77 Years of Drought Comes to an End

The 2013 Wimbledon Championship was the 127 edition of the Wimbledon Championships. The Championship was started in 24 June and the finals were played on 7 July. The tournament saw some big surprises and shocks at the initial stages itself. Defending champion Roger Federer was eliminated in the second round by Sergiy Stakhovsky. Rafael Nadal also saw an early exit in the first round.

With the early exit of a few top seeds one would have given a thought of that there would be a less interest in this year’s tournament but things were actually not so. With Djokovic and Murray reaching the finals, both of them made the finals so alive and specially with Murray, because the history could have been made by winning this tournament.

The prize money for this edition was increased by 40% than last year to around 34 million $.This was the highest prize money in this season compared to all other 3 grand slam tournaments i.e., French Open(29m$), US Open(32m$) and Australian Open(30m$).

On 7 July, history was made when Andy Murray defeated the world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-4,7-5,6-4 to become the first British player to win the Wimbledon men’s singles in 77 years. It was an exciting match and watching Murray watch to win the sets with several break point opportunities.

Murray said in his post-final press conference “Winning Wimbledon, yeah, I still can’t believe it”, “I can’t get my head around that. I can’t believe it.” He has become a terrific grass court player. The atmosphere was electrifying with faces like David Cameron, Wayne Rooney, 2 Wimbledon legends in Rod Laver and  Roy Emerson had arrived to watch the game. This win means a lot for the British player and his countrymen. Here are some of the memorable pictures of the game.

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A Brief Summary On ICC Champions Trophy 2013

This year the Champions Trophy was no different from the other editions of this game. It was full of Drama, Suspense, close encounters and had everything what makes a tournament successful, apart from that it was FULL on ENTERTAINMENT. There were some speculation that this was going to be the last edition of CHAMPION’S TROPHY, but later on it turned out to be FALSE, the ICC council members had a meeting post the event and decided to continue the event due to its immense popularity. Coming to this year’s edition of CHAMPIONS TROPHY, the top 8 nations participated in this event which consisted of two groups and with 4 teams in each group. Every team had to play 3 matches in the group, the top two teams would qualify for the Semifinals. The groups were as follows :

Eventually from Group B India dominated the group and became the first team to qualify for the Semi-finals. Group B matches were a bit boring because all the games were one sided apart from the WESTINDIES vs. SOUTHAFRICA match but it was washed out due to heavy rain and both the teams had to share a point each, although it looked like WEST INDIES were inching toward victory but certainly SOUTH AFRICA was lucky enough that the match washed out due to rain and helps them to qualify for Semi-Finals as their net run rate was better than the opposition team.

On the other half Group A matches were interesting and every team had the chance to qualify for the Semi-Finals. Especially I loved the SRILANKA vs. NEWZEALAND match as it was a nail biter. Although it was a low scoring game but it was a wonderful match. It was Newzealand who handled the pressure well and came out victorious. The other matches were dominated by ENGLAND as they qualified for the Semi-Finals and SRI LANKA learning from the mistakes they made in their first match against NEW ZEALAND fought back and came back winning the rest of their matches convincingly. They eventually stood second in the group and they too had qualified for the Semi-Finals.

To be true both the Semi-Final matches were boring and pretty one sided, ENGLAND completely dominated against SOTH AFRICA and so was the case with INDIA as they completely dominated in the match against SRI LANKA. Actually SRI LANKA were never in the game as from the first ball till the last ball INDIA certainly never gave them chance to come back in to the match.

 This season the  two teams who had pretty hard luck were PAKISTAN and defending Champions AUSTRALIA. They infact did not even win a single game, although AUSTRALIA managed to get a point as the match between them and NEW ZEALAND was washed out due to rain. In the whole tournament RAIN played a vital role in most of the matches.

