hindustan times

Of Bharat Ratnas, Dhyan Chand and Sachin Tendulkar

The late Major Dhyan Chand is in the news once more this time of  year. And again it is connected with speculation that he might be one of the recipients of the Bharat Ratna.

When there was a debate about whether sports persons should be awarded the Bharat Ratna , and if so , who first, yours truly along with many others felt that arguably the world’s greatest hockey player was preeminent among all current and past Indian sports persons.

But the Indian government played to the gallery and awarded the country’s most prestigious award to Sachin Tendulkar on the eve of his retirement from the game.

This is not to deny Mr. Sachin Tendulkar his spot in the sun. God knows, he did not need another award. He is the most beloved of all sports stars on the Indian firmament.  But surely Dhyan Chand and his descendants were done a disservice.

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Sachin is in the news too; this time for his leave of absence from the Upper House of Parliament. ‘Aap la Sachin’ is not the dedicated parliamentarian—neither posting any questions in the house nor spending his quota of allocated funds for his constituents’ betterment. And now, he has decided to go AWL  (Absent With Leave) citing personal and professional commitments.

It does make one wonder if Tendulkar considered the Rajya Sabha selection as just yet another award and not a call to service—a thought echoed by Pradeep Magazine in his column for the Hindustan Times.

The man cannot be solely blamed. Politics is a different kettle of fish—a fact that Amitabh Bachchan can attest to.

Bolting Indian Hockey players (Satire)

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India (HI) have received  urgent faxes  from the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)  and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) requesting access to their training methods.

The appeal follows a report in the Hindustan Times that Indian hockey players are masters of the short sprint, able to cover 10 metres in a minimum time of 1.57 seconds. This beats Usain Bolt’s existing record of 1.89 by a whopping margin.

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Sourav Ganguly has not retired yet (Satire)

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Sourav Ganguly has retired from international cricket.

Sourav Ganguly has not retired from international cricket.

Sourav Ganguly wishes to play in the IPL.

Sourav Ganguly cannot play in the IPL.

Sourav Ganguly will play in the Ranji trophy.

Sourav Ganguly will play for Bengal only if he can play in the IPL.

Sourav Ganguly will play domestic cricket to stay fit for the IPL.

Sourav Ganguly is not confused.

I am.

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