Indian sports is 123 years of age India first participated in the international competition for sports in 1896 when an athlete by the name of Mary, who was a foreigner but was carrying a Union Jack flag for India was the lone participant for India in the Olympics then No one would know her name, and even I do not know her
full name but yes, her first name was Mary Since then it is almost 124 years that we have been participating in the Olympics, and in the various other games, and sports What have we achieved in this article all about
This article will not reflect too much on what have we achieved It is all about what were the moments that made the nation, and it’s proud son’s or the daughters to be recognized for those achievements Well I would as far as possible try to narrate all those incidents which really would make the country proud, and the ones who read this article very proud of the achievement of our fellow athlete, and sportsman or woman about their achievement
Status Of India:
India actually was a slave right from the time when Mohammed Ghauri established the Mughal rule herein, and on Dec. 12th 1191 when he defeated Maharaj Prithiviraj Chauhan by crook From then to August 15th 1947 we were a slave for about 756 years in to. Nobody then knew what is India, where is it located, and nobody even bothered to know what was India doing, and the Indians were up to Actually in 1896 nobody even bothered to look at the Indian the only, and the lone participant Madam Mary It was because she was carrying the Union Jack, and it’s flag in terms of colour
It was the Indian athletes who made the world to recognize that India was a country which was very rich in culture, arts, and heritage These athletes made us proud from time to time to send a message to the world that in spite of so many a hindrance, and being absolutely neglected we still are a force to reckon with, and can outsmart the entire world if given a proper opportunity to outwit our rivals
What were those incidents which attracted the eyeballs of the world towards India, and how did they come to know India is what this article is all about India then till 1900 did not find a place in the map of the World but from 1900 India slowly in a very decimating manner started hitting the headlines Who, and what were the games, and sports which made the world to notice India, and who were those who made the world to know India Well here is the answer which would do an interesting reading
TEN MOST OUTSTANDING-INTRIGUING FACTORS AND INCIDENT OF INDIAN SPORTS
1. Olympic 1900 France: Norman Pritchard: Medal won but snatched
The first such incident was in 1900 France, and it’s capital were holding the Olympic events, and an Indian by the name of Norman Pritchard qualified to participate in five different events in the Olympic proper He qualified for five different events of the finals, and he won TWO silver medals The problem with Norman as he was a British, and he possessed a British nationality However his father who sponsored his entire tour from the stage of qualification to the finals of the events was an Indian by the job he was doing as he had acquired an Indian citizenship by then
Norman qualified for the 100 metres final then, clocking an astonishing time of 9.90 seconds This was the timing that was set by Jim Hines in the Mexico Olympics in 1968 which was a World Record Now the world record stands in the name of Usain Bolt who had clocked a phenomenal timing of 9.58 seconds Norman won two silvers as stated but his medal was snatched away by the British authorities when he landed here on the pretext that he was a Britisher, and not an Indian
His deed of winning the two Silver medal, and his problems that he faced to hand over the medals to the British authorities were responsible for India to gain worldwide recognition, and a name as a country then His deeds ignited the Indian to work hard, and perform better to gain more international recognition
2. India wins the Gold at Amsterdam Olympics: Flow of MAGIC through the stick
It was against all the expectations that India was invited to participate in the 1928 Olympics The deeds, and the tale of Norman Pritchard had died soon after the 1900 Olympics, and India was nobody’s problem It was by a real fate of luck that India was invited to participate in the 1928 Olympics in Hockey at Amsterdam, Holland
A member of the IOA had visited India on the behest of the IHF then It was BIHF ( British India Hockey Federation ) then He noticed the Beighton Cup hockey, and was so impressed by the way the Indian played that he lost no time in appealing the IOA to request the BIHF to send an Indian national Hockey team to participate in the 1928 Olympics
Against all the odds the Indian selected a team, and it sailed for Amsterdam It took its route through Ceylon ( Sri-Lanka ), and then it started moving through the Suez Canal towards England from where it after being anchored ought to move to Amsterdam, The Indian team, and its ship was anchored at London for a month, and the team lost no chance to play as many as 18 exhibitions matches winning all against its opponent
The last three matches were crucial for India, and India won those matches by beating a selected British Army hockey team by 17-4, and then defeated the British national hockey team by a score of 13-0, and then by 17-0 in the two matches that it played against them Britain was the Olympic champs in 1920, and 1924 But this kind of marauding run by the Indian to completely maul them by the kind of score was something the Britishers were not ready to accept, and believe.
India was a slave to the Britishers, and the poundings that the Indian gave it to them was very hard for anybody to believe The man to lead them from the front was Major Dhyanchand the magician of hockey The delectable art, and the supple wrist work of the Indians and the magical stickwork was something which completely ruined the Britishers, and it’s root of hockey then The result was Great Britain took off its hockey team to participate in the Amsterdam Olympics This was a GREAT slap on the Britishers by that Indian Hockey team and its member.
Well in the tourney proper the Indian played seven matches on it’s the way to the Gold It scored 35 goals without any reply, and Jaipal Singh was the one who stood at the podium to receive the FIRST ever Gold won by any Indian be it the team or the individual in the Olympics or in any international event.
It was after the finals when a hoard of international reporters encircled the Indian Hockey team members to know many things, and many startling facts about India and the Cambridge educated Jaipal Singh replied one after one to let the world know what, and where was India, and how was it.
INDIA FINALLY CAME INTO PROMINENCE THROUGH SPORTS
3. Olympics 1936: Dhyanchand wins the Gold for India but refuses Hitler’s offer
It was the most, and the worst in terms of the Olympic Gold that India had won The history has a lot of tales to offer, and if it was not Mr Pankaj Gupta, and Major Dhyanchand, and the outstanding chemistry that they shared amongst the two, which is pure English is termed as between them, India would never have won the Gold
The 1936 Olympics has a history and has a different chapter that many of them wrote it. There was some altercation when Adolf Hitler never wanted to give the importance that it ought to be given to Jessie Owens.