Now it’s time for the finals but it was all rain rain and  rain. The match was scheduled to be a 50 overs ODI match but due to RAIN it turned out to be a TWENTY20 match. The toss was won by the home team and chose to ball first. The home team balled pretty well and restricted the INDIANS to a decent total of 129 which could be easily attained but in the second half of the game the INDIAN team came out pretty well and managed to pick wickets in regular interval before EOIN MORGAN and RAVI BOPARA dismantled the INDIAN bowlers it looked like the ENGLISH team were gonna clinch the victory for their team but the opposition bowlers fought back and managed to get wickets of both the set batsmen. After that, it was all INDIA and they restricted ENGLAND for 124. And finally the Trophy was won by INDIAN team. I hope you liked this article. Here are some exclusive photos of the final match and the celebrating INDIAN team with Trophy. 

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A LOOK BACK TO CONFEDERATIONS CUP

   CONFEDERATIONS CUP

The ninth FIFA Confederations Cup was held in brazil from 15 to 30 june in 2013. This was the seventh edition of the competition since 1997. The winning team got a prize money of 4.1 million $ where as the runners up were awarded with 3.6 million $.

Brazil set themselves as the hot favourites for the 2014 world cup as they beat Spain by 3-0. Two first-half goals, first within 2 minutes from Fred and second one before the break from Neymar. Two minutes in the second half, it was Fred’s magic again who put the ball in the net. In the 54 minute Jesus Navas was fouled by Marcelo in the penalty box and the referee didn’t waste a single moment to point to the spot for a penalty shot for Spain. Pique made things go from bad to worse when he was given a red card for a foul on Neymar.

Since we had seen some issues where there was a concern for the use of goal line technology, so the FIFA 2013 Confederations Cup was the first national team tournament to use this technology.  After having trail systems on 2 April 2013 FIFA announced that the German company GoalControl had been chosen as the provider for the official goal line technology to be used in this tournament.

Neymar shoots the ball into the roof of the net

Thiago Silva points his finger to Spanish goalkeeper

Pique was offered a red card

Pop star Shakira watches her boyfriend been sent off

Players from both the teams have a clash in the first half

David Luiz’s tremendous clear

Brazil players celebrate after the victory in front of their home crowd

David Villa sits on the ground after Spain were defeated

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The History Of Hockey- How A Stick Game Made It's Mark On World Sports

The roots of hockey are buried deep in antiquity in the early civilizations. Historical records show that a crude form of hockey was played in Egypt 4,000 years ago and in Ethiopia around 1,000 BC before the Ancient Games of Olympia. Various museums offer evidence that a form of the game was played by Romans and Greeks, and by the Aztec Indians in South America several centuries before Columbus landed in the New World. While some played it just for recreation, the others were thought that hockey would make them better warriors. Even though many ancient civilizations played hockey in different variations, the modern game of hockey, in particular the field hockey, developed in the British Isles in the 19th century.

 This game is basically known as the “ball and stick” game, it was played since ancient times in places diverse as Rome, Scotland, Egypt and South America. The game was referred to in different names but the basic idea of playing the game was the same. The most apt used term was “Hockie” by the Irish. Though the term was coined centuries ago, the word found its way through to the present generation.

In the 17th and the early 18th century England, the game progressed to a fiercely competitive and chaotic form. Villages would compete against their neighbours and there were nearly 100 players in one team. The game was a matter of pride and manhood,  so the game acquired a dangerous form. The game would last for half a month and many players would end up injured and getting hurt. The referees were present but they were sort of mute spectators, who would make a call only if a team asked them to.

The hockey stick was introduced in the early 1800s. The first stick was created of wood with a flat blade. In the 1920s, hockey players began to tape their sticks to increase the hold and strengthen the blade. The banana curve or the bend in the blade which we see today was developed during the phase between the years 1957-1980. A certain player named Bobby Hull broke a stick at a practice match and began to play around with the “bent” stick and found that there was far more accuracy in his shots. In the early 1980s, the sticks were formed of metals. By the turn of the 21st century, there have been three types of hockey sticks-wood, composite (reinforced wood sticks) and aluminium. The aluminium hockey sticks are most often used today because of its light weight, durable nature and replaceable blades.

In 1924 hockey took a very interesting step when the International Hockey Federation, the world governing body for the sport, was founded in Paris under the initiative of Frenchman, Paul Léautey. Mr. Léautey, became the first President of the FIH, was motivated to action following hockey's omission from the program of the 1924 Paris Games.

