out on some of it.
Here’s the brief list: The football World Cup has been on and will be culminating in a grand finale on July 11. Wimbledon has been in an unprecedented phase where even the first round matches can’t be missed out on. Then there is England whitewashing Australia in the Natwest series. Not to mention our very own Saina Nehwal going up and up in international tournaments, as also the Asia Cup in which India lifted the trophy after 15 long years. Then there was US Open golf in which Tiger Woods was expected to make it to the top but did not.
All this happening simultaneously is creating a problem of plenty, especially when the games in all strands have been compelling clashes.
Let’s start with Wimbledon. It has been a confounding run so far on the greens of tennis. Isner and Mahut played a historical match which stretched over two days, 11.05 hours and ended only with the fifth set going into a 70/68 figure with Isner taking the game finally. This was the longest ever match in Wimbledon history with aces spilling over — 100 plus by the two doughty players. Not that we saw the entire action — while ESPN and Star Sports gave priority to the world cup, squeezing in tennis when they could, Star Cricket was agog with the Natwest series and Ten Sports did not pitch in. So viewers missed most of this epic battle.
Then there was Federer who has never had it so intense. Just when you were relaxing thinking Federer would sail through, news came in that he was struggling against a 26-year-old Columbian in the first round. He almost lost it and the match stretched to the final set with the master running around the court like a shredded chicken as Alejandro Falla 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), 6-0, finally getting away without getting slayed. On four occasions, the six-time champion stood just five points from defeat and Fella’s 35 plus aces stretched Federer as never before.
Not that his second match was any better. It stretched to four sets and with tricky youngster Ilija Bozoljac giving in more than 30 aces. All this happened when the historical battle between Isner and Mahut was on, but viewers got to see only Federer as he was a bigger story.
Next day, as Nadal also seemed to be struggling, there was no way anyone got to see much of his match as three channels were spilling over with Italy being kicked out from the FIFA world Cup, Portugal playing a decider.
Of course, Saina’s badminton feat could be just read in the papers the next day as there was no free airwave for her to be beamed in.
Such has been the fever of the football world cup (incidentally India stands at a dismal 134 FIFA ranking in football with no place in the world cup at least for a decade) that an otherwise blockbuster of an India-Pakistan clash in cricket went unnoticed till the very last over when the duel in the middle of Dambulla finally forced the viewers to switch channels from other games and return to their first love — cricket. Much of the Asia Cup has gone unnoticed in a nation that worships cricket which in itself is an amazing occurrence.
In such circumstances it is only logical to think that DD Sports would have come into play but as it happens with DD all the time, it was just not interested.
While Saina Nehwal was playing the games of her lifetime in the Super Series world tournament, DD sports was doing what it has been doing for two years now — showing highlights of the good old Beijing Olympics! Why our national TV network can’t get proactive enough to catch the action defies all reason. Will it ever learn to move with the times? Not a single aye would be heard in this connection.
The frenetic sporting action will stretch into July when most of the major tournaments, be it tennis or football, will end. But till then, the action has just begun. Already Italy and France have been knocked out amid friction, fear and revolt. Federer, too, has been struggling and his fights will only get more intense considering the likes of Andy Roddick and Novac Djokovic are waiting to play the maestro. So, tune in and stay tuned.
Source: Sunday Pioneer, June 27, 2010
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