However the most critical chapter was the game hockey It was always that the British authorities here at India wanted to disturb the Indian Hockey team so that if even it won the Olympic Gold, it would not have bettered the Great Britain Hockey team What made the world to get so feared was the fact that in the 1932 Olympics at Los Angeles, in the Hockey event India had defeated the USA by 24-1, and Japan by 11-1 to win the Gold The British administrator here never wanted Ali Ishtiaque Hassan Dara to go with the Indian team at Berlin. It was because the duo of Dhyanchand and Dara to exemplify were as good as say Pele, and Maradona playing for the same team It was announced nationally then that Dara was suffering from plague, and that he would not be available to play for India Dara was later hospitalized by the British administration here in order to see that he does not escort the team at all.
Dhyan Chand was very perturbed by what was going on. However he was assured by Mr Pankaj Gupta that comes what may he would see to it that Dara played in the finals of the 1936 Olympics The team started its sail, and the ship slowly was inching towards its destination at Los Angeles when a Japanese warship was to attack the ship that was carrying the Indian team Before that Japanese warship KAMAGATAMARU attacked this ship the War Captain of that ship send a feeler to this ship to surrender itself At this point Dhyanchand personally moved to Kamagatamaru, and requested the Captain to at least speak to him for a minute. The request was held, and no sooner he saw Dhyanchand, he embraced him. The Captain of that ship was a member of the Japanese Olympic team which had lost to India by 11-1. He let the ship carrying the Indian hockey team go. Actually Japan and Germany were planning to strike India after the Olympics games were over It was because the Indian Army was fighting against the German under orders served by the Britishers But when Dhyanchand, and Mr Pankaj Gupta made the affairs very clear to them the matter got dissolved, and the Germans, as well as the Japanese authorities, got to learn, and understand that it was the Britishers who were using India, and the hand who made it very clear to the Indian Army as a cantilever, and cannon fodder for their own gains, and use It was Dhyanchand who made it very clear to them.
Once the team landed at Germany at Berlin it played four matches two against the very stolid German Army team, and two against the German Olympic team The result was disastrous India was beaten by 3-4, 3-5 04, and 1-4 successively by the German teams in that order Mr Pankaj Gupta had personally arranged these matches, and the Indian team was paid for playing these matches On the way to Germany the team wherever it was anchored at the port was made to play some exhibition matches, and the proceeds were there in the hand of Mr Gupta He played a calculated game by asking Ifthikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, the father of Mansur Ali Khan.
Pataudi to join the team as a Left Full back This man had played a lot of hockey at Germany than, and at Britain, and he knew the pulse of the British, and the German team them He had made a good name in hockey beside representing the English national team in cricket in the Test matches.
Using Pataudi Sr, Mr Pankaj Gupta went a step further to meet the highly placed British Officers at the council of the British Office, and met the officials who were directly under the service of the Kings, and Queens of England, and sought the permission to fly Dara to Germany That was done after many a hardship Dara was admitted to the hospital, but that order from the higher authorities at London was enough to set him free He was asked to fly to Germany.
During those days it was not an easy task for a hockey player to fly Where would the money come from, and who would bear that kind of an expense Mr Gupta had the answer He had collected a huge amount by arranging those kinds of exhibition matches He was only spending it for the team His answer was fly Dara to Berlin, and he would pocket, and bear the expenses Dara reached Germany when India wee to play the quarter-finals however Mr Pankaj Gupta did not play Dara in the quarters, and the semis He wanted to use him like a SECRET WEAPON, and that he did in the finals.
Before the finals the Indian was mentally shattered, and broken into pieces The German Hockey team was rampaging its opponent, and they had beaten India by 4-0, and 4-1 in two exhibition games The team, and its mental composition was such that they never wanted to play the finals, In that case, an hour before the finals, Mr Pankaj Gupta took out the flag not the British Union Jack flag but the Tri-colour that Mahatma Gandhi would use at times to concentrate the Indians He asked all the players to hold the flag, and take a VOW that if they would not be able to score against the Germans at least they will not concede even one.
The team thereafter with Dara assisting Dhyanchand at the centre it was like the combination of Pele, and Maradona playing together, and what could it be to think if Pele and Maradona had to play together that was it The Indian team by the end of the first half was up by 4-0 The wizard, and the Houdini of Dhyanchand was such that Hitler had to stop the game, and get the stick of Dhyanchand to verify, and find whether there was any magnet that was there in the stick which glued the ball to the stick.
The Germans were so badly brutalised that in the last five minutes when the game was to be over, they hit Dhyanchand on his forehead Getting the necessary medical aid, and after having got his head bandaged he.
Produced a scintillating brand of artistic hockey to score four goals in four minutes, and India finally won by 8-1 to create the hattrick of winning the Olympic Gold.
Dhyanchand was given the job of joining the German Army as a Chief Of German Army by Hitler, but he refused That was it It was Pankaj Gupta the man who intelligently brought in Sr Pataudi, and Dara, and that was that.
4. Kasaba Jadhav wins the 1st Individual medal: India makes a place amongst the galaxies:1952 Helsinki
This was the first of it’s kind, and the first of an individual medal that we had won in the Olympics With this the world started believing that the Indians also have the STRENGTH in them Till then we were considered as a weak, a poor, and a country which lived on alms, and fodders given to us by the stronger ones in the world this medal made the people have a different outlook towards India.
Kasaba Jadhav in 1952 created flutters after flutter to beat one, and more- some even the so-called the world champions, and some other kind of champions to make it to the semis of the wrestling event Today in this era a wrestler has to fight five rounds of bout before he finally wins the Gold During those days it was ONE bout per day Kasaba Jadhav won his quarter and moved to the semis He had taken all his outfits, and he got ready to move to his camp for rest that the Olympic authorities came to him, and told him that his bout is scheduled for the day That took him by surprise The warm-up time which is required by the wrestler before placing his feet at the ring was something that he wanted, but that too was not provided to him because he was fighting in the lesser weight category, and that scheduled had to be completed on that day itself.
Kasaba Jadhav changed his gears, and without warming himself he waited for his chance to enter the ring He lost that bout by a solitary point However he had one more chance to grapple foe the Bronze A day of rest, and he was there to win that Bronze During those days since one bout was fought in a day in the Olympics as these five in a days in different weight categories now, the wrestlers during those days would practice that way to keep themselves in shape, and do their work out in that manner as well That was where Kasaba Jadhav went wrong Had he practiced in a manner by working it out to fight two or three bouts in a day he would have won that Gold Also he was caught on the wrong foot by the Olympic authorities manning the Helsinki games when he was asked after the quarterfinals to grapple for the semis That unnerved him But the way he fought his bout.
