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. 

Memories of London : Part I

There was something about the London games which will not ever be replicated in the future , not least the number of stirring venues and backdrops – whether it be the football at Wembley , the Archery at Lords , the Tennis at Wimbledon or the road events finishing on the Mall with the backdrop of the Buckingham Palace. Tears were shed in joy and sorrow , dreams were fulfilled and dashed cruelly , pre-emptive boasts came up both justified and exceedingly hollow, stars and legends both,  engraved their names deeper in history and were extinguished without a final blaze, youthful pretenders , both made history and came up woefully short of the mark. To list out all the heroes and heroines at the games would probably entail another fortnight’s work – so right out of the hat , are the names (individuals and teams) of both the superstars in these games and those who left for home with disappointment and disquiet.

WINNERS

1. Michael Phelps & Usain Bolt :

As in Beijing, so in London, when the dust settles and the hullabaloo is long over , these are the 2 names that will linger on as the icons of these games. People wrote Phelps off and surprise, surprise , at the end of the Games , guess who stood atop the individual medal tally , both in gold medals (4 -  shared with Missy Franklin) and total medals (6). The legacy of Phelps is probably destined to go down as the closest thing to the statistically unmatchable in sport since Bradman’s 99.94.

As for Bolt – 6 Olympic events contested: 6 gold medals, 4 world records, 1 Olympic record. Wonder what the future holds in store if he decides to come back for the 400m and the Long Jump at Rio.

2. Team Great Britain : You got to be kidding me – 29 gold medals , 4 in track and field, 6 gold in a single day. Ahead of traditional powerhouse Russia and way ahead of Australia in the medal tally, GB will be hard pressed to reproduce even half of its tally in 4 years time. It diffucult to single out British athletes individually - From Chris Hoy to Mo Farah ,  from Jessica Ennis to Andy Murray , from Bradley Wiggins to Ben AInslie: this was a veritable dream team for the Brits : (Poor Mark Cavendish would be banging his brains out.).

3. David Rudisha : Not just because he set the first Track and field gold medal in the games – but the manner in which he won the 800m. There was no shadowboxing, no tail-gating , the Kenyan seized the lead early and simply demolished the field – the perfect example an athlete at the top of his game and

4. Russian Men’s volleyball Team : Winning the gold in a final which was easily the game of the entire Olympics (any event) . Firm favourites Brazil , leading by 2 sets to love and  22-19 in the third , offered themselves the luxury of  sending on injured captain Giba for the medal winning play. Whether the Russians took it as an insult and raised their game or whether it made the South Americans lose momentum is a matter of debate, but what followed was one of the greatest comebacks in the history of any team event in any sport. Seizing the 3^rd set 29-27 , the Russians proceeded to demolish a shell-shocked Brazil and claim their first volleyball gold since the days of the Soviet Union.

5. A multi-cultural trio of Women Swimmers : A teenage American named Missy Franklin who equalled Phelps’ haul of 4 gold medals) ; Ranomi Kromowidjojo , a Dutchwoman of Javanese Surinami origin who blitzed the pool in the blue riband sprints (the 50 and 100 m freestyle) and a 15 year old Chinese girl , Ye Shiven , whose performances in the medley swims were so astonishing that they promptly brought out accusations of doping. The best part is that all 3 ladies have age on their side and mere contemplation of what they might end up achieving by the end of their careers sets the pulse racing.

Kromowidjojo , Franklin and Shiwen : New Kids on the Block 

Honourable Mentions: US women’s relay teams (track and pool) , Chinese badminton and table tennis teams and the US basketball teams (for maintaining their fearsome monopoly) , all women boxers (medallists or otherwise) for winning a battle stretching over decades to have their event included in the games

Olympic Diary : day 15

Penultimate Day fireworks , Russians storm the Arena , a British Legend , Samba-stumble and (Yawn) another Jamaican Victory.

Records....crazy celebrations....tears.....shock......double extra-time....and gallons of adrenaline.... the penultimate day of the games could n0t have seen  better action.

The jury is now out on the sportsman who will be knighted earlier...Bradley Wiggins or Mo Farah....Farah added the 5000m gold to his 10000 m title in a searing home-stretch finish. Not content to simply cross the line in first place, he promptly did a Usain Bolt and added a few crunches for good measure.

