Harish Jharia

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Showing posts with label Sports and Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports and Games. Show all posts

06 August 2013

Film Review: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

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People wonder why ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ film has won the hearts of Bollywood filmgoers? If yes, read this film review wherein an analytic study of this film has been presented.
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                     Milkha Singh


Rating: 90% 
- Harish Jharia

‘Bhag milkha bhag’ is a film based on the life and athletic career of the most famous Indian Olympian Milkha Singh, popularly known as ‘The Flying Sikh’. It is relevant to mention here that the title ‘The Flying Sikh’ was awarded by the then president of Pakistan Gen Ayub Khan when Milkha singh beat the Pakistani runner Abdul Khaliq on the Pakistan soil in 1960. 

He married Nirmal Kaur, an Indian Volleyball team captain in 1966. He has three daughters and a son Jeev Milkha Singh the professional international Golfer. Milkha Singh won the following big medals in addition to the dozens of other medals to his iconic sports career:
  • Commonwealth Games: Gold in 1958, Cardiff UK - 440 yards - Gold
  • Asian Games: Gold in 1958 Tokyo, Japan - 200 m
  • Asian Games: Gold in 1958 Tokyo, Japan - 400 m  
  • Asian Games: Gold in  1962 Jakarta, Indonesia - 400 m
  • Asian Games: Gold in 1962 Jakarta, Indonesia - 4 x 400 m relay 


                 Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh

Film Storyline:

Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) was born in 1935 at Govindpura village, 10 km from Muzaffargarh city of Punjab Province in British India, now in Pakistan. In 1947, at the age of 11 he was left all alone when his sister (Divya Dutta) along with her arrogant husband migrated to India and her parents and rest of the family were killed during partition of British India. His father (Art Malik) was killed in front of his eyes and the last words uttered by his father were… “Bhag Milkha bhag”… “Run Milkha run” that have been adapted as the title of the film by Producer / Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra.

Young boy Milkha Singh’s (Jabtej Singh) childhood has been portrayed beautifully in the film showing the peace and harmony prevailing in British India before partition. The film then shows the utter contrast in subsequent shots of human massacre and soil converting into red mud, mixed with human blood flowing in the streets.  

On receiving the call “Bhag Milkha bhag”… from his dying father (Art Malik), Milkha Singh ran away from there and joined the Hindu crowd departing for India. His dreadful journey along with the frightened Hindu crowd from Pakistan to India has been effectively picturized by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. 

When the migrating Hindu crowd reached Delhi they were attended to by the Indian Army. An orphan Milkha (Jabtej Singh) found himself lost in the berserk crowd at an absolutely new place. He was all alone and starving for a couple of days. He somehow managed to grab a food packet and started gulping it, when he heard the shrieks of his sister (Divya Dutta). He forgot his hunger and ran towards her, leaving behind his food. 

Milkha’s new life started at a new place Delhi and he found himself in the form of a vagabond, managing his bread out of burglary. He grew up into a young Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) and fell in love with a young girl Biro (Sonam Kapoor), who hated his fugitive lifestyle. Milkha Singh, feeling embarrassed with Biro’s complaints, finally decided to find a better job and eventually, his fate took him to a recruitment center of Indian Army.  He was recruited as a soldier in the Indian Army and posted at EME Center Secunderabad

Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) was a born runner and he discovered this inherent talent when he was asked by the seniors to run a 10 mile race for selecting athletes. The EME Centre declared that all the top 10 athletes selected in that race would be entitled for getting mugful of milk and two eggs daily. Milkha Singh put-up all his strength for winning that race for the daily diet of milk and eggs and was eventually selected as one of the athletes for the EME Centre.

After this selection, Milkha Singh did not look back and started winning one race after the other. He ran in Armed Forces athletics, national sports and international sports competitions and toured from one place to the other across the globe. His participation in the Melbourne 1956 Olympics has been portrayed in this film when he fell in an affair with the granddaughter (Rebecca Breeds) of his Australian technical coach. 

As a result of this affaire Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) lost his race on the following day. The defeat in the race was the worst nightmare of his life and he repented for his blunders by slapping himself dozens of times, across his face. This scene of self-beating has been picturized quite intensely by the director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. 

On the same night in Melbourne, Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) goes to his coach and asks “What is the world record for 400m race”, who in turn writes ‘45.90’ seconds on a tissue paper and gives it to him.  

