French Open is starting...

The Dust will be in the Parisian Airs again... The Clay will be hot again..
The French open is starting tomorrow.

While Rafael Nadal will be aiming a hat-trick, Roger Federer will be eyeing for the Title as well and considering the recent victory he has got over Nadal, This time the battle is believed to be very tough.

In Women, Justin Henin will try her luck for a hat-trick. And there is Come-back queen of the year - Serena Williams.

Then there are also ,many others including Fernando Gonzalis, Carlos Moya, Novak Djokovic Maria Sharapova, Nico Vaidisova, Anna Ivanovic, and many more..

Indian Stars- Sania, Mahesh and Leander will also be trying their luck in Rolland Gasross.

I can't wait for the matches to start..

Mahesh Bhupathi: Eyeing the Future of Indian Tennis

The Indian Express might be back on the Court at least for Beijing Olympic, 2008.
Mahesh Bhupathi today indicated that it’s logical that he and Leander Paes join hands for the country once again, although it’s nearly impossible on the tour. After a bitter War of Words, the the most successful pair of Indain Tennis had declared their final split when they won it in Doha Asian Games.

"Olympics is far, there is still a long way to go. Ideally, we should be playing together if India has to have a chance of winning a medal (in tennis) at the Olympics,"
"That's the logical choice. On today's ranking, we would be seeded high. It would give us the best chance to win a medal."
"That's the logical choice. On today's ranking, we would be seeded high. It would give us the best chance to win a medal."
On if he had spoken to Paes on the subject. "It is still 15 months away from now," "It is still 15 months away from now,"

-Bhupathi said at a press conference.

Bhupathi has said that their partnership gave India "the best chance" of winning a tennis medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

This is of course a good News for the Indian Fans as together the duo always give rise to the hope of an Olympic Medal- something for which the Country has dreamt a lot.

However this also shows, that at present, we don’t have anyone to perform at that level and so we have to go back to the veterans again.

So don’t we really have anyone better than or at leas equal to these two? We might have, but the problem is that we are not able to find them or even if we find them, we are not able to train them and provide them the facilities matching the international standards.

We are a population of over a billion. And I am sure that the talent is there. There are many great junior players in India however they fail to deliver the performance at the senior/professional levels.

Also, in particular with the Game of Tennis, it’s a bit costlier than some other sports. Considering this and the increasing popularity of tennis, the Government of India has shown willingness to improve the condition of Tennis in the country. The efforts are thus being made at administrative levels. But beyond this, many Tennis players in the country are doing their service to the game by means of coaching, private Tennis academies, etc.

Latest addition to these efforts comes from Mahesh Bhupathi, who besides playing on the professional circuit, runs a Tennis Academy and a sports-management company-“Globosports”.

Now he has taken another step by successfully convincing “Apollo Tires” to invest a sum of Rs. 100 Crore (1 billion) towards his efforts.
Indeed, it’s a very welcome gesture for the future of Indian Tennis, not only Tennis but Indian Sports where it’s hard to get sponsors except for Cricket. (well, after the dismal show at the World Cup even BCCI found it hard to get sponsors.)

Regarding this, Bhupathi has said that he aims at nurturing the potential players who can bring a Grand slam Title or Olympic Medal in India, and the deadline he set is around ten years henceforth.

While he made the announcement of this new beginning, Bhupathi spoke about the possibility of his pairing again with Paes for the Olympic.

He also spoke about Sania Mirza:

"She is coming back from an injury and it will take time for her to find the rhythm. When the grass court season starts, she should be back in form. She is playing well."

Indian Tennis has enjoyed some glorious moments in the past. But right now, Ramesh Krishnan has retired. Mahesh and Leander are reaching the final stage of their careers on tour and Beyond Sania, there isn’t any Indian women performing at the highest level.

In light of this, the initiative by Apollo Tires and Mahesh Bhupathi will bring new hopes, I believe.

Sania's really back!

Sania Mirza and her American partner vania King have won the Doubles Title in Morrocco to mark a nice comeback to the Professional Tennis after an injury gap of three Months. Considering the fact that not much time is left French Open, this victory should proove a great boost to her.

Congratulations Sania!

Sachin Saurav Hit Centuries

Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly hit Test-Centuries toady agaions Bangladesh in Chitgaon.

So the old horses emerged strong again, and scored highly against the ponies. That’s how this will be described by many people.

For me, a Century is a century, and there is nothing as special as getting a Test-Ton, no matter against whom it’s scored. So let's Celebrate it.

Yes, this pitch is meant to be a batting pitch but considering the yough time these guys have been facing, this should be seen as a fresh beginning.

Welcome Back Sania!

BTW, Sania Mirza made a comeback after she was away for three months because of her injury. She's playing in Morrocco open- "Grand Prix SAR Princess Lalla Meryem in Morocco".

It's a Tier- IV event and as you know, she's become the first Indian to get the Top seeding at a WTA event.
She's first seeded for both Singles and doubles. She's won her first Doubles match to advance to the second Round of the doubles event alongside American Vania King. but she lost her Singles match to Maria Emilia Salerni of Argentina 6-2, 7-5.

Anyways, Welcome Back Sania!

Azlan Shah Cup: A Bronze Success for India

India has won the bronze medal in the 16th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup hockey tournament at Ipoh, Malaysia...
A young and inexperienced but high Spirited Indian Squad beat South Korea 1-0. South Korea are the Asian Games golde medallist..
Just 14 minutes before the end of second half, Sardar Singh made the matchwinning goal for India.

I watched that match and I can say that Indians were on fire today and they constantly attacked the opponents.

With this we can say or at least we can hope that a new Sun is rising on Indian Hockey, the National Sport of India, which a few days back got demoted from the priority sports list by the Sports Ministery.