That celebration probably woke Bolt up for good as he anchored a spectacular Jamaican 4x100 m relay effort home becoming the first team ever to break the 37 s barrier. Halfway through , the race the Americans seemed ahead , before Tyson Gay was slowly reeled in by Yohan Blake , who handed the baton to Bolt, right on the shoulder of the American anchor and the conclusion from that moment on was foregone.

Bolt does the Farah Salute

The country of the day however was Russia , who made a late gold medal surge winning the men’s and women’s race walks , the women’s high jump and 800m as well as a creditable if distant silver (from an awesome US team) in the 4x 400m women’s relay. The Russians won a total of 6 gold medals with Evegena Kanaeva imperious in her defence of the all-round rhythmic gymnastics title. 

If track and field event went as per predictions, all hell was let loose in Wembley where an inspired Mexico toppled a cocky and ultimately a defensively inept Brazilian team 2-1 thanks to Oribe Peralta’s brace (the first goal coming in the 1^st minute of play). Chelsea recruit Oscar had the chance to tie the game with virtually the last piece of notable action but headed above the cross-bar from point blank range. The Brazilian women’s volleyball team fared considerably better winning 3 sets to 1 against the USA with a comprehensive performance after being whipped in the first set.

In a another upset, though not of such epic proportion, Germany yet again pulled the rug from under the feet of perennial rivals Holland to win the gold in the men’s hockey.

Honourable mentions for India’s Yogeshwar Dutt who came through 3 rapid repechage rounds to take bronze in the 60 kg freestyle wrestling and Brit Tom Daley who finally repaid some wild home expectations by winning the bronze in the men’s 10 m platform diving event.

Performer of the Day : Elena Lashmanova of Russia , who won the women’s 20 km race walk in world record time in an astonishing race, pipping her compatriot and defending gold medallist Olga Kaniskina. Kanishkina had led the entire race bar the final 100 odd meters where Lashmanova took over, astonishingly after at one point having been more than a minute behind her.

Lashmanova : Leading a Late Russian Charge

Quote of the Day : Brazil are turning ‘living dangeously’ into an art form in this final. 

Olympic Diary : Day 14

An Ancient Record Smashed , Bracing for a Storming finale

The American quartet of  Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix, Bianca Knight and Carmelita Jeter set the track ablaze knocking out the stuffing of a 27 year old world record in the women’s 4x100 m relay , held previously by the erstwhile East Germans. There was immediate talk in the air about how this relay might inspire the US men in their event 24 hrs later. However, the US men’s 4x 400 m relay team suffered a shock defeat over the home stretch of the final leg against an inspired Bahamas. With both Jamaica and USA setting scorching times in the men’s 4 x 100 m  semi-finals without one main man each (Bolt and Gay respectively), the track is set for a rip-roaring finish tonight.

Other team events set themselves up for fascinating gold medal matches with Brazil set to encounter Mexico in the men’s football final , while the Gasol brothers’ Spain come up against the US dream team in the basketball final. The Netherlands men’s hockey team will be hoping for a double delight to follow up last night gold medal winning triumph of the women’s team.

Gaff of The day: Great Britain’s relay team finished comfortably 2^nd behind Jamaica in the relay semi-final but bungled up the final baton exchange to be disqualified. The British media have already dubbed the baton exchange a bane equivalent to the football team’s penalty shoot-out. 

Olympic Diary : Day 13

Usain Upstaged

Usain Bolt was actually upstaged on the track yesterday...only it was it an event different from his. Kenyan David Rudisha blitzed the 800 m field securing the first athletics world record in the London games – ironic (or perhaps poetically just) that the first (and probably the only) track and field record should come in the Chief Organiser of the Games , Lord Sebastian Coe’s pet event.

If Rudisha was the toast of the day – the Jamaicans were 2^nd only by a photo finish. A magnificent , unprecedented 1-2-3 in the men’s 200 m ensured the reggae boys had earned 5 of the 6 available medals in the men’s sprints. Bolt, after looking like he was under pressure from Yohan Blake at the halfway stage , pulled away over the final meters , slowed down, looked left and right and raised a finger to his lips – all this while equalling Michael Johnson’s best ever time. In a typically unpredictable Bolt celebration, he went down and crunched 10 push-ups immediately after crossing the finish line, before he and Blake clowned around for the crowd with a borrowed camera – in your face to the taciturn doubting Americans, no doubt.