Milkha Singh attaches that world record figure ‘45.90’ at his place of worship and starts a new way of life with one single aim of life ie breaking the 400m world record of ‘45.90’ that eventually he broke by clocking 45.80 in France. 

Star Cast
  1. Farhan Akhtar - Milkha Singh
  2. Sonam Kapoor - Nirmal Kaur
  3. Rebecca Breeds - Stella
  4. Dalip Tahil - Jawahar Lal Nehru
  5. Prakash Raj - Milkha Singh's coach
  6. Pawan Malhotra - Milkha Singh's Senior
  7. Divya Dutta - Milkha Singh's Sister
  8. Nawab Shah - Coach Javed
  9. Meesha Shafi - Perizaad
  10. Dev Gill - Abdul Khaliq
  11. Shanta Kumar - Gen. Ayub Khan
  12. Art Malik - Milkha Singh's Father
  13. K K Raina - Mr. Wadhwa
  14. Jabtej Singh - Young Milkha
  15. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra 
  16. Loy Mendonsa 
Review:
Whenever we speak about the movie ‘Sholay’, we think about Ramesh Sippy and Amjad Khan. Similarly, after watching ‘Bhag Milkha Bhag’ I kept thinking about Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Farhan Akhtar. The direction is excellent and Milkha Singh played by Farhan is unbelievably outstanding. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has not left any stone unturned in portraying the dramatic life of Milkha Singh. Farhan Akhtar has converted himself into the avatar of Milkha singh so much accurately so that it is hard to distinguish between Milkha Singh and Farhan Akhtar. 
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20 September 2012

Commonwealth Games Delhi 2010: difference between United Kingdom, Great Britain, Northern Ireland and England... participating individually in sports events


- Harish Jharia 

    Flag of United Kingdom*

In fact, the official name of the country is "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." The United Kingdom is a country that consists of the following big islands:
  1. Great Britain 
  2. Northern Ireland. 
Flag of Northern Ireland*

Great Britain: Great Britain is the name of the island northwest of France and east of Ireland that consists of three somewhat autonomous regions as follows: 
  1. England
  2. Wales 
  3. Scotland
           Flag of England*


 
              Flag of Wales*

             Flag of Scotland*

England: Eventually, England is a part of Great Britain, which is part of the United Kingdom (UK) that includes England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. 
England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are not countries whereas the United Kingdom is. 
The remaining portion of the island of Ireland (that which is not the U.K.'s Northern Ireland) is an independent country called the Republic of Ireland (Eire).

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Click here to read a connected article:
All the 71 nations will be present in CWG Delhi:
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19 September 2012

T20 World Cup 2012 Hosted by Sri Lanka: Schedule of matches and Team India players

                 Click on the image to enlarge

- Harish Jharia 

Team India: 
MS Dhoni (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Piyush Chawla, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Manoj Tiwary, Irfan Pathan, R Ashwin, Zaheer Khan, L Balaji, Harbhajan Singh, Ashok Dinda

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Initial Groups:
Group A – England, India, Afghanistan
Group B – Australia, West Indies, Ireland
Group C – Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Group D – Pakistan, New Zealand, Bangladesh

