Asides

Sunil Subramanian: Newer mistakes

“The challenge is that you should be making newer mistakes. Newer mistakes means you are learning.” 

—Sunil Subramanian, Ravichandran Ashwin’s mentor,  describes his evolution as an off-spinner. 

John Abraham: Machine 

“I haven’t had a regular cake in 23 years now. I don’t understand life any other way. This machine will break down if I change it now.” 

—John Abraham. 

What has happened to Michael Fereira?

Michael Fereira  was India’s foremost billiards player much before the likes of Geet Sethi and Pankaj Advani arrived on the scene.

He was preceded by Wilson Jones, the nation’s first amateur world champion. 

The 77-year-old is now running scared—implicated in a cheating case involving QNET, a multi-level marketing company  using the banned pyramid business model.

Ferreira, Malcolm Desai, Srinivas Rao Vanka , Magaral Veervalli Balaji, and Suresh Thimiri were all directors of Vihaan Direct Selling India (Pvt) Ltd., the entity that ran QNET.

Fereira, however, claims that he was a ‘mere shareholder’; he did not mislead or dupe any investors or customers.

He also never received any commission or dividends from the company. He attended the company’s programmes overseas to inspire them in his capacity as a former sportsperson.

His counsel Amit Desai said:

“The prosecution’s case is that Vihaan Direct Marketing had misled people through false representation. Ferreira was not involved in sales, he did not earn any commissions or dividends. The talks he gave were inspirational and not to sell products under the scheme. He is a well-regarded, respected sportsperson. He is 78 and tomorrow (on Saturday) is his 79th birthday.”

Public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat informed the Bombay High Court that Fereira owned 80% of the company.

Gharat claims that the company ran a ‘Ponzi scheme’ seeking amounts ranging from Rs.30,000 to Rs. 7.5 lakhs. The money earned was then repatriated abroad.

An FIR was registered in August 2013 under the Prize, Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978 and Maharashtra Protection Of Interest Of Depositors Act.

Fereira—who surrendered yesterday—has been remanded to police custody till October 13.

Fereira—nicknamed the ‘Bombay Tiger’—was a three-time billiards world champion.

The septuagenarian learnt to play billiards while schooling at St. Joseph’s School, Darjeeling. His interest continued through his college days at St. Xavier’s College and the Government Law College.

He famously rejected the Padma Shri in 1981—on winning his second world crown— contending that he should be honoured with the Padma Bhushan instead like Sunil Gavaskar. He was. 

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Virender Sehwag: Individual success and captains 

​”Every successful player has an equally great captain behind him.”

—Virender Sehwag. 

Quotes from the late Arnold Palmer

​The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.

Why our sporting heroes don’t deserve biopics

Sports biopics are the flavour of the past few years in Bollywood.

But have they really been worth catching on the big screen?

‘Bhaag, Milkha, Bhaag’ was phenomenal.

And ‘Budhia: Born To Run’ with its almost documentary-like yet moving treatment of the young boy from Orissa who languishes in a sports hostel, still banned from running by the state, was worth a dekko.

But you can’t say much about ‘Azhar’ or, for that matter, ‘Sultan’, a fictional wrestler’s story, that enjoyed blockbuster success at the box office.

I haven’t seen ‘Mary Kom‘ but I’m against the very concept of having a Punjabi actress depict a North-Eastern boxing icon.

Gautam Gambhir stirred a hornet’s nest on Twitter with his remarks criticizing the trend of biographical films on cricketers.

He said:

Given that Neeraj Pandey’s ‘MS  Dhoni: The Untold Story‘ was slated for release in the upcoming weeks, many of Dhoni’s fans questioned Gambhir’s intent and timing.

Was the Delhi cricketer taking a potshot at his former skipper? It is no secret that Gambhir could have been in the running for the captain’s post had his stint in the side continued.

James Erskine’s ‘Sachin: A Billion Dreams‘ is also expected to be in theatres in the near future.

I, for one, saw nothing wrong with the left-hander’s statements.

Successful  cricketers are accorded the status of demi-gods in India. Reams of  traditional and online media are dedicated  to telling and retelling the stories of their humble beginnings.

Gambhir is right that we need to focus on real heroes who have devoted their lives to the country whether it be on the battlefield, social service or business.

Yet, sports other than cricket need heroes to follow and for every successful sportsperson, there are countless others who have tried and given their best—participating or coaching.

Wouldn’t you like to know the story of Ramakant Achrekar?

How about Sakshi Malik’s coach Kuldeep Malik who is yet to receive his cash award of Rs. 5 lacs? He has in his possession a photo-copied cheque instead!

Celebrate India’s successful sporting stars? Yes, do. But don’t forget those  who helped them become great and in the process made  this country greater—in all spheres. 

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Why Dipa Karmakar may not win a medal in Tokyo

India’s latest sporting darling and sensation gymnast Dipa Karmakar is targeting Simone Biles and Tokyo to clinch that elusive medal she missed last month at Rio.


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She said:

“Simone Biles is the best. My aim is to beat her. I am preparing in such a way that even if I cannot get the better of her, I end up with a silver.”


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She added:

“I was happy with my finish until I came to my room. When I got to know the reaction of the entire country, the feeling of disappointment set in. If only I could win a medal, I could have gifted the country and all my fellow Bengalis something.”

Can Karmakar do it and that too in four years time at Tokyo?

It’s difficult to tell.

She has self-belief and confidence.


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Historically, women gymnasts have performed best in their teens and by those standards, Dipa will be an old maid at 27.

Is it impossible? No, it isn’t.

But it will be extremely arduous. 

Yogeshwar Dutt, to the nation’s chagrin, found that out the hard way when he lost his way in his opening wrestling bout.

Karmakar has refused to change her coach Bishweshwar Nandi in exchange for a ‘foreign hand’.

Karmakar qualified quite late for this year’s Games. Perhaps, she could have done much better had she more time to prepare.

But that’s past.

She will have to improve substantially in the other vault routines to surpass her superlative rival, Biles.

This can be  achieved with the help of a foreign coach.

Like Andy Murray, she may need  an Ivan Lendl to secure silverware.

Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps, foreign coaches are better suited to mould our athletes when they are much younger—say, in their teens.

That said, her progress needs to be monitored over the coming years to ensure that she is on the right track towards achieving her goal.

It would be interesting to see what former top international gymnasts and their respective coaches have to say about her Tokyo  prospects.

One of them could be hired as a consultant to her current coach Nandi to add the desired variety to his ‘one–trick pony‘ .

She deserves all the assistance she can get. She truly does. And she needs to request it when she has all the attention. 

Leander Paes: My race

“In this modern age of living in limelight,  everybody wants to be a hero. People will bark,  let them bark,  they will look bad themselves. I will run my race. Till a junior comes and says ‘Lee,  I am beating you all the time’,  till I am winning Grand Slams,  I will continue to play. I had to earn it and others will also have to earn it. ”

—Leander Paes. 

Pulella Gopichand: Playing and coaching

“… as a player,  you are internally driven. It’s about you,  your body and mind working in unison on the court. As a coach,  it’s the same but in reverse—you take that drive and channel it onto the player.” 

—Pulella Gopichand. 

Sania Mirza: Dressing

“How I dress is a very personal thing.” 

—Sania Mirza.