Performer of the Day : Neither Bolt nor Rudisha but the American Manteo Mitchell who actually completed the final 200m of his 4x 400 m relay leg with a broken leg – I kid you not...now that’s a true Olympian.

Thrashing of the Day : Great Britain who were well and truly humbled by an inspired Dutch team in a 9-2 mauling – in a semi-final game , mind you !!

Olympic Diary : Day 12

American Athletes wake up , A hockey Innovation , Anticipating another Bolt Blake 1-2

With barely 3-4 days of action left in  the Olympics, the Americans would have been getting seriously worried about their track and field performances. Comprehensively outsprinted by the Jamaicans (men and women) , for the first time ever they failed to produce a finalist in the men’s 400 m , a fact which generated outrage from the greatest ever over that distance – Michael Johnson.

That was till yesterdays, that is – last night the Americans awoke from their slumber to set Olympic park ablaze with gold medals in the Women’s 200 m (Allyson Felix) , Mens 110 m hurdles (Aries Merrit) and the Women’s long jump (Brittney Reese). To add to this , Lashida Demus almost pipped Russian Natalya Antiyuch to the finish the women’s 400 m hurdles , with the Russian holding on by a few hundredths of a second. The natural order of things is likely to be restored on Thursday if the semi-final performances of Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake in the Men’s 200 m were any indication. Bolt pretty much cruised the last 80m and still managed a time of 20.17s – all sure shot markers that this event might see the first track and field world record in these games.

A Hockey Novelty : Hockey introduced a new method to break a deadlock in knock out games. Abandoning the old penalty stroke tie-breaker, the new system requires a player to dribble the ball from outside the scoring area and attempt to beat the goalkeeper within 8 seconds. The women’s semi final between Holland and New Zealand made history as the first Olympic game to be decided by this system with the Dutch pulling off a 3-2 victory after the game was tied at 2-2 with a scoreless extra-time. The method did create a bit of chaos, but still seems a better option as a tie-breaker as it gives more opportunity to showcase skills (both scoring and goalkeeping) – Perhaps football should try this sometime.

Images of the Day : 

Nicolas Batum loses it (France) against Juan Carlos Navarro (Spain) in the mens basket ball quarter finals

Lee Daehoon of South Korea on the receiving end against Jose Gonzalez (Spain) in the men’s Taekwondo. 

Olympic Diary : Day 11

Hosts Medal Rush , Hockey Misery Complete, 2 contrasting Hurdles emotions

The Brits bid farewell to 2 iconic Olympic track cyclists. Sir Chris Hoy, who won his 6^th gold medal (surpassing Sir Steve Redgrave) by winning the men’s keiran, and Victoria Pendleton , who could not manage such a fitting farewell having to settle for the silver after losing to long term rival Anna Meares (Aus). The British renaissance was furthered by the Brownlie brothers (Alistair and Jonathan) taking gold and bronze respectively in the men’s triathlon.

British Media goes Gaga

 Mexico and Brazil eased past their asian rivals to set up a gold medal clash in men’s football  , while Holland and GB along with Australia and Germany set up respective men’s hockey semi final clashes. India completed a miserable tournament by being soundly thrashed by Belgium...aye your eyes do not deceive you Belgium...and fittingly so , as India were easily the worst team in the tournament – unfit , lackadaisical ,tactless and shockingly for Indian fans even lacking basic skills as compared to the other teams. I sincerely hope India doesnt qualify for the games in the next few editions to be saved from the ridiculous and recurrent thrashings.

 2 Contrasting Hurdles Emotions : Iconic Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang (Athens goold medallist) hit the first hurdle in his 110 m heat signalling the end of a great yet mightily unfulfilled career. Aussie world champion Sally Pearson , however kept the up to the formbook winning the women’s 100 m hurdles in Olympic record time in probably the closest track event till date in these games.

Celebration of the day: Big Burly Robert Harting of Germany , however showed Liu the way to go about the hurdles. Upon winning the Men’s Discus gold decided to jump over all the hurdles lined up for the women’s 100 m finals. He certainly did a better job than Liu.

Harting the hurlder

Olympic Diary : Day 10

Low Key Monday , The Queen dethroned

A relatively low key day at the games after the tumultuous weekend. The Queen of the Pole Vault , Yelena Isenbayeva , abdicated her throne with American Jessica Suhr taking gold. The 2 time defending champion could only garner a disappointing silver medal.