Super Eight Groups:
Group 1 – A1, B2, C1, D2
Group 2 – A2, B1, C2, D1
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Match Schedule: 
  1. Tue Sep 18: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group C; 1st T20 - Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe; Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
  2. Wed Sep 19: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Group B : 2nd T20 - Australia vs Ireland; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  3. Wed Sep 19: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group A : 3rd T20 - India vs Afghanistan; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  4. Thu Sep 20: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group C : 4th T20 - South Africa vs Zimbabwe; Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
  5. Fri Sep 21: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Group D : 5th T20 - New Zealand vs Bangladesh; Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  6. Fri Sep 21: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group A : 6th T20 - England vs Afghanistan; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  7. Sat Sep 22: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT Group C: 7th T20 - Sri Lanka vs South Africa; Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium, Hambantota
  8. Sat Sep 22: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group B : 8th T20 - Australia vs West Indies; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  9. Sun Sep 23: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Group D; 9th T20 - New Zealand vs Pakistan; Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  10. Sun Sep 23: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group A : 10th T20 - England vs India; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  11. Mon Sep 24: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group B : 11th T20 - West Indies vs Ireland; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  12. Tue Sep 25: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Group D : 12th T20 - Bangladesh vs Pakistan; Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  13. Thu Sep 27: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 1 : 13th T20 - TBC vs TBC (C1 v D2); Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  14. Thu Sep 27: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 1 : 14th T20 - TBC vs TBC (A1 v B2); Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  15. Fri Sep 28: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 2 : 15th T20 - TBC vs TBC (D1 v C2); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  16. Fri Sep 28: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 2 : 16th T20 - TBC vs TBC (B1 v A2); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  17. Sat Sep 29: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 1 : 17th T20 - TBC vs TBC (A1 v D2); Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  18. Sat Sep 29: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 1 : 18th T20 - TBC vs TBC (C1 v B2); Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  19. Sun Sep 30: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 2 : 19th T20 - TBC vs TBC (B1 v C2); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  20. Sun Sep 30: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 2 : 20th T20 - TBC vs TBC (D1 v A2); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  21. Mon Oct 1: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 1 : 21st T20 - TBC vs TBC (B2 v D2); Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  22. Mon Oct 1: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT Super Eights, Group 1 : 22nd T20 - TBC vs TBC (A1 v C1); Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy
  23. Tue Oct 2: 15:30 local | 10:00 GMT Super Eights, Group 2 : 23rd T20 - TBC vs TBC (B1 v D1); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  24. Tue Oct 2: 19:30 local | 14:00 GMT; Super Eights, Group 2 : 24th T20 - TBC vs TBC (A2 v C2); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  25. Thu Oct 4: 19:00 local | 13:30 GMT; 1st Semi Final T20 - TBC vs TBC (SE Group-1 1 v SE Group-2 2); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  26. Fri Oct 5: 19:00 local | 13:30 GMT; 2nd Semi Final T20 - TBC vs TBC (SE Group-2 1 v SE Group-1 2); R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
  27. Sun Oct 7: 19:00 local | 13:30 GMT Final T20 - TBC vs TBC; R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
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07 August 2012

Prospective World Super Power India... The Super-Flop Celebrity in London 2012 Olympics


© Harish Jharia  

Why have China fielded multiple players for each event in the London 2012 Olympics? 
The simple straight answer to this question is that they are all set to prove their supremacy in the world via sports and games. 

I have watched the women’s singles badminton event, with utter disbelief, that gold and silver both the medals were won by Chinese. Moreover, the bronze won by Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal would also have gone to China, had the Indian sensation not won it. 

The Olympic Medal tally (on 7 August 2012) shows China as the leading country with 67 medals followed by USA- 64, Great Britain- 43, Korea- 22, and France- 27 with India standing at 44th position with negligible number of medals- 3, without any gold. I feel ashamed with the position of my country in the Olympic medal tally. 

I wonder what the dozens of sports organizations including the Ministry of Youth Affaires and Sports are doing in India, that India appears nonexistent on global platform of sports and games. Why these organizations are not overhauled in order to make them do their jobs for which they are kept existing at the cost of the taxpayers money.  

Following are some of the sports organizations that have failed to prove their worth in the London 2012 Olympics: 
  1. Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (Govt of India): 
  2. Sports Authority of India: 
  3. Indian Olympic Association: 
  4. Hockey India (Indian Hockey Federation): 
  5. Athletics Federation of India:  
  6. Sports Authority of India:
We have been told that Hockey is the national game of India. But, the performance of Indian hockey team in London 2012 has been extremely poor. 

I found the following deficiencies in hockey played at London 2012 Olympics: 
  1. The players failed in all the departments and positions. 
  2. They could not convert penalty corners into goals. 
  3. They failed in giving short passes.
  4. They failed in carrying the ball.
  5. They failed in playing with appropriate technique on the artificial ground and hitting the balls as if playing on a clay ground. 
  6. They did not have quick reflexes.
  7. They did not have adequate stamina suitable for a global arena. 
The sports authorities on the other hand are behaving in irresponsible ways by saying that Hockey is not the national game of India. It is not written anywhere in the records. For collecting the information about the national game I browsed on the internet. I found the official site of Hockey India (this is the new name given to the Indian Hockey Federation), where it is clearly written that Hockey is the National game of India. Here is the extract of the text written on their page ‘About us’ and reproduced as under:

The text published under ‘about us’ page on Hockey India site: 

“ … The sport of Hockey is referred to as the 'National Game of India' 
HOCKEY INDIA (HI) is the new apex body of the country which has the sole mandate to govern and conduct all activities for both men and women hockey in India. 
Formed on 20th May 2009, it is the recognized National Association affiliated to the International Hockey Federation (FIH), the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and Asian Hockey Federation (AHF). 
HI with the assistance of Sports Authority of India and Department of Sports, Government of India, has drawn out a long term development programme to train players and to provide overseas exposure besides regular international competition. It is committed to getting our teams into the top six in the world… "

On extensive browsing I found that the above information is an amended version of the original one... probably “The sport of Hockey is the 'National Game of India”.  This statement has been changed to “The sport of Hockey is referred to as the National Game of India” after a 10 year old girl asked the Indian government, through an RTI (right to information) as to which is the national game of India?

The overall condition of sports and games in India is pathetic and needs immediate attention and revolutionary changes. 

I have the following suggestion to offer:
  1. There should be an independent Ministry of Sports exclusively dealing with Sports and Games only and be designated as ‘Minister of Sports’. 
  2. The Minister of Sports should also be picked up from the field of sports and games. 
  3. All the current heads of sports organizations should be replaced forthwith with suitable professionals like players, coaches, umpires / referees etc from the respective sports. 
  4. No non-sports person should be considered eligible for heading the sports bodies
  5. Celebrities like politicians, businessmen, entrepreneurs, retired officers like IAS / IPS / Defense personnel and Ex Rajas should not be considered as eligible for heading any sports organization.
  6. The performance of all the sports bodies for the last 3 to 4 Olympics should be reviewed and the faults, errors and lapses committed by them should be established.  
  7. Sports bodies should chalk out ‘short term’ and ‘long term’ plans for preparing sports personnel, capable of winning medals in global competitions like ‘Asian Games’, ‘Commonwealth Games’ and ‘Olympics’.
  8. Individual records (of faster, higher, and stronger) of sportsmen should be maintained alongside the world records all through their training. 
  9. The trainees should always be reminded at the time of training, about the world record existing in that event.
  10. In the state sports meets and national sports competitions also, the world records should also me mentioned alongside the performance mark (time / distance / weight mark) of the individuals. 
  11. Cases like 'no mark' show of Triple jumper Renjith Maheshwary should be taken seriously and should be treated sternly with ‘zero tolerance’ policy in selecting athletes for international events.
  12. Cases like Santhi Soundarajan, an Asian Games silver medalist, found working as a daily wager at a brick kiln in Tamil Nadu, should also be taken seriously. Indian government and the sponsors should make it sure that all international athletes and medal winners get respectable honorarium / royalty / pension throughout their lives. 
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26 April 2012

Indian Ruling Congress Party Nominates Sachin Tendulkar as Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)


  Sachin Tendulkar the Rajya Sabha MP...!

© Harish Jharia

The breaking news about Sachin Tendulkar having been nominated by Congress party for the coveted post of Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) has sent high voltage shock waves across the country. The ruling party’s proposal has been reportedly accepted and approved by the President of India in a few hours on the same day.

The news flashed with the incident of a half an hour meeting between Congress President Sonia Gandhi and Sachin Tendulkar along with his wife Anjali at the former’s residence in New Delhi. It was reported that Sonia Gandhi called the legendry cricketer for a thanks giving meeting for Sachin’s 100th international cricket century. Nevertheless, this simple and routine meeting turned-out to be a historic event when the 39 year young cricketer was offered a coveted seat in the upper house of Indian parliament, commonly called house of elders.

I have received this news with extreme confusion that has left me speechless and embarrassed. I have been reduced to such a subdued situation for the simple reason that I am an ardent fan of Sachin Tendulkar and at the same time I just do not like the ways the Congress party has governed India for the last 60 plus years. 

I am not able to digest the fact that a living legend like Sachin Tendulkar has become the part of a political party that has been reportedly stained with allegation of corruption, harboring of black money and political conspiracies.

In fact Sachin Tendulkar has a larger than life persona and his image cannot be squeezed to the narrow slot of any political party that is looked at with a different angle of view. It would be better if Sachin Tendulkar refuses the offer of the nomination as the Rajya Sabha MP at-least as long as he is actively playing cricket.