By outsmarting a Russian Gold medallist of the 1948 Games, another world champion, and a Commonwealth Gold medallion before losing his semi-final bout, and thereafter winning in the fashion in the playoff bout made the world to realise what the Indian was when it came to strength and grappling.
5. 1966: Indian Tennis finally comes out of age & Ramanathan Krishnan proves that he is invincible
Indian tennis was nothing, and not even a thing to be scared of way back in 1938 we had Ghouse Mohammed, a distance relative of Mohammed Nissar the ONLY fast bowler born to India reaching the quarter-finals of Wimbledon Thereafter we had for two successive years in 1960, and in 1961 where Ramanathan Krishnan made it to the semis of Wimbledon losing to the ultimate winner Neale Fraser in 1960, and to Tony Roche in 1961 Even Krishnan exploding, and exploiting the Indian tennis has not been respected in the fraternity then at all.
In 1966 India was playing against Brazil who had stunned the entire world by beating the USA by 3-2 in the interzonal finals to move to play India in the World semis in the Davis Cup This match was held at Kolkatta at the South Club The score was 2-2, and in the final rubber Brazil through Thomas Koch was leading by 2-1, and 5-2 when the bad light stopped the play Nobody gave India any chance after watching Thomas Koch leading by that manner But on the next day Ramanathan Krishnan won seven games in a row to win that set by 7-5, and then in the fifth set he broke Thomas Koch to win the set by 6-4, and take India to the finals of the Davis Cup During those days the finals were known as CHALLENGE ROUND There India lost to Australia by 1-4.
That win against Brazil where Ramanathan Krishnan beat Thomas Koch, and that victory by India put India on the topmost echelon of the respect that they were to get afterwards as Tennis stars, and Ramanathan Krishnan was to become a household name in the annals of the Indian Tennis history.
6.The Edenborough CWG Games: Toddlers moves to shake the world
It was Guru Hanuman, and his protégé and it was Shivaji Bhosle whose name nobody in India would have ever heard at all which shook the World Two toddlers, Ved Prakash, a 14 years of age, and Sudesh Kumar then 16 went on to win the Gold in the wrestling competition The two babes were the two cubs, and they fought like the Lion to inscribe nothing short of death that was going to come from India in the days to come Today we see, and we have seen the likes of Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Bajrang Punia or for that matter a Vineesh Phogat, a Shasksi or a Geeta Phogat but it was Guru Hanuman and his Vyayamshala which had sown the seed than in the seventies 1970 to be exact.
A Gold in the Discuss by Pravin Kumar was always there but what completely made the world to rub heir eye in disbelief was the boxer Shivaji Bhosle who was spotted by Lt Colonel Devine Jones then in a small hamlet at Maharashtra named Kirkee near Pune It was only three months for the games The time was not enough for either Shivaji or the Lieutenant in any way to do anything much but three months of intensive commando training and a routine work out saw Shivaji Bhosle to beat a hell lot of reputed boxer here at India, win the national title, and book his ticket for the games.
In the games he battered a Bronze medallion of the Olympics knocked an Olympian in the quarters before stepping into the semis where he lost to a British Boxer who was an Olympian playoff in the 1968 Mexico Olympics Well the hardline play for the Bronze saw him winning the medal, and IT WAS INDIA’S FIRST EVER MEDAL IN AN INTERNATIONAL GAMES OUTSIDE THE ASIAN CONTINENTS Till then the Indian boxers were winning the medals at the Asian level but that Bronze crossed the barriers, and stepped into the CWG level, and made a road for the Olympics In the 1972 Olympics India’s Munnuswamy Venu made it to the quarters, and in 2008 we saw Vijendra Kumar winning the 1st ever Olympic medal for India in the Olympiads It was SHIVAJI BHOSLE in the Welterweight division then who road-mapped it for India along with Colonel Devine Jones It again gave a notice to the world about India, it’s power, and strength, and shook the WORLD to see what was in store for them with India finally coming out of the shelf
7. 1970: 6th Asian Games, Bangkok Kamaljit Sandhu shows all the female’s strength
Never here at India we did encourage the women taking anything seriously except the household, and the kitchen chores Never did we made our daughters, sisters, and the eve’s over here to believe that they could as well in their respective category do what the, and their males counterpart were capable of doing The system here was such in that era that a lady was not allowed to put her feet outside the house anytime after 5.00PM leave apart the question of participating in the games Well rural India was DEAD against everything that the lady would do which her male counterpart was allowed to do
Against this background, and all the evils that surmounted the ladies then, a female athlete by the name of Kamaljit Singh Sandhu from a tiny hamlet near Sangrur at Punjab SHOOK the entire country, and the WORLD by winning the finals of the 400 metres at the games. India ruled by a lady as a nation, and by another in the Track & Field was the headline that was carried out by every newspaper here at Asia, and some at the world that was the furore, and the ripple created by that lady
That was the first-ever gold won by an Indian women athlete in the international track, and field competition, and in any international games A few months from then onward, we had Kiran Peshwaria now Madam Kiran Bedi who had won the Asian Lawn Tennis championship defeating Nirupama Vasant who later was to become Mrs Nirupama Mankad, wife of Ashok Mankad Twelve years from then we had the likes of P T Usha, Valsamma Shiny Abraham to name a few, and now e have a list which has no ending That was it, and that was the place where the seeds were sown
8 1970: IFA Shield: East Bengal rewrites an EPITAPH and some Golden Words
Football in India had died a very slow but a sure death after that 1962 Gold at the Djakarta Asian Games From 1963 to 1969 we had become a LAUGHING STOCK to the world in football In a match against the USSR team then which was played at Durgapur the USSR national team had pumped us thirteen goals
Football there at Iran also was dead, and out for the counts But from 1968 after watching the Japanese Football team which had won the Bronze in the 1968 Olympics, Iran regrouped themselves, and they started the process of professional football Every team of Iran was ordered to have at least six foreigners from at least three different countries The Iranians employed a different lookout for their football setup, and the first of that resurgence was seen in the 1974 Asian games where they won the Gold beating Israel by 1-0 in the finals
What happened was the IFA Sheild finals of the 1970 football event here at India A strong POLICE ATHLETICS TEAM ( PAS, TEHRAN ) came here with a team with 6 internationals that have played for their country in the 1970 World Cup they were from Mexico, Romania, and Venezuela That team completely bulldozed the entire Indian team while reaching the finals
East Bengal football XI were to play them in the finals It was expected that they would completely mince the Indian East Bengali’s, and grind them to dust But a very grilled East Bengal with all the composure of playing in front of a 90,000 crowd which was backing them to the hilt held the Iranians to a 0-0 score till the half time east Bengal played a kind of a game which was completely full of short passes, ball control, and exhibited the skill of dribbling, and many- a – touch- passes It unnerved the opponent
In the second half, East Bengal scored a goal through Parimal Dey to win the match, and the coveted Trophy This set the GOLDEN AGE for East Bengal in football, and till 1975 no other foreign team could beat East Bengal in football That was the record that East Bengal created, and this record still stands
That victory infused life in the Indian football, and in 1974 we were the junior Asian football champion were held to a 2-2 against Iran, and that was the last that India had won any medal in the International football tourney
Anyway, these were the players that played for East Bengal on that day when they beat the PAS Club by 1-0 The win is important for the fact that PAS Club Tehran ( Iran ) were the ASIAN CLUB CHAMPIONS in football This was the team East Bengal had fielded that day.
