Wimbledon: Serena Williams is back, and she looks almost as good as
ever. The 30-year-old American won her fifth Wimbledon title Saturday
on Centre Court, beating Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 to
claim her 14th major championship.
Radwanska, who was playing in her first Grand Slam final, has been ill
with a respiratory problem, making it difficult for her to speak. In
the second set and already down a break, the third-seeded Pole was
coughing and blowing her nose during a changeover.
But she broke Williams in the next game to even the score at 4-4, and then broke again to win the second set.
Williams
responded in the third set, taking the last five games of the match.
She finished with 58 winners to 13 for Radwanska, including an edge of
20-3 in the final set. Williams lost only eight points on her first
serve.
Come June and the world will witness
the biggest football extravaganza of the World after the FIFA World Cup -- the
Euro cup. The tournament co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine would kick-start on
June 8 and would run till July 1 and would see the best 16 teams from Europe battling
it out for the continental supremacy. This is the first time that either
of these countries are hosting the Euro Cup and this is also the last time that
the tournament would see 16 teams in action as from next edition it would
feature 24 teams.
Stakes are high and the temperature
reaching ultimate point and with four teams from the top five in the World
featuring in the tournament it has become very difficult to predict any
favourites or winners.
Here are the teams to watch out for
in the tournament and in all likelihood either of these would emerge as the
Champion.
Spain: Ranked World Number, Spain
also known as the Red Fury has a little edge over the teams considering they
would enter the tournament as the defending champion as well as the reigning
World Champion. Coached by Vincente del Bosque they are the only European side
to have ever won the World Cup outside their continent. Spain which adapts to
roaming movement and positional interchange amongst midfielders, moving the
ball in intricate patterns, and sharp, one- or two-touch passing known as the
Tiki-taka football would be a major force to reckon to in the tournament. Spain
is grouped alongside Italy, Ireland, and the host Croatia which is an easy
grouping for them at least on papers. They might face some challenge from their
long standing rivals Italy but considering the momentum they have it should
pose a problem to them. Spain’s success in the tournament would largely depend
on their keys players like Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa amongst others.
Germany: They are currently ranked
second behind Spain on the World Rankings they are a major force to reckon in
the footballing World. Germany the runners up of 2008 Euro and third place
holder in 2010 FIFA World Cup are a serious contender for the title. They are
one of the best sides when it comes down to counter-attack and their resiliency
is exemplary. They have won the European Championships for three times would be
raring to add the third one to their tally. They are placed in the death of
group alongside their rivals Netherlands and Portugal. Coached by Joachim Low,
the performance of the team would revolve around how they main players like
Thomas Mueller, Mario Gomez, Mesut Ozil, Philip Lahm amongst others perform.
Netherlands: Netherlands is the
second team in the history of World Football to be ranked the number team in
the World, without previously winning a World cup, the other being Spain. Known
are ‘Oranje’ they won the European Championship in 1988 and are the runners-up
of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Coached by Bert van Marwijk, went till the quarter
finals of the last edition of the Euro Cup and would definitely look to win
this year’s tournament. They are currently ranked number four in the World and
would largely depend on the likes of Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder, Robin Van
Persie and Klaas Jan Huntelaar amongst others for their success in the
tournament.
French Open 2012
will be played from May 22 to June 10, 2012. World’s best tennis players will
compete in both men and women category and will fight for the esteemed title.
World No.1 Novak Djokovic will be
going into the tournament with the hopes to secure his first ever French Open
title. Djokovic has been having a great time in the Grand Slams. He won the
Wimbledon and the US Open in 2011 and won the Australian Open this year.
Djokovic has been particularly severe on Rafael Nadal and his record against
Nadal in the Grand Slam finals is simply superb.
Nadal will go into his favourite
Slam with the motive of stopping Djokovic’s charge. The Serbian has been
dominating in the past year and a half and Nadal will do everything to stop
him. Nadal can create history in the tournament as if he wins the title he will
become the first player in the history to win seven men's singles titles at
French Open.
Another man who will be itching to
have a go in this year’s Roland Garros is Roger Federer. Federer has had a
quite couple of years and he will be looking to win the title and take his
overall Grand Slam title tally to 17.
Andy Murray from Great Britain will
also be hopeful of securing his maiden Grand Slam title. Murray has been a
consistent performer over the years, but fails to cross the final hurdle. It is
believed that his maiden title will come sooner rather than later. It is once
again will be fascinating to watch these four players competing once again.
Fans will be cheering for their
local starts, there are a lot of talented Frenchmen who will participate in the
challenge. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who is number five in the world will be the best
hope for the local fans. Apart from Tsonga, Gaël Monfils (No.13), Gilles Simon
(No.15) and Richard Gasquet (No.18) are the other Frenchmen who will be fancied
to create an upset.