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01 April 2012

Mukesh Ambani celebrates Sachin Tendulkar’s 100th 100 and honors the cricketing legend with a grand party on 26 March 2012


© Harish Jharia 

I never thought of writing an article with Mukesh Ambani as a central character because of his larger than life persona and the rarest of the rare tag of ‘the richest Indian’ attached to him. Nevertheless, I am writing this article with his name even in the title of this article simply because I found him one of the best human beings I have ever observed (of course via the media) and at the same time a down to earth person in his public life.  


The other day I watched TV footages of a lavish party hosted by the India business tycoon Mukesh Ambani and Nita Ambani on 26 March 2012, to honor the IPL franchise Mumbai Indians' captain Sachin Tendulkar and to celebrate his 100th 100 in international cricket.

I watched Mukesh Ambani in video clippings for the first time in my life. I just could not believe my eyes when I watched the richest Indian with down to earth simple body language and a humane face expression without the corporate mask. 

It was quite a splendid affair with top-notch faces of Bollywood as well as other celebrities attending the most talked about party of the year. 

Amongst the notable cricketing fraternity Sachin Tendulkar with his wife Anjali, Harbhajan Singh, Anil Kumble, Sunil Gavaskar and Srikanth, there were many other Bollywood celebrities turned up at the bash to honor the legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. 

Among the Bollywood stars there were Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukerji, Riteish Deshmukh, Genelia D'Souza, Ashutosh Gowariker, Subhash Ghai, Kiran Rao and others who attended the grand party.

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Read another article on Sachin Tendulkar's 100th 100
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19 March 2012

Asia Cup cricket 2012: Virat Kohli blasts Pakistan bowling and authored a historic victory for India against Pakistan

© Harish Jharia 

India won this crucial cricket match in Asia cup Cricket 2012, defeating their archrival Pakistan by 6 wickets in an breathtaking aggressive innings played by indian batsmen.  Virat Kohly did the same firework against Pakistan at Mirpur, what he did at Hobart against the Lankans. 

Chasing a mammoth target of 330 to stay alive in the Asia Cup  tournament, India comfortably chased the 330 spot and  propelled India to an enormous 6 wicket victory with Virat Kohli’s magnificent 183 off 148, Rohit Sharma’s 68 (83b) and Sachin Tendulkar’s confident 52 (48b). 


             Man of the match Virat Kohli

Pakistan amassed 330 run targets for India by scoring 329 with the help of a double century partnership between Mohammed Hafeez 105 (113b) and Nasir Jamshed 112 (104b) followed by an explosive run harvesting spree of 52 off 34 balls from Younis Khan later in the innings.

Nevertheless, in spite of a century each, scored by the openers, Pakistan’s opening betting was looking dull and defensive. Their play appeared to be a sort of net-practice rather than a crucial Asia Cup match that was going to decide the fate of Indian team in the tournament. 

Viewers present in the stadium and the millions cricket enthusiasts watching live telecasts at their homes, across the world, did not find Pakistan’s opening entertaining and exciting. 


Suresh Raina’s one handed Catch to dismiss Younis Khan

On the other hand, the Indian batting between Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli, followed by Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina was explosive and a real super entertainment for everyone including the viewers and the players themselves. 

This aggressive betting sprit was constantly maintained by the batsmen who came afterwards.   . In fact the unfortunate LBW dismissal of Gautam Gambhir was also a result of the aggressive and lively betting exhibited by Indian openers.  

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India: G Gambhir, S Tendulkar, V Kohli, R Sharma, S Raina, MS Dhoni (C), Y Pathan, I Pathan, R Ashwin, P Kumar, A Dinda
Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (C), Umar Akmal, Hammad Azam, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Aizaz Cheema, Wahab Riaz.
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17 March 2012

Sachin Tendulkar Hits 100th Century in International Cricket: I Am One of the Luckiest Watching That Historic Moment


© Harish Jharia

I consider myself as one of the luckiest persons who watched Sachin Tendulkar scoring his 100th cricket century, on 16 March 2012, in the Asia cup 2012 match played between India v/s Bangladesh at  Mirpur, Bangladesh. 

             When the sky descends down to earth

Sachin Tendulkar on Friday became the first and only cricketer who scored 100 international centuries.  Tendulkar 38, achieved this feat with a century in the Asia Cup 2012 match against Bangladesh in Dhaka, putting to an end to a prolonged wait of more than a year, after his 99th century, for his millions of fans.