Team – East Bengal: Peter Thangaraj, Sudhir Karmakar, Syed Naimuddin, Kamal Guha, Santo Mitra, Samaresh Choudhary, Prasanto Sinha, Kajal Mukherjee, Swapan Sengupta, Mohd Habib ( Parimal Dey ), and Kali Babu Verma
9. 1974: Tehran Asian Games: T C Yohanann leaps to a distance of 8.07 metres, World Exahilarates
In 1974 at the Asiad India had won only four Golds in the entire competition The fifth one was snatched away when even after Til Bahadur Bura after knocking the Iranian in the boxing Heavy Weight finals had to concede, and surrender the medal to come back with a Silver
The surprise of many a surprise was the defeat of a World record holder from japan who lost to Shivanath Singh in the 5000 metres finals But what surprised the entire world, and the entire game’s authorities was the leap of 8.07 metres in the Long Jump event to win a Gold The Japanese were so shocked at the result that they
got the distance measured three different times by three different tapes by three different sets of officials before conceding the fact that they had lost to an Indian
IT WAS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF ANY GAMES THAT AN ASIAN LEAPT THE DISTANCE OF AND TO 8.07 METRES
Japan was expecting a Gold in the 5000 metres race, in the Long Jump, and in the Decathalon but they had to go with Silvers each in all of these events The decathlon Gold was bagged by Vijay Singh Chauhan of India who created a new Asian Games record than at the games
10. May 12th 1974 May 12th 2016: Unbelievable Opera’s, and Minerva’s created
Forty, five years of time, has passed. The number is 45, and as they say- Time to think about another wife, especially in the American, European, and the Australian continents. Today on this day during this summer when I sit back to draw another nostalgia- a GREAT incident flashes across the eye, and that makes me nostalgic.
Today in the ENTIRE annals of the WORLD SPORTS, and in the entire annals of Indian SPORTS- a feat that took place will never be equalled. It is not that India made it to the CHALLENGE ROUND of the Davis Cup- that feat was achieved by India on, and during 1966 when the Ramanathan Krishnan led Indian team had defeated the Brazil Team by 3-2 to move onto the finals, i.e., Challenge round of the Davis Cup only to lose to Australia by 4-1.
The FEAT at all if it was- it was that the Indian team led by Non-Playing Captain Mr Ramanathan Krishnan, which fielded JASJIT SINGH, VIJAY AMRITRAJ, ANAND AMRITRAJ AND SHASHI MENON defeated AUSTRALIA the previous year winner of the Davis Cup by 3-2 to move into the Semis of the
tourney. In the annals of Tennis, this was the first occasion that India had beaten Australia who by that time had won the Davis Cup for 23 times, and what was more India had beaten the holders of the challenge round in tennis
What is so great, and so in terms of excitement about it?. It was the scoreline, and one might not believe it when I say that a total of 327 games were played for three days in the scorching, and the sultry heat at Kolkatta between May 10th 1974 to May 12th 1974, and at last India won the tie beating Australia by 3-2.
The moment of glory came when the score was tied at 2-2, Vijay Amritraj took on the field to defeat Bob Giltinan 6-1,5-7,6-4,6-4 to make it 3-2 for India, and also to secure the RIGHT of playing the Semis of the Davis Cup.
During those days, Davis Cup had a different format. It had the Oceanic-Asia Zone, the two European Zone, the American Zone, and one team each from the first, and the last zone, and two from the European Zone would qualify to play the semis. India earned their right from the Oceanic-Asia Zone.
The HOUDINI and the magic of this tie was the first tie between Bob Giltinan, and Jasjit Singh. A man unheard of during those days in the annals of Indian Sports, and in Tennis, he was included in the side by none other than Ramanathan Krishnan. Ramanathan Krishnan went a step further when he demoted Anand Amritraj to the third spot, and place in the team- to play him in the First rubber against Bob Giltinan. That sends a chill down the spine here at India. A man totally unknown in the Indian circle of Tennis was specially flown from the US to play this singles. Before the match- Mr Dilip Bose, who was the Chef-De-Mission of the Indian squad, asked him- KYA KAREGA, he replied-KAR Doonga.
Well, the flutters were, and unexpected totally was there for everybody to see. In a DING-DONG, SEE-SAW battle, this Sardarji produced a series of exhilarating, and spellbound tennis to win his first tie for India with a score of 11-9, 9-11, 12-10, and 8-6 against Bob Giltinan. The next match was no less, but Vijay Amritraj had lost to John Alexander 12-14, 15-17, 8-6, and 2-6 to him. That Australian team had Mal Anderson as well, but alike we pulled a rabbit out of the hat, their Non-Playing Captain Neale Fraser also did the same with us by playing John Alexander, and the score was tied at 1-1. This match got over on the second day, i.e., on May 11th 1974 when actually we ought to play the doubles.
