http://desicritics.org/ Superior South Asian bloggers on Culture, Media, Politics, Sport, Business, and Technology. en Copyright 2006 by the authors Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:55:29 EDT http://backend.userland.com/rss BC custom software http://desicritics.org/2008/08/20/103050.php#comment-340104 Indians pride themselves as a peace-loving country, but the only olympic medals India has won are for shooting and fighting and punching. If there was any medal for ak-47 shooting or bomb blasting, India would have won them too. I think it is all fault of Olympic format which has decked so many sports that are not really sports - consider that USA has won over 25% of its total medal in swimming alone. I think India should press for inclusion of cricket with the different formats, say - 10 over cricket, 20 over cricket, 30 over cricket, 50 over cricket, cricket with red ball, cricket with white ball, cricket played with left arm, cricket played with right arm, cricket with 5 players team, cricket with 11 players team, cricket played in Baseball format etc - that would improve India's chances of winning quite a few medals in some of those categories before other olympic nations can catch up with cricket as a sport. In mean time, India's best hope for more medal rests with AK-47 shooting and grenade throwing. Pakistan can offer us a cut throat competition, but we have battle-tested Kashmiris on our side. 340104@desicritics.org Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:55:29 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/08/20/103050.php#comment-340102 chandra: i think the ppoint being made is the coverage cricket gets daily as compared to the other sports mentioned. But I htink things are improving. The last time I checked the TOI or Indian Express, there was much news about local sports. Let's just hope things don't hit rock bottom like hockey ever again! 340102@desicritics.org Sun, 24 Aug 2008 01:05:36 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/08/20/103050.php#comment-340052 and now a bronze in boxing. 340052@desicritics.org Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:30:17 EDT http://desicritics.org/2008/08/20/103050.php#comment-339919 Indians have always followed multiple sports. During the last olympics many stayed awake late to watch Anju Bobby. During 2000, people were thrilled with Malleswari and who can forget the close semis between Paes and Agassi in 1996. I dont know how old you are but the 80s were about Usha, Abraham and co. If you have quality athletes, the media will cover you and people will follow you, we are no different from other nations. I think all of us are mature enough to talk about various events without berating Cricket. 339919@desicritics.org Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:09:39 EDT