Felix Sanchez, the 2004 , Dominican Republic sprinter , completed an astonishing win the mens 400m hurdles, to add to his gold at Athens in 2004. The big guns in the women’s 200m all calmly positioned themselves for yet another exciting finish, while Belarus and Russia won golds in the women’s shot put and steeplechase respectively. Kirani James earned Grenada its first Olympic gold in the 400m.

 Jessica Suhr dethrones Yelena Isenbayeva

Olympic Diary : Day 9

The Greatest Show on Earth

It needed something special to relegate an Andy Murray thrashing of Roger Federer on Wimbledon centre court in the Olympic gold medal match to the footnotes. It needed a moment of history to make Britons forget ,albeit momentarily , their greatest day in Olympic history (just 24 hours prior) – the world waited as the most anticipated showdown of the London Games assembled on the start line , and we got the greatest sprint in the history of all competition. It was the first time in the modern Olympic era that all four of the fastest men in history at that moment were on the start line for the 100m final. It was the first time that 7 of the 8 starters (poor Asafa Powell might have pipped Gatlin but for that injury) recorded sub 10 second times. It was the first time that 3 athletes recorded sub 9.8 s times....so much for first times : Usain Bolt still won by a good metre.

You Cannot be Serious

There is something refreshingly simple about the 100 m sprint which appeals to the sentiments of striplings and greybeards alike – there are no tactics to be understood , no detailed discussions with coaches , no shadowboxing – the aim quite simply to get onto the other end of the track before the guy next to you does – and no one is history has done that quite so astonishingly and  emphatically as the big Jamaican.

This win might not have had the same shock and wow factor as his Beijing triumph, where shoelaces flying, he was beating his chest and slowing down a good 5 meters from the line , nor his Berlin world record where he posted the first sub 9.6 second time in history. In my opinion , this was still Bolt’s greatest race , judging by the strength , form and ultimately the performance of the rest of the field.

Yohan Blake is an immensely likeable athlete , and his pre-race warm ups laughs and high fives with Bolt were refreshingly good to see , in a discipline where athletes are wont to be moody and taciturn (before and after their events) – not so here ; both Bolt and Blake know how to get the crowd going, whether it be on the starting blocks or at the end of the race. With Bolt 30 in Rio ,  Blake is likely to be the premier sprinter 4 years down the line. But this moment was Usain's – sheer unadulterated genius

(Can’t wait for the 200 m and the Jamaican relay team to get going).

Footnotes : All other action in the games yesterday.

-Outstanding double gold by Serena Williams

- Murray finally making the big league (adding the mixed doubles silver to the singles gold)

- Kazakhstan winning a 6^th Olympic gold (women’s high jump)

-Lin Dan defending his Olympic gold in the men’s singles badminton

- China making complete sweep of all badminton golds ,

- Ben Ainslie winning a 5^th consecutive sailing gold.

- The amazing Mary Kom reaching the quarter finals in her boxing tournament.

Honourable Mention : “Bladerunner” Oscar Pistorius for simply competing and making the semi-finals. Thats essentially the Olympic Spirit , ain’t it ??

Olympic Diary : Day 8

Hosts run riot , the pool finishes with a golden swansong , a photo finish , gearing up for a historical sprint.

Great Britain had their single best day of competition in the Olympics in over a hundred years as they snapped up 6 gold medals. 3 of these came the first major athletic day with Jessica Ennis winning the heptathlon , Mo Farah breaking the African dominance in the 10,000 m and Greg Rutherford leaping8.31 m to claim the coveted long jump gold. The Brits also won golds in their now patented rowing and track cycling events to comfortably sit in 3^rd position in the overall medal tally. Jamaica meanwhile finally flexed their athletics muscles as Shelly Anne Fraser price won a thrilling women’s 100 m ahead of Carmelita Jeter of the US.

