Indians at the Olympics - Blame game has started

Come Olympics, the entire nation wakes up and expects great things from our hapless athletes. Once the games are closed, everything is forgotten and everybody is back to their own routine. Instead of identifying the reasons for such poor performance and trying to find solutions to it, we just crucify the athletes who failed.

We should learn from China. China was not even in the periphery in most of the sports some 30 years ago. They went about executing a plan which included building infrastructure for sports, imparting training, getting all the children involved in one sports or the other and today they are reaping the fruits of the seeds sown years back. We instead of following the chinese example simply critize the atheletes who participate in the olympics against all odds. These athletes have the motivation to take to such sports, which do not provide them any financial security, just for the sheer love of sports.

Atleast now it should be realised that Olympic medals cannot be won by doing nothing about infrastructure, training, involving all the children. Our culture is not a sporting culture. Most of the children are encouraged not to take to sports, lest it spoils their studies. It should be made mandatory for every child to take to sports, at the school / college level. Thats where, I believe the solution lies.

As sports lovers, we should look at the performances of the various world class athletes who take part in the Olympics, rather than getting disappointed with the performances of our athletes. I am looking forward to watching Swimming, cycling, gymnastics, athletics especially Michael Phelps and the kenyan athletes, who take part in the middle / long distance running events.

Yesterday, I happened to watch the Cycling road race, which took place, on DD. The spanish armada consisting of Alberto Contador, Alexender Valverde, Carlos Sastra, Samuel Sanchez, Oscar Freire took on the Australians led by Cadel Evans, Stuart O Grady, Micheal Rogers, the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank and Kim Kirchen. It was really exciting to watch though slightly different from watching Tour de France. The people you get to see alongside the roads when watching Tour de France were missing here. The course though looked eye-catching. Thanks to cycling, one gets to see such scenic beauties, which one normally cannot see otherwise.

Coming back to the race, it was really exciting to watch riders who normally compete with their compatriots on the basis of the cycling teams they represent, take on their team mates from the other countries. It was especially funny to see the Schleck brothers, who shieldedarlos Sastros through the mountain stages in the Tour de France from Cadel Evans, attacking Sastros here. For once, it was different. But unfortunately due to our own DD's rather strange kind of programming, one could not see the finishing live. At that point of time, a live interview with Mr. Suresh Kalmadi was being telecast. I just can't understand the timing of the interview. Who wanted to listen to such interviews, when some exciting live action was taking place. Thank God, Tour de France was telecasted on Ten Sports.

I am looking forward to the individual time trial event, where Fabian Cancellera, Stefan Schumacher are expected to win.

Tour de France

The Tour de France is one of the most exciting and fasinating sporting spectacles that I look forward to watching every year, on television. I have been watching Tour de France for the past 10 years. I just love watching the tour. You get to watch France in great detail during the three weeks that the tour progresses through the entire length and breath of France.

The number of people who come out in the open to watch the tour is simply great. The french people really love the tour and millions of them are out on the road to watch the tour. It is a indeed a great spectacle. You get to see various castles (chateau or chateaux) built as early as the fifteen century, right across france. They are simply breathtaking. You also pass through various small towns with their unique architecture, age old buildings, breathtaking country side with huge fields, forests, mountains, valleys etc.

No doubt the tour is so popular right across the world. I am a bit disappointed with its coverage in the print media and television media in India. They just do not give enough coverage to the tour. They just keep highlighting only the negatives of the tour viz., the doping countroversies etc.

Leave aside the media coverage, any body who gets a chance to watch it, better watch it. You will love it. It is one of the most grueling sporting events held every year. The tour offers everything to different kinds of riders, yellow jersey for the overall leader, green jersey for the sprinters, polka dot jersey for the king of the mountains and white jersey for the best young rider. Apart from the scenic beauty, you get to see some breathtaking cycling. The riders have to ride an average of nearly 200 to 250 kms everyday for nearly three weeks. The speeds at which the riders cycle is also incredible reaching nearly 70 to 80 kms per hour. At times their heart rate touches nearly 170 to 180 beats per minute generating a power of nearly 800 watts, which is quite incredible.

The best part of the race is the one which takes place in the Alps and Pyrenees mountains, where one gets to see the breathtaking valleys, mountains.

During this period, the likely winning group of riders get away from rest of the riders and at times there is a time lag of nearly 2 hours between the winner and the ones who form the rear of the race. In the flatter course of the race, the Peleton (the largest bunch of riders who keep riding together) is a sight to behold. The manner in which the Peleton devours the break away group of riders is awesome. It is very rare that any rider can actually win a stage by breaking away from the main Peleton.

The last stage of the race is in Paris, where one gets to see the riders cycling around Champs - Elysees, which is again a sight to beyold. I am looking forward to watching the tour over the next three weeks. My only wish is to visit France and get to see the places. I am really looking forward to it. I happened to vist google.com/tourdefrance2008 which is also quite breathtaking to watch.

I am not sure if there is any such tour which is available in India which can showcase the entire landscape of the country. I hope one such event can be held in India also, which has got even greater diversity when compared to france.