Field After a rest that followed, India took on the field to play the doubles, and believe me- WHAT A GAME IT WAS. Anand Amritraj played the best, the best, and the very best of the game of his entire life that day in the Doubles. After playing 80 games for his first tie against Alexander naturally, Vijay was a bit tired, and a bit lethargic- but his elder brother Anand made up for the amends. The Indian pair
won the first set by 17-15, lost the second by 6-8, won the third by 6-3, and were tied at 5-5 when the dark pitched night halted the play. The play moved on to May 12th when the reverse singles were to be played. Next day the game started at 9.00AM sharp because the reverse singles also had to be played. The game went on from DING-to-DONG, and from TANK-to-TONG, and the 33rd game in the fourth set saw Vijay losing his serve to give away the advantage to Australia. They lost the set thereafter when John Alexander held his serve to win that set by 18-1
It was Anand Amritraj who took centre stage at this moment. Playing at tandem with Vijay at the net, and again moving like a stag on the pitch, he made the things very hard for the Aussies. Vijay was broken for the Aussies to lead 4-2, but Anand stung like a bee and was flowing like water flowing through the rocks in the river, like, and alike a BUMBLEBEE in the court to make it 4-4 for India. One more break of the services which the Indian got to put them ahead by 5-4, and when Anand held his serve, India, and the Amritraj Brothers had won the tie by winning the final set by 6-4. India eventually won 17-15, 6-8, 6-3, 16-18 & 6-4.
A TOTAL OF 99 GAMES WERE PLAYED IN THIS DOUBLES TIE, AND THAT IS A WORLD RECORD IN ANY DAVIS CUP DOUBLES MATCH.
In the reverse singles which took place immediately thereafter, John Alexander defeated Jasjit Singh by 8-6,6-4,6-3
Came the LAST of the tie- a decider Vijay Amritraj defeated Bob Giltinan by 6-1, 5-7, 6-4, and 6-4 to help India win the tie by 3-2 and to qualify to the semis of the Davis Cup where India had to meet the European Zone Champion. In all, there were 327 games played in the entire tie. THAT IS A WORLD RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF GAMES PLAYED IN A COMPLETE DAVIS CUP ENCOUNTER BETWEEN THE TWO TEAM.
The DOUBLES itself had 99 games played where India won 52, and the Aussies won 47 games. That again is the WORLD RECORD for the HIGHEST number of the games played in any encounter of the Davis Cup DOUBLES game, between two teams.
It was Jasjit Singh’s FIRST tie win and Anand Amritraj’s display which made the victory possible. In that 99 games of doubles encounter, Anand Amritraj was NEVER broken even for Once. On the contrary, Colin Dibley whenever he was broken- India wrapped up the set. Frankly SPEAKING, it was Anand
Amritraj which, and who made this victory possible- a Davis Cup encounter which set all the sort of world record which will NEVER be BROKEN anytime in the days to come.
Look into the score of the sets in the tie, Yes this record will stand forever as a world record, and as I have described above, and it will NEVER be broken-NEVER. India went on to defeat USSR than with their star player, and the runners-up of the Wimbledon 1973, Alex Metreveli, and his two Lieutenants, Temiruz Kakulia, and Boris Koratov losing to India in the semis by 3-1 as the last tie that Vijay played against Metreveli ended or we can call it abandoned because India had taken, and had won the rubber The last tie was held with both the players winning two sets each and abandoned because of the bad light, and the USSR team had to catch the flight back home immediately India had made it to the Davis Cup Finals which they lost to South Africa by conceding the tie
I’m not taking the Amritraj, Vijay, and the Alex Metreveli reverse single score into account as that match was abandoned Let me make it very clear that this India – USSR match went up to 213 games, and one of the sets that India played in the doubles courtesy Anand Amritraj, and Vijay Amritraj against Alex Metreveli, and Boris Korotkov was 19-17 That was intense in terms of the match, and the power exhilarated in that double match which India won, and went ahead by 2-1 at the end of the second day
During those eras no nation would play South Africa as an international ban was served on them, and India had to concede the rubber, and the title That robbed India to win the Davis Cup That was the BEST chance that India could have won the Davis Cup title but the international ban on the South African robbed us of playing them, and winning the title Had India played that Finals- BET India would have won either by 4-1 or by the score of 3-2
11. 1974 December 27th – Jan 1st 1975: Pataudi and Vishvanath revive the DEAD Indian cricket
This was an incident, and this was a REAL story when the Indian cricket which was just to be buried under the earth was reviewed by the TWO great Indian cricketers that India had produced One of them was Mansur Ali Khan, Pataudi, and the other was the little master Gundappa Vishvanath
There was an air of waves created after the HATTRICK win It was believed that the Indian cricket could never be defeated However the tour of England in 1974 smashed all the waves, and the airs of Indian cricket The tour of England in 1974 completely demolished everything that India had in it, and with it in cricket The worst was the bundling of the entire team for 42 at Lords
Thereafter the Indian cricket team was to meet the strong Carribeans led by Clive Lloyd which had Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Roy Fredricks, Alvin Kallicharran, Andy Robers lance Gibbs, Bernard Julien, Keith Boyce, and Vanburen Holder along with Derryck Murray as a wicketkeeper to assists them
The first two tests were over, and the Carribeans were up by 2-0 To make the matter worse for the Indians Sunil Gavaskar broke his thumbs, and he was not to play for India The onus fell on Gundappa Vishvanath He would very fluently score 30 runs without any hassles but would lose his wicket This had rattled everybody, and the Indian selectors who were waiting for the 3rs Test to be played at Kolkatta to be over Another demolishing act by the Carribeans the selector was planning to completely hoof-out the entire team like they hoofed out Ajit Wadekar, and choose the new blood to plant, and platform the future of Indian cricket But Pataudi who did not play the second Test at Delhi had other ideas He knew one more defeat means the series is DEAD for the Indians, and so would be the entire team which he had platformed between 1962 to 1969 That would be the nail hit on the coffin for India