The swimming competition came to an end amidst a tumult of records with dutch golden girl Kromowidjojo adding the 50 m freestyle to complete the sprint double in an Olympic record time while Sun Yang of chine thrashed his own world record in the 1500 m freestyle. The US dominance in the pool was underlined yet again as they took home both medley relays with the ladies setting a new world record. Yeah, I have to talk about him one final time – Michael Phelps called time (or so we expect) on a “..........” (use your own choice of superlative) career swimming an outstanding butterfly leg in the relay to comfortably place in Americans in the lead , which was comfortably anchored home by 100 m champ, Nathan Adrian. Halfway through the games (which Ryan Lochte famously claimed would be his) Michael Phelps sat alone atop the individual medal tally with 4 gold and 2 silver medals. Teenage sensation Missy Franklin , can probably lay the best claim to have inherited the swimming monarchy from Phelps as she finished with a fabulous 4 gold medals (and she’s 16 years old with the world at her feet).

Take one final look at him

Event of the day : The women’s triathalon – after a 1500 m swim, 40 odd km of bicycle racing, and a 10 km run, the gold medal came down to a photo finish as Switzerland’s Nicola Spirig and Sweden’s Lisa Norden were awarded the same time in the closest finish in Olympic history. The Swiss girl won the gold by the proverbial hair’s breadth – and yesterday we were gawking at how close the Federer –Del Potro match was!

A Triathlon photo finish - what next in these games ???

The Most Anticipated Event of the Games : Aye , Michael Phelps was probably the most celebrated athlete of these games – but nothing beats today’s men’s 100 m event , either in terms of line-up or sense of history. With Bolt, Blake , Powell , Gay, Gatlin and Johnson all easing to wins in their individual heats with consummate ease , the blue riband men’s even promises to be one for the ages. Will we see the first ever sub 9.5 s time ????

Olympic Diary : Day 7

That man Phelps again, a Wimbledon epic , 2 iconic images and an unheralded Indian

It’s getting to be a bit of a routine (and perhaps boring to read) to write about Michael Phelps on this blog – sure there are other athletes doing splendidly but do not get even a mention. Phelps has won only 3 golds (might make it 4 if he wins the relay tonight) – half of his Beijing tally : Preposterous drop in performance. But I still cannot help writing about him. I am something of a dreamer and during certain delusions of grandeur, I imagine some known (yet unborn) individual might stumble upon this blog 50 or maybe 70 years later – if the age of information as we know it still persists – and read about how much of a privilege (not to mention an opportunity) it was to watch Michael Phelps reel off Olympic medals like withdrawing cash at an ATM. Even as I grew up reading enviously the joys of the fortunate ones who described elatedly the phenomenon of Bradman, the exuberance of Trumper, the contorted face of Zatopek , the wizardry of Dhyan Chand, the magic of Puskas’ Magyars and so on – similarly , even the fortunate youtube generation, might appreciate the sense of pervading history to have witnessed these great deeds live.
In one single day, we were privileged to watch 2 iconic legends (for want of a better superlative) showcase a tenacity and steel to literally will themselves to the finish line even though neither might have been at their imperious best.

Phelps touched 7^th during the split in the 100 m butterfly and was visibly behind the leader heading into the last 20 m, when pretty much out of nothing,  he pulled out an astonishing turn of speed, outsprinting even that manic closer , Chad le Clos , who’d pipped him to the touch in the 200 m event. The iconic image of the evening was not his but that of his mother Debbie once his name was confirmed as the winner. For Phelps himself, standing alone for one last time on top of the podium, tears were hard to keep back, as the strains of the Star Spangled Banner filled the arena.

Federer and del Potro after their epic

Michael's Mom Debbie 

If anyone in the entire Olympic Village can claim equal iconic status to Michael Phelps (if not as an Olympian certainly as a sportsman) , it has to be Roger Federer. From the time London was announced as the venue of the 2012 games and the All-England club the venue of the tennis tournament, Federer has set his eyes on this moment. 4-5 years back in an interview questioning him of probable retirement dates, the Swiss maestro replied that there was no thought of retirement before the London games as he wanted that gold medal at the Wimbledon turf. Last night , it all nearly went pear shaped. Up against an inspired Juan Martin del Potro, who I’d earmarked for greatness before injuries struck, Federer was playing awfully. Routine forehands were being blooped into the crowd, the Argentine’s ground strokes repeatedly pined Federer on the backfoot and reminded one of that awesome US Open Final. However the great man clutched on, finding that big serve whenever it was really needed. It was at an astonishing 17-17 in the 3^rd set that del Potro finally blinked and Federer had won his shot at the gold. Whether he pulls of the victory against Andy Murray is another question , but the match gave us one of the more iconic Olympic moments of all time – topped off by the heartfelt embrace at the end.

