sports

Rajpal Singh: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Rajpal Singh Is Victoriously Disgruntled

What he said:

“Hockey players do not have shoes to wear.”

Indian hockey team skipper, Rajpal Singh, is justifiably bitter about the treatment meted out to hockey players and other sportsmen. The proud Sikh was speaking to Gaurav Kanthwal of the Times Of India (TOI)  News Network following the recent fiasco wherein returning triumphant players  were offered a piddly reward of Rs. 25,000 each for bringing home the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy.

In an earlier interview, the Indian captain slammed the revised prize money of Rs. 1.5 lakhs saying:

It was total injustice. It’s not just about 18 to 20 players who go play hockey, it’s about national pride, and they should have at least treated us well. Unless they encourage and motivate players, how can we promote the game? It’s very disappointing. We ought to have been rewarded well… It was wrong and this is not the way to treat the national players. Such incentives will not only demotivate us.

Field hockey is the national sport of India.

Rajpal said:

Jab sponsorship ki baat hoti hain toh players ko pata hi nahi chalta hain ki kya ho raha hain. (When it comes to sponsorship, the players are  clueless as to what’s happening.) Even when we travel abroad the sports authority of India spends and takes care of us. We wear sponsor shirts but, pata nahi kyun. Kuch nahi milta woh shirt pehenkar. (Nothing comes of wearing the sponsor’s shirt). Every player in the team’s upset.

Rajpal added that the Indian hockey skipper is hardly recognised as compared to his cricketing counterpart, MS Dhoni:

Agar hum cricket ko compare kare,BCCI ko hatake aur government ki baat kare toh cricket ko bhi utna hi izzat deti jitna hockey ko. (The government should give equal importance to hockey). But when they won the World Cup, then every state government facilitated (sic) their captain. Main apni baat nahi kah raha hoon, lekin hockey team ke captain ko kabhi bhi Dhoni ki tarah dekha nahi jaata hain. (I am not referring to myself but no hockey captain is adulated like Dhoni).

What Rajpal really meant:

“Rs, 25,000 can buy no more than two pairs of decent sports shoes. There are no real sponsors.”

“I wish the BCCI were running Indian hockey. They’d monetise everything.”

“We’re playing hockey, not hooky.”

What Rajpal definitely didn’t:

“It kind of reminds me of the glorious Indian past when our predecessors played barefoot.”

David Lloyd: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

David Lloyd Shaves No Corners

What he said:

“I took my dog for a clipping this morning. She flipping hates it even though it costs three times as much as my £8 cut at Mr Trimm’s.”

David Lloyd aka Bumble is flipper than ever taking his pet out for a trim.

What he really meant:

“I can walk the dog, talk the dog but chop her? Mighty expensive.”

“A haircut (for her) is a flea in my bonnet.”

“My bitch is high maintenance.”

What he definitely didn’t :

“I think I’ll start cutting my hair myself.”

Amir Khan: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Amir Khan wants to box a ‘Chicken’

What he said:

In my opinion, Mayweather is a chicken. He is doing everything to avoid me just as he did everything to avoid fighting Manny Pacquiao. I don’t want to sound cocky or arrogant but I believe the real reason for Mayweather avoiding me is that he knows I have his number. Mayweather knows if he ever fights me his ‘zero’ will go.

Amir Khan is spoiling for a fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. The unified WBA and IBF world champion would like to end Mayweather’s streak of 39 unbeaten bouts.

What he really meant:

“I’m merely upholding the long-held tradition of trash-talking my opponent before a match-up.It makes for great  copy in the press.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Run, chicken, run.”

Cristiano Ronaldo: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Cristiano Ronaldo Has It All

What he said:

"I think that because I am rich, handsome and a great player people are envious of me. I don’t have any other explanation."

Cristiano Ronaldo is a narcissist. The Portuguese striker reacts to being booed by Dinamo fans at Zagreb. Real Madrid triumphed 1-0.

