Yet Another Point of View

That's it? They brought him all the way to Beijing just to stand atop that double decker bus and then kick a ball into the crowd of athletes? At least, I was disappointed. London could have come up with a more exciting 8-minute presentation during the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. They could have used David Beckham a little more innovatively. Otherwise, the rest of the ceremony was quite spectacular. Hats off to the Chinese on that one!

The Olympics close tomorrow and the host nation put on a great show. They top the gold medals tally comfortably ahead of the Americans though the later have the most number of total medals. I think India has also put in its best ever Olympic performance with an individual gold and two bronzes. At least our young boxers went down fighting. I loved it when Virender Kumar said after his final loss " abhi bhook hai...Aaj mazaa nahin aaya ." Hope to see these guys in London in 2012. So, everyone is happy. The USOC is thrilled . Indian governmental or sporting bodies are going ga-ga . And of course, the Chinese Communist Party will be very happy this Sunday when festivities mark the end of the Beijing Games and a reassertion of Chinese domination in the sporting world. Still, many think it was not such a "fun" Olympics . I hate to admit it but I am inclined to say so too. I mean, Michael Phelps made history but he only makes me look up at him in stupefication and awe at t...

First there was the huge controversy over the age of the Chinese women gymnasts . Then the IOC & FIG cleared the Chinese. But the issue still simmers because many believe it was such a fake investigation. They didnt even make an effort to pass it off as a genuine one . I DO NOT condone the fact that underage gymnasts be allowed to compete (and exploit the advantage their supple bodies give them). But I think the Chinese girls are in this mess because they 'look too young'. Fortunately or unfortunately, Asian gymnasts are naturally built small, unlike their American & European rivals. I feel age doesnt show easily with Asian genes. So, even if they were 16, as their official (doctored or not, who's to say) records show, they still face the brunt of suspicion that they could be 14. Incidentally, Nadia Comaneci won her perfect scores when she was 14. Its only in 1997that they raised the eligible age for competition to 16. While still on the topic of the permissible age...

India has boxed and wrestled its way to another two medals. So, the gold was not really a fluke (as I mused in my last post). And, I am glad I was proved wrong. Hope the big bout for Vijender Kumar tomorrow goes the gold way. Watching the sprinting events this evening, I couldn't really believe the double blunders made by both the US men's and women's 4x100mtrs . Honestly, what are the chances that both teams of the same country in the same event goof up like that?! These are seasoned athletes and they must have practiced their move to perfection for years before this. Is it the pressure of a packed stadium and a watching world? Well, the Olympian pressure sure didn't get to Usain Bolt when he pranced and jiggled around after his record breaking 100m and 200m sprints. Not every one found it amusing , but I feel, let the guy have his day in the spotlight. Anyone who watched how he simply outraced the competition can only be awestruck - it was sheer power and poetry.

A few random thoughts on the state of the nation this 61st Independence Day: - • A country of 1 billion and we win only one medal at the Olympics. The good news is its a gold. The bad news is we haven’t got even a single silver or bronze. God, that makes the gold sound like a fluke! Hope the situation changes before the end of the games. • On TV yesterday, a CNN-IBN survey on prevalent urban Indian mindset on marriage presented the following results: o 87 per cent Indians feel that life is incomplete without marriage. o 76 per cent single people in metros believe in marriage. o Only 9% say that life can be complete without marriage o Only 32% young metro men & 22% small town women think pre-marital sex is acceptable. Remaining obviously consider it taboo. So, correct me if I guessed wrong, but one can safely conclude that we are country teeming with virgins whose overwhelming goal in life is to get married. But here's the irony - A good 48 per cent urban Indians fav...

Organizational bulletin boards are often the hotbed of inconsequential chatter. Here’s a classic example. This is a FWD that has been doing the rounds, so I assume this piece is not infringing any copyright :) or divulging any proprietary information. Not any more, at least. For this particular one, I have rearranged (for reader’s convenience) the sequence of mails starting with the earliest. Just to be on the safe side, I have also masked real names. The conversation starts with an ostensibly innocent query and meanders into territories that only the most imaginative inhabit. Sit back and have a hoot. From: Nxxx C Jyyy Posted At: Friday, January 20, 2006 11:45 AM Posted To: Kxxx General Conversation: Can we have better coffee vending machines? Subject: Can we have better coffee vending machines? Hi, Can we have better coffee vending machines in Bglr DC like other DC's? I remember we had got this Horlicks/Bournvita Vending machines in Hyd-DC (one per building) which lot of people o...