Oh Yes! There were other events as well – the US dominated the pool yet again, the Brits the cycling velodrome with Golden Girl “Queen” Victoria Pendleton claiming the kierin. A soft spoken Indian soldier (whom neither the media nor his countrymen knew existed) shot his way to the silver medal in the rapid pistol event, providing a fitting answer for his more touted countrymen who perhaps exhausted all their energy in creating ruckus before the games before failing to show up on the big stage.

Olympic Diary : Day 6

A Night for Legends - Hoy , Vessali and a guy called Phelps

Trust the man to make me look an absolute fool. Just 2 days back , after his loss in the 200m butterfly, I was eulogising over Michaels Phelps attempt at the holy grail of the three-peat , an endeavour I honestly didn’t think he’d pull off. Last night , however , Phelps swam an outstanding 200 IM , only fractions of a second outside world record place and reasonably comfortably beat his great rival Ryan Lochte. So the tally now reads – 20 medals , 16 gold. If his performance in the 100 butterfly semi-final minutes after the individual medley  is any indication , not to mention the storming of the pool by US swimmers , I think pretty safe bets may be placed on Phelps coming away from London with 2 more gold medals.

Phelps : Back where he belongs

If Phelps had a blinder of a day, Lochte had  shocker. It is perhaps testament to the expectation he sets on himself (inspired no doubt by Phelps), that on a night a swimmer becomes the 2^nd greatest medal winner in the pool for his country , we talk of him having failed. However so it was as Tyler Clary romped home in th final 50 m to take the men’s 200 backstroke gold with Ryan Lochte finishing a not too close third (inspite of having a comfortable lead at the final turn). The Americans had an absolute scorcher in the pool with Rebecca Soni blitzing the 200m breaststroke WR on the way to her gold medal. The US hegemony was only broken by the gloriously named Dutchwoman Ranomi Kromowidjojo who won the women’s 100m freestyle.

If a legend shone bright in the pool , there were others making splashes in the deep in other disciplines. Sir Chris Hoy anchored the GB team sprint to equal Sir Steve Redgrave haul of 5 gold medals. Meanwhile on the piste, 38 yr old mother of one, Valentina Vessali (Italy) guided Italy to the women’s team foil gold – her 6^th Olympic gold and ninth medal. Vessali, incidentally, intends to back in Rio at the age of 42 after taking a year’s sabbatical to give birth to her 2^nd child.

The British Sprint Team with Sir Chris Hoy

                                                                Valentina Vessali

Mixed day for Indians : While Saina Nehwal entered the women’s singles badminton semi-final to really brighten our hopes for another medal. The other great medal prospect, shooter Ronjan Sodhi, failed to even qualify for the double trap final.

Quote of the Day: Journalist Leo Turrini, why Italian Fencing is so good- "There is a romantic explanation. It's the result of the Risorgimento [the movement that unified Italy in the 19th century]. If you look at the sports we are good at – Shooting, archery, fencing– they are all to do with defending ourselves. Once, every small town in Italy had a tower and had to defend itself against attacks."

Great Day : Host Britain finally started to assert themselves with golds in cycling , trap shooting and rowing. American Teenager Gabrielle Douglas won the women’s all round gymnastics gold.

Jackpot of the Day : Germany, who took the women’s cycling team sprint gold after first GB (semis) and then China are disqualified for illegal changeovers. Incidentally both Britain and China had faster times than the Germans with the Chinese setting a world record pace before the disqualification.

Olympic Diary : Day 5

Badmintongate , Wiggins to the fore , More splashes in the Pool 

Badmintongate headlined day 5 at the Games. All and sundry had a go at China , Indonesia and the other traditional powerhouses of the sport after 4 women’s doubles teams were eliminated from the competition for deliberately throwing away matches in order to garner more favourable knockout pairings. While I can only speculate on how congenial the atmosphere is for Chinese athletes who return back from the games without a medal (especially in a sport they’ve dominated), the blame must be laid squarely on the daft tournament rules. Can you imagine a round robin format in a tennis grand slam tournament – under the pretext of giving more playing time to lower ranked players. The only tennis tournament which has a round-robin format is the season ending Maters Tournament where only the top 8 in the world feature. Even there it is unthinkable that Roger Federer might even contemplate throwing away a match to ensure he doesn’t meet Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic in the Semi-final. The fiasco speaks about the prevalent sporting ethos in the game of badminton in general , and when 8 top players are thus found indulging surely many others given a suitable opportunity would do just the same.