He came back to lead India in the third Test at Kolkatta He knew that without Gavaskar it would be Vishvanath to bear the figures of the entire team He called Barun Burman, and asked him to bowl to Vishvanath from the distance of 15 yards very furiously He ordered Vishvanath to use all his reflexes to play Burman which Vishvanath did at the nets
Next he asked Barun to bowl to him from the 18 yard distance with full speed, and ordered Vishvanath again to use all his reflexes to save his body from getting hit, and pay with the meat of the bat every ball that Barun throws him That two days of extra work for 2 hours on the first day, and for 90 minutes of the second day before the start of the Test match was enough for Vishvanath to find his touch, and confidence The chink, and the rust that had accumulated was creased off by Pataudi for Vishvanath
Pataudi’s plan was that if Andy Robers was five yards ahead in pace then at least there would be Vushvanath to tackle that kind of a thunderous pace as Barun’s fifteen years of bowling to any batsman of India would be Roberts 22 yard of pace Secondly if Roberts was two or four yards ahead in pace if considered to any bowler in the world then, Vishvanath would be in a position to tackle and play out that as well India won it, and won the next two Test with Vishvanath scoring 52, 139, an unbeaten 97, and 46 in that order to square the Test series then It was Barun Burman who bowled at steam speed to Vishvanath, and Vishvanath ha to face that kind of thunderous Bowlin at a distance from 15 yards, and 18 yards to be in full flight to head Andy Roberts to tears Nobody talks about the effort that Barun Bauman played through letters after letters, and words after words have been written for Vishvanath, and Pataudi Had it not been Pataudi, and Barun India would not have seen Vishvanath in that kind of flight, and mettle
Madanlal was recalled after a fine 56 for the North Zone that played against the West-Indies, and Karsan Ghavri, as well as Ansuman Gaikwad, were to deputise for India India scored 233, and allowed the West-Indies to take a slender lead of seven runs Thereafter it was Vishvanath who top-scored in the first with a 52 to score a bombarding, and a marauding 139 in the second with 23 boundaries He was supported by Ghavri who scored a fighting 27 to add 91 runs with Vishvanath for the seventh wicket Engineer in between had scored 63 to help Vishvanath to fight the cause
Finally India set a target of 310 for the West – Indies to win the match Chandra with a spell of 3-66 in which he had swapped Vivian Richard, Alvin Kallicharran, and Clive Lloyd bowling him through the gate, and BS Bedi who captured four wickets made India beat the West-Indies by 85 runs That was the first occasion that India had beaten the West-Indies at their soil
That victory from 1974 to about 1979 saved the trio of the spinners, and gave an extended future to all those who Pataudi had platformed between 1964 to 1969, and germinated the future of Madanlal, Karsan Ghavri, and Anshuman Gaekwad who played 35, 39, and 40 Test matches for India thereafter beside making Gundappa Vishvanath as one of the four BEST batsman of the cricketing world between the era of 1974 to 1979 Thereafter immediately in the next Test Vishvanath scored an unbeaten 97 which not only helped India to square the Test series then but that knock is still being adjudicated as the 38th BEST knock in terms of the ranking of all the knocks that has ever been played by any Test cricketer, and the BEST EVER knock being played by any Indian Test cricketer in the annals of the Indian Test cricket, and her history
12. AND WHEN THE TEARS ROLLED
March 15th 1975 time 2.2.35 PM IST: 45 Years ago: March 15th 2018
INDIA WINS THE THIRD WORLD CUP HOCKEY AT MALAYSIA
India- 2 ( Surjit Singh, Ashok Kumar ) Pakistan – 1 ( Mohammad Saeed )
Well to start with a “poem”:
That was the DAY, That was the TIME,
That made me CRY. Tears were rolling down my EYE
This is a poem written by none other than WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, but that implied on me on March 15th 1975 Tears were rolling down my eye My boarding mates were shocked, but that is the TRUTH
India was to play Pakistan in the finals of the Third World Cup Hockey then overall. The final was going to be a pitched ding-dong battle with no quarter asked for nor given That was it. Pakistan was fielding an exuberate tooth to tooth fighting youngsters as most of their star players were under the suspension
The Pakistani players had lost to West-Germany by 1-0 in the finals of the Munich Olympics At the ceremony there at the podium in 1972 after losing those finals the Pakistani’s were touching their silver medals on their shoes on the podium, and after the final ceremony was over some of them threw their medals on the ground, and were trampling upon them This made the FIH ban all the Pakistani who played that day for LIFE However their ban was revoked in 1974 after the strong plea to the FIH by the Pakistani Hockey Chief Air Marshal Noor Khan then.
On that day in the finals India conceded a goal when a belligerent run in the left flank saw the Pakistani’s going ahead in the 23rd minute when their right winger Mohammed Saeed scored off a solo run The Indian goal was totally exposed in the Right flank for a minutes to say, and Pakistan raided with tremendous control, and speed to break the defence of India The Indian Right winger Varinder Singh could not cover his territory on a Zonal marking basis, and Aslam Sher Khan too was caught on the wrong foot, and Pakistan through Saeed if I remember his name correctly scored off a beautiful run
India thereafter regrouped themselves, and raided through the combination of Ajitpal Ashok Kumar, and V P Govinda through the right, and Phillips, and Harcharran Singh with Ajit Pal from the left There use to be raids from this wing for a moment, and that wing for the next It was a play, and a ploy to keep the Pakistani completely under their territory, and force them to make some mistakes so that India loops, and, and loom their territory with fine dribbling, and piercing pass to breach through their defense but without mistake but the Pakistani ‘s always was head above the Indians to nip their moves straight in the buds. The first half saw India trailing by 0-1
In the second half a move which was engineered by Ajitpal, and was to use BP Govinda, Ashok, and Shivaji Pawar with Shivaji Pawar finally laying a through pass for Ashok who ran like a stag to sell a dummy to a Pakistani defender so as to create a gap, and he pieced the ball through the gap to take it to the extreme corner of their D saw a defender stopping Ashok by foul A penalty corner resulted, and Pawar who pushed the ball to Surjit Singh saw Surjit taking an indirect hit, and the score was 1-1 for India to breathe free. That was in the 45th minute of the play.