What he really meant:

“Don’t Messi with me.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“Modesty’s my middle name.”

Pep Guardiola: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Pep Guardiola Needs Stronger, Quicker Legs

What he said:

"Not even Usain Bolt would have been able to stop him.I’d like my team to have legs with so much running in them."

Barca manager, Pep Guardiola, does not blame his side for allowing AC Milan’s Alexandre Pato’s fifth-quickest goal in the Champions League—in all of 24 seconds.

What he really meant:

“A real pity Pato’s goal did not meet the same fate that Bolt’s 100 meters run at the World championships did.”

What he definitely didn’t:

“What if I picked the Jamaican relay squad as defenders? Would that have worked?”

Caroline Wozniacki: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

Caroline Wozniacki Is Not Amused By ‘Wham-Bam’ Serena

What she said:

“Well, you know, it’s kind of like, okay, you feel like you’re in the game, you’re in the game, and then bam, bam, you’re not in the game anymore.”

Caroline Wozniacki makes her excuses for her semifinal defeat against Serena Williams at the US Open.

What she really meant:

“I was outgunned by Serena.Bang, bang, you’re dead.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“That’s what I term a ‘loaded’ statement.”

Graeme Swann: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Graeme Swann Is No ‘BullDog’

What he said:

“I can’t make speeches like Churchill and I’ll try to be as natural as I can.”

Graeme Swann—the comedian—takes over from Stuart Board as skipper of the English T20 squad for two matches against West Indies next week.

Swann claimed:

It’s a Twenty20 series with a lot of young lads so I’ll have to change the way I am from the Test side.

I’m very much the joker in the Test team, I’m there for a stupid quip at the end of the session. With this Twenty20 side, I’ll naturally have to be more grown up and mature about things.

But I don’t intend to be deadly serious and change too much. I believe a fairly high-spirited approach has made me the cricketer I am.

I’ll certainly look to keep that going within my own game and, if that’s infectious to others, then great.

What Swann really meant:

“I have games to win, not speeches to make.”

What Swann definitely didn’t:

“I’ll just get the Windians to fall over—laughing their guts out.”

Samantha Stosur: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

Samantha Stosur Can Fit a Lot Into Her Back Pocket

What she said:

“It was a good thing to have that in your back pocket playing someone who’s never been in one before.”

Samantha Stosur had the advantage of two major semifinal appearances over her German opponent, Angelique Kerber,  at the US Open.

What she really meant:

“That’s what I call a true ADVANTAGE…Deuce Kerber.”

What she definitely didn’t:

“I don’t actually have a back pocket. You noted that?”

Serena Williams: What she said, really meant and definitely did not

Serena Williams Takes Aim Offside

What she said:

"You’re out of control. You’re a hater, and you’re just unattractive inside."

Serena Williams ‘transfers epithets’ ,accusing chair umpire, Eva Asderaki,  of abuse in an ironic tirade, scarily reminiscent of her 2009 US Open semifinal blowout  against Kim Clijsters.

What she really meant:

“That has a lot to do with you docking me the game. Yeah!”

What she definitely didn’t:

“I don’t really mean all these things. I suffer from selective amnesia ; you ought to take a cue from me. ”

Andrew Flintoff: What he said, really meant and definitely did not

Freddie Flintoff ‘Cocks a Snook at the IPL’

What he said:

“Just been confirmed India don’t want to be here! I reckon they’d play in drizzle in the IPL for millions not at Lords though.”

Andrew Flintoff joins the legion of English cricketers who believe that the Indian cricket team surrendered their No.1 status on the altar of Mammon.

What he really meant:

“I’m not too keen on our chaps not willing to return to the field when D/L loaded the game our way. But you don’t want to me to tweet that, do you?”

What he definitely didn’t:

“I wonder if I could get one of the IPL franchises to vend Freddie Flintoff branded paraphernalia?”