The scandal pretty much overshadowed a few exceptional performances in the field. Shortly after Heather Stanning and Helen Glover gave the hosts a much awaited 1^st gold in rowing , Tour de France champion Bradley Wiggins comfortably eased to victory in the mens individual time trial , with trusty Team Sky and GB lieutenant , Chris Froome taking the bronze. Wiggins thus became the most decorated Olympian in British history and is odds on to pick up a knighthood before the year is out. In an action replay finish to the men’s 200 m, Aussie ‘Missile’ James Magnussen was pipped at the final touch by American Nathan Adrian in the blue riband event , the 100 m freestyle. Hungarian Dan Gyurta pocketed a world record and the gold in the men’s 200 m breaststroke while the US 4 x 200 m women’s freestyle team comfortably took home the gold.

Indians in Disarray : multiple eliminations followed for the Indians including the men’s doubles , world number 1 archer Deepika Kumari. The hockey team turned in a shambolic performance and were thrashed by the black sticks of new Zealand. The only bright spots were the performances of Saina Nehwal and P Kshyap who booked quarter final berths for themselves , Saina looking especially comfortable in her straight sets victory.

Eyesore of the day : The garish ‘throne’ podium for the men’s and women’s individual cycling time trial....really ????

Olympic Diary : Day 4

All about Phelps : Glory and Heartache

The Men's 200 m Butterfly Podium

Tuesday at the games was all about one man, who firmly put himself on top spot as the greatest Olympic medal winner of all time (lets reserve the term greatest Olympian for another discussion). Anchoring the men’s 4 x 200 m freestyle relay , Michael Phelps was handed a comfortable lead and never really looked in any danger of being overhauled , even by the face of the pool in London , Yannick Agnel. However for all the joy at this 15^th gold (and 19^th medal) , the real moment (easily destined to be one of the most memorable from London) had come half an hour earlier in the men’s 200 m butterfly , an event which Phelps had dominated for the best part of a decade and went into the final as the 2 time Olympic gold medallist....For 9/10^th of the race , all seemed to be going to plan with the American leading , if not comfortably , with breathing space , when over the final 20 m , the curse of the three-peat hit home.   

Forget 8 golds.....world records.....sprint doubles and trebles....the holy grail in men’s swimming has suddenly become a 3-peat gold medal in the same event.  Having led pretty much from start to finish he was beaten on the line by the stretch of a hand. South African Chad Le Clos took the gold but the race was Michael’s to win...and he failed. You could sense the whole watching world  (minus the country of SA maybe rooting for him on that final home stretch , I was sure he’d won it...but alas). Not that it tarnishes a legacy, if anything it only enhances it. All this would have done was place Phelps that extra league further in the pantheon of great Olympic swimmers that he shares with...well no one really. Popov failed, Thorpe couldn’t even attempt it and now Phelps too has come up short. He will win other medals in these games (even golds) but the loss is likely to rankle for some considerable duration of time. 

In other pool events 16 yr old swim sensation Ye Shiven added the 200 m IM to the 400 m title she won 2 days back , while American Alison Schmidt took home the women’s 200 m freestyle gold.

Elsewhere the Chinese were finally toppled from the gymnastics podium by the US as perennial powerhouses Russia and Romania took home the other honours. China promptly went out and earned itself gold in 3 other disciplines (apart from Shiven’s Swimming gold) – Men’s Sabre , Women’s synchronised diving (platform), and weightlifting (men’s 69 kg). 

Olympic Diary : Day 3

Pool Upsets galore , Controversies Rage, India on the Board

For the 2^nd time in 2 days Ryan Lochte was comprehensively beaten by French sensation Yannick Agnel. In a star studded 200 m freestyle relay field, Agnel demolished the field to finish more than a second ahead of the silver medal. With Lochte finishing a disappointing 4^th, Agnel has now replaced the American as the male star of the pool in these Olympics. The US though did get golds in the Mens and women’s 100m Backstroke (Matt Grevers and Missy Franklin). Franklin’s swim was especially impressive as it came just minutes after her qualifying heat for the 200 m freestyle. The games continued providing newer stars with 15 yr old Ruta Meilutyte of Lithuania claiming as outstanding gold in the 100 m breaststroke for women.