Thereafter it was a swing, and a saw battle with the ball rolling from this end to that, and that end to this However it was at about the 51st minute of the play when another move engineered by Ajitpal saw BP Govinda taking the ball to the left, and in the process of the run reverse flicking it Ajitpal who relayed a precise perfect pass to Shivaji Pawar. Pawar cut loose, and controlling the ball with his very balanced run he cut the Pakistani defence beating three players all defenders by his accurate stickwork He then was challenged by another Pakistani physically, but Pawar could hang on with the ball to somehow find Ashok Kumar near him. Ashok was fouled, and came to another penalty corner This time Surjit Singh sends a dummy to a Pakistani Instead of hitting the ball directly he laid it squarely to Pawar who sold a dummy, and again he found the challenge of the Pakistani only to hang with the ball, and relay a pass to Aashok There were some Pakistani who were guarding Ashok but a dribbler of a WORLD CLASS that Ashok was he within a radius of one square metre dribbled all the three Pakistani players who were surrounding him. There was a skirmish as Ashok was charged physically from the back but did not give away He was pushed by a Central defender of Pakistan which saw him rolling towards the earth as if he would fall badly But while doing so he pushed the ball so hard, and so straight to the first bar, and with such a power, and accuracy that the ball went like a bullet to hit the side goal post from where the ball jumped, and hit the board of the goal, on its edge to jump, and hit the roof of the net, and ricocheted to hit the sidebar again.
From where the ball had entered the goal to come back again at the “ D “.THAT WAS THE POWER ASHOK HAS USED TO SCORE THAT ONE IN SPITE OF THE FACT THAT WHEN HE PUSHED THE BALL HE WAS TO FALL ON THE GROUND After that push Ashok fell down on the ground badly but no sooner than he heard the ball sounding against the goal board he rose up like a spring and shouted – GOAL “ KAR DIYA, KAR DIYA, THOK DIYA “ so loudly that the other Indians started celebrating the goal.
In the meantime Umpire Vijaynathan a Malaysian who was supervising the match was surrounded by the entire Pakistani team Each was asking the Pakistani Umpire to negate the ball as they felt that both Shivaji Pawar, and Ashok Kumar were not legal to move up with the ball, and they had infrigded upon the Pakistani’s while cutting, and moving They were of the firm view that while Pawar and Aashok played their ware, and displayed their skill’s they were physically, and they had challemged the Pakistani physically, and the goal should be disallowed They also said that Ashok’s push was not legal as he while scoring had touched a Pakistani dislodging him by his feet These allegations were put to the dust by the Umpire, and he allowed the goal Thereafter one saw the Pakistani bombarding the Indian goal, and in reply the Indians too made the same Moves of the highest order with clinical Asian flair of short passes, and through passes from both the end, and a see-saw battle ensured, however the Indian was unlucky as a penalty corner hit by Aslam Sher Khan was negated by the Umpire, and a self-goal scoired by Govinda of a beautiful run that included Ashok, Pawar, and Govinda who had scored also was negated by the Umpire on the charge that Govinda had carried the ball
When came the HOOTER India had won by 2-1 to win ITS ONLY WORLD CUP MATCH & THE TITLE SO FAR SO EVER TILL DATE.
REASON FOR THE TEAR TO FLOW-
It was 1971 The Indo-Pak clash of Bangladesh’s, and its flashes were over Pakistan were a BRUISED side This Pakistani Hockey team which played in 1971 had Tanvir Dar, Munavvar-Uz – Zaman, Abdul Rashid, Asad Mallik, Akhtar Rasool Manzoor Al Hassan, &, they were all from the Pakistani Army Of it three of them were serving, and posted at Bangladesh They were summoned to the National camp of Pakistan for the selection of the Pakistan team for the Barcelona World Cup, and hence, were not there for the war Beside that Tanvir Dar had lost his brother who was an Army Officer posted at Bangladesh during the war That was the reason
In that tournament that was held at Barcelona in 1971 – THE 1ST EVER WORLD CUP HOCKEY Immediately after the match was to resume after the interval, Tanvir Dar flung his hockey stick at the Indian bench, and was SLANDERING a Indian player who was in the Army He was Harcharran Singh who retired as a very Senior Officer at the Indian Army thereafter Looking this the Indian players Ashok Kumar, and M P Ganesh who himself was an Army man playing for India immediately went up and diffused the matter
Pakistan in that match scored TWO goals against India, and both of them were fouls but the Umpire Mr Vijaynatahn ruled it otherwise Undercutting rpt “ UNDERCUTTING “ which was a serious foul. during that time when hockey had the OFF-SIDE, WRONG TURN, and UNDERCUTTING as an infringement was not implied when two penalty corners were converted into the goal by the Pakistani side Tanvir Dar was solely responsible for undercutting the ball against India, and was the method, and the ploy that Pakistani used to score both the goal against India These were, and these are the most generous, and generic fouls in hockey then, and at that period when hockey was played Nowadays these fouls have been scrapped off
After the match India at one stage went to the extent of filing a report against the two Pakistani goals scored but the Supremo of the FIH Mr Rene Frank advised India NOT to do that It was because again the INDO-PAK Bangaladesh war, and its stories would find the space amidst the tourney, and would destroy the tournament The Indian decided amongst them to let the things go as it would have created furore for the host for conducting the hard-line matches, and the finals thereafter. Mr Rene Frank took centre stage else the Indians at one stage had decided to go all the way long, and file the protest.