Maharashtra Day

1 May 2007...

Around 47 years have passed when maharashtra got the Statehood. 105 people gave their lives for Mumbai to be included into Maharashtra. We got Mumbai, but the dispute over many other Territories and the problem is not yet solved. Infact it has risen.

And not only the Border disputes or Water Disputes, the State is facing many problems. so much so that soon it might become a troubled State.
There is a huge debt on the State. There are farmers committing suisides.. Children dying out of hunger and Malnutrition..

But these can be solved, I believe. So I wish for the better future of this Maharashtra.

WC Final little time left...

Around a decade ago, Sri Lanka made a History by defeating Australia in the Final of Cricket World Cup.

And a decade after, Sri Lanka are up against Australia- the Defending Champions.

Clearly, Australia are seen as most eligible World Champions, but Sri Lankans are known to produce surprises. So it's gonna be an exciting Match, at least hope so..

The two will come face to face on the Carribean Land today and let's hope that it'll be a great clash..

PSLV C8 A Commercial Success.

PSLV Successfully Launches Italian Satellite

In its eleventh flight, conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, this afternoon (April 23, 2007), ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C8, successfully launched the 352 kg Italian astronomical satellite, AGILE, into a 550 km circular orbit, inclined at an angle of 2.5 deg to the equator. PSLV-C8 mission was unique in many respects.

In this mission, PSLV was flown, for the first time, without the six strap-on motors of the first stage. Also, for the first time, PSLV launched a satellite into an equatorial
circular orbit of 550 km. PSLV-C8 was the first major commercial launch the contract for which was won against stiff international competition.

Along with the Italian satellite, AGILE, an Advanced Avionics Module (AAM), weighing 185 kg, to test advanced launch vehicle avionics systems like mission computers, navigation and telemetry systems, was also flown on PSLV-C8. All the operational flights of PSLV so far have been successful and thus PSLV has emerged as the workhorse launch vehicle of ISRO..... more

The 42-hour countdown for the launch of 11th flight of PSLV ended and it took off from the launch pad carrying with it the Italian Satellite and a new hope.

The successful Launch of PSLV- C8 is surely a big leap for ISRO. This is the first totally Commercial Flight and opens up the prospects of a huge market. But besides all, this success is a boost for the Dream of Space Researchers and Technocrats- Dream of a journey to the Moon. PSLV or Polar Satelite Launch Vehical has an important task to perform in the next few years- It would also launch India's first mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-1 in 2008.

I wish that dream comes to reality soon. But soemtimes I question, whether it's required? why we spend so much of money to know about outer space when a child beside us is dying out of Hunger?

May be it is. because we are also hungry for knowledge and power. And

So I congratulate the Scientists and I also wish that they don't forget about the realities in India and all over the world...

Flying far is our dream and we'd have it done one day. but we all must fly together- like the migratory birds...

Indian Shooters shine at Australia Cup

These few days were really very exciting for the Shooting Sports in India, well almost all days are equally exciting..

Indian shooters have performed satisfactrily at the Australia Cup. and I hope this will continue in the upcoming Sydney World Cup as well.

After being away from the games for nine months, Abhinav Bindra shot to win the Gold . What a fantastic come back!. And it's a good sign that he's feeling fitter and better. Tejaswini Sawant brought a double delight with two Golds. However, T Raghunath got a little bit unlucky, but it happens...

I'm really happy with the Results. In all we have six medals- three Golds, Two Silvers and a Bronze. And yes, there are several top ten finishes and that's a nice performance, though I think we could have won more medals. Better Luck Next Time..

Australia Cup 2007 : Medals Eally for India:

Abhinav Bindra 697.7 (594+103.7): Gold: Men's 10m Air Rifle


Tejaswini Sawant (Ind) 498.7 (397+101.7): Gold:Women's 10m Air Rifle.

Tejaswini Sawant ( 588): Gold: Women's 50m Rifle Prone

Sanjeev Rajput 699.1 (597+102.1): Bronze: Men's 50m Rifle Prone

Vijay Kumar (562): Silver: Men's 25m Standard Pistol:


Vivek Singh 658 (560+98): Silver: Men's 50m Free Pistol

The Battle is not yet over...

I was away busy with daily routine and International Earth Day Activities and Then when I returned to the TV, I had two News waiting for me.

Roger Federer lost to Rafael NAdal in Monte carlo Masters and I was sad.
But as Indian shooters performed excidingly well in Australia giving me something to celebrate by the end of the day.

I couldn't see the Monte Carlo Final play live but I was watching the repeat of the Match and Believe me, I didn't feel like I used to feel earlier. I mean Roger lost to Rafa but I didn't get Frustrated or Didn't feel too Sad.
Because, As I watched the Recorded Match I observed a few things:
1.Roger was much more at ease compared to his first clash this week, he was less stiff.
2.His clay-play has definately changed (should be read as Improved) compared to that last year.
3.In the beginning, whenever Roger went close to the net he created troubles for Rafa, and then he started getting too desperate to serve and volley and seemed slightly impatient.
4. He was more composed than Rafa- both physically and psychologically
5. and a Drastic change- he was ENJOYING although it was a match against Rafa- and that's what I always like to see- Roger Enjoying the game.

Rafa has changed as well. His muscles have grown stronger and shots finer, but he still has problems with his fitness.I think, he'd have been a nice player had he not been playing in Roger's Era, and I DO BELIEVE that the He' no. 2 mainly because he's slightly better where Roger is slightly weaker. (otherwise he'd have been 3rd, or 4th or 6th, may be )
Oh, I've started enjoying their Rivalary much more, but I'd like to see their battles ending in Roger's favour.