Sachin Tendulkar, an all-time legend and one of the greatest in the cricket, made 114 off 147 balls with 12 fours and a six, before he was caught behind off a ball from Bangladesh seamer Mashrafe Mortaza in the 47th over.

The luckiest family members of Sachin Tendulkar  

Sachin Tendulkar acknowledged his achievements by looking at the sky thanking his father Ramesh Tendulkar and dedicated the 100th Cricket Century to his country by pointing at the Indian national flag and emblem of Indian cricket inscribed on his helmet, rather than pumping fists and screaming ‘eee…yes…sss’ like any other achiever like. 

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Read another article of Sachin Tendulkar's 100th 100...
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09 February 2012

Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh diagnosed malignant tumor near lung: Gone to US for treatment of this curable ailment

'Discover Life' wishes Yuvraj... "Get Well Soon..."

Based on a Times of India report 

- Harish Jharia 

Yuvraj had earlier been detected with a tumor between his left lung and heart, which has since been diagnosed as malignant. Yuvraj has been in the US since January 26, 2012, for chemotherapy at Cancer Research Institute, Boston on the malignant Tumor. 

Going by the line of treatment he is receiving, doctors here in India said that Yuvraj is likely suffering from a rare condition called lung seminoma, in which chances of recovery are more than 95%. This condition has no relations to excessive smoking or alcoholism. 

Family sources said Yuvi, who has made many comebacks into the Team India, is determined to overcome the disease and make a comeback again. They said the chemo sessions had begun and he is showing the side effects of this treatment. "He is showing common after-effects of the treatment like loss of appetite and nausea. He is anxious but also keen to fight the ailment," a family source said. 

Sources said BCCI would bear the expenses for Yuvraj's treatment in the US and his IPL franchisee, Sahara India, would release $1.8 million that the player would have received had played in the IPL this year. 

Nevertheless, the family considers all these matters as secondary issues at the moment. Before leaving for the US, Yuvraj's mother Shabnam Singh had told the press that, "For me, the health of my son is more important than his career in cricket at this stage." 

His father Yograj Singh said with prides that, "Yuvi is a 'sher' and all I can say is that he will make a comeback". 

Medical Marvels: Comeback Heroes 

Cancer is a disease that does not discriminate among the fit, the unfit, the skilled or the average. Yet, in sports there are some who have returned completely cured after treatments or surgery to and excelled in their field:   
  • Eric Abidal: The Barcelona left-back was diagnosed with liver tumor. He underwent immediate surgery. Just two-and-a-half months after undergoing a three-hour operation, the Frenchman recovered fully. 
  • Simon O' Donnell: Simon O' Donnell was celebrating Australia's first cricket World Cup win when he was diagnosed as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He staged a remarkable recovery to return to the Australian one-day team. 
  • Dave Callahan: The South African cricketer's best moment of his international career came right after he recovered from testicular cancer. 
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19 April 2011

Arunima (Sonu) Sinha has been shifted to AIIMS , New Delhi by flight from CSMMU, Lucknow:

Arunima (Sonu) Sinha being shifted to AIIMS, New Delhi

Arunima (Sonu) Sinha has been shifted to AIIMS , New Delhi by flight from CSMMU, Lucknow:

National level volleyball player Arunima (Sonu) Sinha, had lost her leg in a train robbery bit by goons onboard a train near Bareli, Uttar Predash, India. She was sent to the Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU) in Lucknow for advanced treatment. The doctors at CSMMU further referred her to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS, New Delhi.  

She has since been brought to AIIMS by a special aircraft arranged by the Uttar Pradesh government. Earlier the sports authority of India had paid `2,00,000/- to her mother through their officials Sanjay Saraswat and Rachna Govil. Union Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ajay Maken also visited Sonu at the trauma centre at CSMMU in Lucknow and issued orders for shifting Arunima to AIIMS, New Delhi.

It is reported that Arunima’s amputated left leg had been infected and doctors at AIIMS have advised surgery for removing the infected tissues. Multiple fractures have been found on her right leg also that has been plastered. The case study by the AIIMS says that Arunima’s condition is stable and she will be able to walk after her treatment.