There were controversies galore in the boxing ring, the fencing competition and in the men’s gymnastics team final, where the Japanese score was increased after an official protest over the last pommel horse routine. As a result the Brits were shunted into 3^rd place and Ukraine out of the medal places with Japan sneaking in for the silver. China, of course, ran away with the gold.

In spite of a first gymnastic medal in a 100 years for GB , these games might well prove to be one where the hosts put up the worst showing. Tom Daley and Pete Waterfield failed to impress off the diving board and all the British swimmers came up short in the pool. The realistic gold medal hopes for the Brits now seem to be in the rowing events and track cycling.

India on the Board : India is creating a bit of a fortress in the shooting gallery (if one medal per games can be called that). For us, who’ve been brought up to delight on scraps , 3 consecutive medals in  one sport , is probably akin to the monopoly of the Dream team for the US. But it was a great performance by Narang in the 10m Air Rifle final. Saina breezed through her match and surprise , surprise...the hockey team went 2 goals down , came back to equalise , conceded a late penalty corner goal and went down fighting against the Dutch – now where have we heard that before.  India should get one or 2 more medals with Saina, Vijender Singh (boxing) and Sushil Kumar (wrestling).

                                                    A Disconsolate Shin Lam

Image of the Day : A tearful protest by South Korea’s Shin Lam, who’s semi-final fencing math against Britta Heidemann ended controversially. With the scores tied , the official clock was reset with 1 second to go in which Heidemann landed the winning hit. Lam sat on the piste for almost an hour while her entire entourage staged a written protest. Both Lam and Heidemann lost their respective bronze and gold medal matches subsequently. 

Olympic Diary - Day 2

More favourites dethroned , Certain fortresses defended and China flexes its muscles

If history at the games has taught one lesson, it is that big boasts often come short on the day of the performance. The Australian mens 4 x 100 m relay team , famously describing themselves as “Weapons of Mass Destruction” should have got omens from the performance of the Great Britain cycling team in the mens road race – having been described by Bradley Wiggins as the greatest road race team ever assembled in an Olympic games. So the greatest road race team failed to place a single rider in the top 20 and similary the wapons of mass destruction were clinically diffused by France, US and the Russians. It was sweet revenge for the Frenchmen who were pipped to the finish by the width of a fingernail at Beijing. On this occasion , The Beijing anchorman , Bernard was benched for the final , and Yannick Agnel upstaged Ryan Lochte in yet another classic finish. Michael Phelps after the 2^nd leg had given the US a sizeable lead , but the French clawed back some of the deficit in the 3^rd leg before Agnel blew Lochte away in the home stretch. In other pool events , there were world record performances for American Dana Volmer (Women’s 100 m Butterfly) and South African Cameron van der Burgh (Mans 100 m breaststroke).

      

                Sweet Revenge for the Frenchmen

The home team , GB , finally got on the medal board with a silver for Lizzie Armitstead, in the womens cycling road race , an event where Dutchwoman Marriane Vos comprehensively outsprinted Armitstead in a 3 woman breakaway to claim gold.

The Chinese meanwhile continue to prove that their 1^st place finish in the medal tally at Biejing was not a fluke with wins in shooting and synchronised diving to take the early gold medal lead. Team US has its work cut out to outmatch China especially with the pool events perhaps not going exactly to plan.

The Dream Team , meanwhile , hardly got out of 2^nd gear and still beat Tony Parker’s France by more than 25 points. Neymar and Oscar showcased their outstanding talent as Brazil overcame Belarus 3-1 in Football , while GB stuttered past UAE.

Star of the Day : Kimberly Rhode (US) who won her 5^th consecutive Olympic gold in the skeet shooting.


Fortresses Defended : Hungarian Aaron Szilagyi claimed a 13th gold for his country in the men's fencing (sabre). South Korea won a 7th consecutive gold in the women's archery team competition while China continued its monopoly on the women's synchronised diving (springboard) event.

Performance of the Day : Yannick Agnel’s final 100 m leg , blowing away the golden boy of the pool , Ryan Lochte.