Those two undercuttings later were printed and posted in all the newspaper all over the world except India for a reason best, and some article on the goals scored by Pakistan also made the headlines only to console the Indians then. Definitely, India was robbed of what could have been their first entry participating for the first time in the tourney Now I cite what happened when the same referee supervised the game in 1973
1973-: It was again Sunday September 2nd 1973 when once again a million of people were left crying here at India infact the entire nation was left in the lurch weeping India were up by 2-0 within the first 19 minutes of play as Surjeet Singh scored two of the penalty cornersHolland/Netherland made it 2-2 In the 55th minute of the game Surjeet Singh again scored but the referee Mr Vijaynatahn ruled it off His reason was the ball was undercut Thereafter in the 65th minute India got a penakty stroke The condition was such that none of the Indian players would go to take that one Harmik Singh, Ajitpal Singh, Phillips, Ashok Kumar, Ganesh, Surjit Singh nobody wanted to take that B P Govinda came in running to M P Ganesh who was the Captain of the team, and requested him to take the push Govinda was an expert to take the penalty shots but on that day when he took that one, and pushed the ball rolled to the Dutch goalkeeper, and stopped in front of his pad That was that, and that was the end
Followed the extra time, and thereafter, India lost out in the stroke. That legitimate goal which the Umpire Vijaynathan ruled out, and negated in the 55th minute was a legitimate legal goal, and the reverse outcome of that blew the Indians out of the game that was still a hard blow to absorb, and recover from it
So in the Finals of the 1975 World Cup Hockey when the Pakistani players were so much heel, and hell-bent upon the referee to negate India’s goal scored through Ashok Kumar the body really had lost its life when we heard to the commentary. But when it was allowed, and considered as a goal, and when the final hooter was blown, and when India was awarded the trophy those scenes, and those reminiscence etc. which flashed across the eye made one, and sundry go down to the drains of nostalgia, and those goals which were illegal that were scored against India which was awarded, and considered to be the legal goals, and those legal which India scored were termed, and turned as illegal which took away the World Cup from us made the tears rolled down as those were some moments of grief
After we heard Ashok scoring that goal, and then again we heard the Pakistani crying foul over it with Mr Vijaynatah of Malaysia as the Umpire, and his two earlier supervision of the matches of India against Pak in 1971, and Holland in 1973, I felt – Rahu Nay Abhi Tak Peechhah Nahi Chhodah hai But then when he finally made his stance clear of, and about the goal, and awarded India the goal we could breathe free Reminiscence of those two days, and the pain that we lived in for two years made the heart heavy, and it rolled the tears However this was the TEARS OF JOY.
CELEBRATION – C C B H S S STYLE-: CCBHSS had a unique way of celebrating its Birthday, and it was only the “PREFECTS” who would do that No Ladyboys, no monitors would be allowed to do that. Suppose if it was my birthday. And mind you it would be only the PREFECTS who would engage in, and the birthday also ought to be of a perfect. The one who would celebrate his birthday would be caught by the leg by one perfect, and the pair of hands by another, and all the other PREFECTS would join them. They would dip the birthday boy in to touch the ground/floor, and count one. Thereafter he would be raised, and all the other PREFECTS would join to kick on his back in the lower region Suppose if he was seventeen the poor man would have to be ready to be raised repeatedly, and being touched the floor by the dips, and would have to receive 16 times kicks multiplied by the number of kicks that the entire group of prefect would kick him
This was the unique style of the birthday celebration that we would as a border engage doing it within ourself to enjoy the birthday, and this would be the PREFECTS doing that not the lay boys India had won, and on that day I ought to celebrate my birthday not officially it wasn’t my official birthday that way though I was not born in that way – but not a single drop of tears flowed down my eye That victory of the 3rd World Cup hockey definitely brought down the tears of joy into the eye of every Indian then, and I was not an exception
Even today when my boarding mates meet me, and when we fall back to the days of reminiscences they ask me the same question- Why did you cry that way on that day Well the answer is given here, and MANY STILL CRY FOR INDIA BEING WRONGLY PUSHED OUT OF THE 1971 WORLD CUP HOCKEY, and AGAIN TURNED AWAY FROM LAYING THEIR HANDS ON THE 1973 WORLD CUP HOCKEY
Team/Name of the Indian Hockey players who played on that day to win the 3rd World Cup Hockey
Goalkeeper – Ashok Dewan Right Full Back – Aslam Sher Khan Left Full Back – Surjit Singh Right Hal- Varinder Singh, Centre Half – Ajitpal Singh, Left Half – Mohinder Singh, Left out – Harcharran Singh, Left In – V J Phillips, Centre Forward – Shivaji Pawar, Right In– Ashok Kumar Right Out – BP Govinda
Coach: Gurcharan Singh Bodhi
13. 1979: Prakash Padukone win the All England Championship
This was something which the entire world could not believe their ears, and the eye when Prakash Padukone won the All England Badminton Championship at England in 1979 He defeated the “ KING “ of Badminton, Liew Swei King of Indonesia in straight sets to become the first-ever Indian to win that title
The All-England is equivalent to the Wimbledon in Badminton, and when Prakash went on to cut one after another, and move up the ladder. He started producing the people to believe that whatever he was doing was all FLUKE and nothing short of it. What was more? En route to the finals, he did not lose even a single set to his illustrated opponents
In the finals Liem Swie King was expected to swap Prakash, and sweep him off the floor But what happened was the opposite Prakash after Prakasnath who in 1938 had lost in the semis of this tourney went two steps ahead to inscribe his name on the glittering championship to become the first evet Indian to win the All-England In 2002 we had Pullela Gopichand repeating the same, and become the second Indian to win that That changed the entire complexion of India in Badminton We were soon to play the finals round of the Thomas Cup in 1979, and again in 1988 losing on both the occasion in the quarters to our opponent in the Thomas Cup
14. East Bengal wins the ASEAN Cup Club Football title
India’s prestige in football is known to everybody That prestige was slowly sinking, and Indian football was turning into bad smelling dung which was not even good enough to be used as manure any more
The Suley Musa led East Bengal created a history to become the first-ever Indian Club Football team to win the ASEAN Club Football championship trouncing the SAFC Cup winner BED Seso Torana by 3-1 in the finals with Mike Okoro, Alvito D’Cunha, and Bhaichung Bhutia scoring for East Bengal The cream of the Asian Football club teams were surprised by the way East Bengal had played the finals to trounce the winner of the AFC Cup in the finals
The Asian Football fraternity was surprised to see that a kind of an illustrative performance by East Bengal and many kept rubbing the eye to believe that an Indian Football Club could achieve that kind of a feat East Bengal then from 2003 to 2005 maintained that position of being considered as the top five football club of Asia courtesy their performance However from 2006 they started sliding, and now NONE of the other Indian clubs is anywhere near to that standard Indian football is now a lump of rotten stinging cow dung or maybe bullshit
Well, these are the fourteen ( 14 ) incident which turned our sporting history to sow the seed in the respective events of games, and sports of India which now is bearing all the tasty, and delicious food, and fruits for the next generation or generation afterwards to enjoy
This article from my end is DEDICATED to Mr Subramanium Jaishankar Hon’ble Minister for External Affairs for his LOVE towards, and for the court game in particular, and towards the sports, and games in general.
