Memories of London : Part II

DISAPPOINTMENTS

(Was tempted to title this section losers , but something called Olympic Spirit and words uttered by Baron Coubertin more than 100 years back drove better sense into me)

1. Ryan Lochte : Ok ,  what right in  the world does a guy who won 2 Olympic gold medals (and a total haul of 5 medals) have to be disappointed. The answer is every right. If Beijing was his team-mate and great rival Phelps’ showcase, London was supposed to be Lochte’s. While not attempting that audacious 8 gold medal haul , he would have been disappointed to come home with anything less than 5 especially after famously claiming that this was ‘his time’. Under the circumstances, 2 golds seems like a pittance, especially considering the way he blew the field r(including Phelps) away in his opening event , the 400 m IM.  Thereafter he was repeatedly relegated to being second best, by Phelps in the 200 m IM, by Yannick Agnel in the 200 m freestyle, and by team-mate Tyler Clary in the 200 m backstroke. Lochte also somehow contrived to being overtaken on the finishing leg of the 4x 100 m freestyle relay by an inspired Agnel, after having being handed a significant lead over the first 3 legs. Poor Ryan was not even fielded by the Americans in the final 4x100 m medley relay win.

 Lochte : Lurching in Phelps' mighty shadow

2. US Men’s Sprint Team : Spearheaded by Gay and Gatlin ,they were supposed to overwhelm Jamaica , with allegedly, the best US sprint team in years. There were boasts, shadow-boxing and various allegations, by US sprinters, past and present. Yet on the track all pre-match talk proved a whole lot of hot air as Messers Bolt, Blake and co demolished all and sundry winning 5 out of the 6 available medals in the 100 and 200 m followed by a clinical 4x100m relay victory. The US misery was compounded by the fact that for the first time in Olympic history they did not have a finalist in the Men’s 400 m relay, not to mention that they were agonisingly pipped to the finishing line by the Bahamas in the 4x 400 m relay.

3. Team Australia: After a decade of dominant performances, the Aussie challenge whimpered to a close with only 7 gold medals ; this after garnering a  total of 57 gold medals in the previous 3 editions(16,17 and 14 in Sydney, Athens and Beijing respectively). Hockey and swimmers were the chief disappointments with some late consolation salvaged by the sailing teams.

4. Brazilian Football team: Yet another Samba stumble – this was the Brazilian equivalent of the dream team: Neymar, Hulk, Oscar , Pato, Thiago Silva and company are supposed to be the ‘Spain’ of the next decade . On the basis of their final performance, that boast needs a lot of work to be validated.  Put early on the back foot by an inspired Mexico, coupled with some shambolic defending, the Brazilian gold medal jinx was agonizingly prolonged. 2014 (world cup) and 2016 (Olympics) are both hosted by brazil, and the absence of a top prize in at least one of these might force these players to seek asylum in Europe – in Brazilian football , being 2^nd best is simply not an option.

5. Indian Men’s Hockey team: Some might argue that India doesn’t deserve its place in this list as it has long ceased to be a top world hockey team. While that may be true, a total of 6 matches with 6 losses (including those against Belgium and South Africa) is a shocking return from one of the big names of hockey. India was more to hockey than the erstwhile West Indies was to cricket; it was probably equivalent to what Brazil and Argentina combined is to football. What the games displayed was a through ineptitude with terrible standards of fitness, motivation and commitment. Even more shocking was the fact that the Indians were actually technically inferior to most of the teams they were pitted against. It is high time the age old excuse of astro-turf and the western conspiracy is buried and people accept that India is a 3^rd rate hockey nation.

Indian Men's Hockey Team : Had no business being in London

Notable Mentions :

-Roger Federer, who’s trophy cabinet now seems destined to lack that Olympic singles gold medal.

-Mark Cavendish , who’s team GB (Wiggins , Froome and co)  just did not have tactical wherewithal and ultimately the legs to pull back the breakaway group in the men’s road race.

-Asafa Powell, the only unhappy Jamaican after the Olympics , having pulled up in the 100 m final with a hamstring injury which subsequently precluded him from taking any further part.

-Yelena Isinbayeva , the queen of the pole vault could only manage an uncertain looking bronze, failing to clear a height way below her personal best.