Three years later, the International Federation of Women’s Hockey was formed. The founding members were Australia, Denmark, England, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, the United States and Wales. After celebrating their respective Golden Jubilees - the FIH in 1974 and the IFWHA in 1980 - the two organisations came together in 1982 to form the FIH.

The growth of the International Hockey Federation from its early beginnings has been most impressive. Denmark joined in 1925, the Dutch men in 1926, Turkey in 1927, and in 1928 - the year of the Amsterdam Olympics - Germany, Poland, Portugal and India joined. India's addition marked the membership of the first non-European country. By 1964, there were already 50 countries affiliated with the FIH, as well as three Continental Associations - Africa, Pan America and Asia - and in 1974, there were 71 members. Today, the International Hockey Federation consists of five Continental Associations - Europe and Oceania have since joined - and 127 member associations. So, this was all about HOCKEY and its history hope you liked it. Don't forget to comment below. 

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History Of Soccer- The Evolution Of A Ball Game

Soccer started out in early Asia. Soccer was invented over 2000 years ago in China. They used human heads of their enemies for soccer balls. In most parts of the world soccer is also called football. It is one of the first organised sports. The Ancient Greeks  are known to have played many ball games, some of which involved the use of the feet which appear to resemble like football. 

The earliest record of soccer is of 1872 when the first international match was played between England and Scotland. In that match players not only wore “knickerbockers” or long pants but bobble hats or caps too.The ball used in the first club and country matches was not exactly round. Instead a pig’s bladder was blown up like a balloon, tied at the ends and placed inside a leather case, making it an egg shape. But later on with the discovery of Indian rubber in 1860 gave better and round shape.

Earlier the rules were completely different like there was no mention of a crossbar.  But some revolutionary changes took place when it was thought that football was very much an upper class sport in England during its infancy and the rules of the game were largely drafted by students belonging to public schools and universities. The working class adopted the sport during the late 19th Century. In the original rules penalties or referees found no place. It was only in the 20th Century that the penalty spot was introduced.

Many of football’s terms and expressions are of military origin: defence, back line, offside, winger, forward, attack, etc. The official rules were made in England.  There was also a soccer organization called FIFA invented in Europe. Ebenezer Cobb Morley is sometimes called the father of soccer. He was born in Hall but moved to Barnes. He drafted the first rules of soccer.

 The foundation of soccer was firmly established in 1869, the Football Association strictly banned any kind of handling of the ball. Soccer’s popularity spread rapidly during the 1800s as British sailors, traders and soldiers introduced the sport to different parts of the globe. Italians, Austrians and Germans drew to Europe, while Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil adopted the sport in South America. FIFA was established in the year 1904 and by early 1930s, different leagues were operating from various countries. The history of soccer is rich with events, development and its growing craze all over the world. The first world cup was hosted in Uruguay and the credits are given to FIFA.  Thirteen nations took part in the event which saw four European teams make a 15 day boat ride only for there to get knocked out in the 1st round. Uruguay became world champions, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final.

The football association was established in October, 1863. The first meeting took place at the Freeman's Tavern London. The clubs represented in the meeting included Barnes, Blackheath, Perceval House, Kensington School, the war office, Crystal Palace, Forest, the Crusaders and No names of Kilburn. In 1885 Arbroath beat Bon Accord ina Scottish cup match by 36-0 which was the largest known win in professional win. 

Though football was considered a male sport, but it was not exactly true as women have been involved in the game since the late nineteenth century. It became increasingly popular during World War I when women had taken on the jobs traditionally done by men. The first team to compete in an international game against Paris was a ladies team from Preston. There was a brief ban after World War I made by the Football Association who deemed women’s football to be inappropriate. However, the formation of the English Women’s FA saw the ban eventually lifted in 1971. Since then women’s football has continued to grow in Britain and abroad. Some of the largest football clubs such as Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea all have female teams which compete at home and internationally.

There were various attempts been made to ban football games. This was especially the case in England and in other parts of Europe, during the Middle ages and early modern period. During 1324 and 1667, football was banned in England alone by more than 30 royal and local laws. The reasons for the ban by Edword III, on June 12, 1349, was given that football and other recreations distracted the people from practicing archery, which was necessary for war. So this was all about Soccer’s history, how it started and grew up especially in the European part of the world.

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