The bad part of this progress is that the hooligans who pushed Arunima out of the running train on the adjoining track in front of another running train are still absconding. Uttar Pradesh police and Railway police have not yet succeeded in nabbing them. 

Arunima has been provided financial relief and best treatment; but she is still being denied justice
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15 April 2011

Dangerous journeys on Indian Railways: Indian Volley ball player Arunima Sinha (Sonu) thrown out of a running train by goons ... averted death by a whisker

Indian National level Volleyball player Arunima Sinha (Sonu)


Dangerous journeys on Indian Railways:  Indian Volley ball player Arunima Sinha (Sonu) thrown out of a running train by goons ... averted death by a whisker 

India railways boast of their largest network and infrastructure in the world; but, the maintenance, operation, facilities and safety of passengers appear to be the worst across the globe. 


The latest example of unsafe journeys on Indian trains is the free for all game played by 3 goons on Padmavat Express on 11 April 2011, Monday night between Chenati and Bareilly railway stations. These hooligans attacked Arunima Sinha (Sonu), a 23-year-old woman national level volleyball player on this train, tried to snatch her gold chain and threw her out of the train when opposed by her. 


Arunima Sinha (Sonu) fell on the adjoining train track on which another train was gushing in towards the place on incident. The other train was moving in full speed and approached so very close to her that she could not move her body for saving her from the sudden death trap. She however averted death by a whisker but lost half of her left leg rendering her a permanent handicapped for life


I heard that once you buy a train ticket and board the respective train, you automatically become eligible for a life insurance of `1,00,000/-. That means if you die or go permanently disabled, the Indian railways or the concerned insurance company will pay you a sum of `1,00,000/- or a part of it. I might be wrong and might be having arbitrary wishful thinking; yet, such a huge organization like Indian railways should have a crisis management system that should act immediately in such cases and arrange relief to the victims of the mismanagement and poor safety measures followed by it. 


Nevertheless, the Indian railways did not surface on the media for quite some time, nor did they approach the victim even from the nearest railway division. It was only today in the morning papers I read the news that Indian railways have offered a job to Arunima Sinha (Sonu) and assured for bearing all the expenses for her treatment.  


Well before the Indian railways, it was Ajay Makan, union sports minister who was the first official authority surfaced on the TV channels extending a financial relief of `25,000/- for her. In spite of this paltry sum of relief, I personally felt satisfied that someone from the government of India has rushed for a sort of crisis management. This financial relief was subsequently enhanced to `2,00,000/- by Ajay Makan and helped Arunima (Sonu) Sinha feel a sense of security as a citizen of the republic of India.  


In spite of all that described in the preceding lines I would express dissatisfaction about the safety and security measures followed by the Indian railways. Firstly they have made it very clear that Indian railways cannot provide security on all the trains. Hence the chapter is closed abruptly by the largest railway infrastructure in the world. Notwithstanding the limitations for addressing problems prevailing across the huge network of endless tracks, the railway administration should at least watch the existing security personnel that are deputed on running trains. 


While travelling in 2nd AC coaches I have many times found security personnel, in uniform, encroaching vacant berths earmarked for quotas of different stations. These soldiers use to stretch-out on the berths and have sound sleep until the corresponding passengers arrive. I have never heard about any railway security personnel coming forward for providing security cover to any passenger like Arunima Sinha (Sonu) in crisis and avert deadly attack or molestation by hooligans and goons. 


Indian Train: Safety and security under scanner...!


Indian railways should learn lessons from this incident and many other ones that occur every day on trains in India and should take remedial measures as follows:
  1. Chalk out proper codes of conduct and proper drill for the security personnel deputed on running trains
  2. There should be a definite crisis management system for the railways for attending to such emergencies and minimize the miseries of the victims 
  3. The on-board Guard, TTE, Conductor, security personnel and dozens of other staff members and workers should be instructed to attend to all such eventualities.
  4. The station master and other staff posted at the railway stations close to the place of incident should also be given responsibilities to attend to such deadly incidents.
  5. A representative form the Railway Ministry should rush to the spot of incident and convey the action plan of the Union Minister of Railways via various medias.  
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Read more posts on similar subject:
  1. Indian Railways through Common Man’s Eye:
  2. Plan Your Train Journey and Air travel Through IRCTC
  3. Passengers' Current Status of Reservation
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