In the women’s draw, world No.1
Victoria Azarenka will start the tournament as favorite going by her recent
form. She won her maiden Grand Slam by clinching the Australian Open earlier
this year.
She will be challenged by world No.2
Maria Sharapova who made it to the semifinals last year. Sharapova has got
experience behind her and will be looking to clinch the title.
Marion Bartoli, Pauline Parmentie
will be leading the French charge in the tournament.
Considering the way
Novak Djokovic performed last year and his current year’s form, all eyes would
be glued on him at this year’s Wimbledon which is just 36 days away. Djokovic
from Serbia is the current World number one and would enter this year’s Wimbledon
as the reigning champion.
Djokovic, who
dethroned Rafael Nadal of Spain from the number one position began his year by
winning the Australian Open. He defeated Nadal, who is currently ranked two in
the world in the finals of the tournament and after that he could only win the
Miami Open and lost two. Before the Wimbledon, Djokovic would be trying to
claim his first French Open title something which the World number two Spaniard
has made his forte for last few years and has his authority stamped all over
the tournament.
But then while talking
about Wimbledon, it is a total different story and even though he lost at the
Monte Carlo to Nadal, the Serb would still hold an edge over Nadal as well as
other players in the tournament.
Djokovic won 10 titles
last year including the Australian Open, Wimbledon 2012 and the US Open and all three finals were won against Rafael
Nadal. He is the only sixth player in the open era of tennis to have won three
Grand Slams in a year.
Djokovic finished with
70-6 record last year and won six finals against Rafael Nadal. Going by the
current trend in the World tennis, Djokovic is the best bet at the Wimbledon
this year and Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer have been his fiercest
rivals and where does he stand against them.
Out of his three
rivalries, the one with Nadal is the fiercest one. Both of them have met 31
times with Nadal enjoying an advantage of 17-14. But then that hardly comes
into consideration as he is the first player to have beaten Nadal in three
consecutive Grand Slam finals. Nadal enjoyed a better record on grass over
Djokovic but he still lost in the last year’s Wimbledon. And also they have met
in seven grand slam finals from January 2011 and January 2012 with the Serb
winning all. So that fact would definitely play on Nadal’s mind and he would
definitely be wary of that.
Former World number 1
Federer enjoys a 14-11 advantage over Djokovic but then would not bother him
much as he has emerged successful over the former World number 1 in big ticket
events. They never met on grass, the playing surface of Wimbledon and also
going by their current form it does not look that Federer could pose much
trouble to him.
And talking about
world number 4, Andy Murray, he has a better track record over as he won on
eight occasions while losing five. Murray has won most of his matches on the
ATP Masters 1000, while at the grand slams he has been completely dominated by
him with the last one being the Australian Open final in 2011.
London is all set to host the biggest even on the planet for the record third time. The city hosted the Olympic Games in 1908 and 1948 and with the 2012 Summer Olympics, it will become the first city in the world to host it thrice. London is also the only city in the United Kingdom to have ever hosted the Olympics.
The Olympic 2012 schedule is from 27 July to 12 August 2012. London was chosen in after the bidding defeating places like Moscow, New York City, Madrid and Paris. The main highlight of the London Olympic 2012 schedule from July 27 is the Olympic Park. The sports complex is being prepared for the 2012 Summer Olympics which is situated to the east of the city adjacent to the Stratford City development. Olympic Park will contain numerous things including athletes' Olympic village and several of the sporting venues including the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre.
The other sporting venues are Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Water Polo Arena, Riverbank Arena, Basketball Arena, Copper Box and London Velopark.
2012 Summer Olympics will use some old venues along with the new ones. The venues will include some existing and historic facilities, some temporary facilities in locations like Hyde Park and Horse Guards Parade.
London is also gearing up in terms of transport services for the big event. Because of the 2012 Games, the London Overground's East London Line will be expanded. Along with that Docklands Light Railway and the North London Line will also be upgraded to help the commuters.
The officials are expecting a big turnout for the big event and the estimates for the tickets available for the 2012 Summer Olympics is around 8 million. Along with the paid tickets there will also be some free events like the marathon, triathlon and road cycling.
Around 4,700 medals have been prepared for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The medal is 7mm thick and weighs 375–400g.
The opening ceremony for the London Olympics is named 'The Isles of Wonder’ and the Oscar winning director, Danny Boyle will be the artistic director for the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.
Athletes from around 204 National Olympic Committees are expected to take part in the Olympics. Till now 167 countries have qualified at least one athlete for the sporting event. The games will see 26 sports being played and a total number of 39 disciplines. London bid for 28 sport but IOC dropped baseball and softball and the number that remained is 26.
The organizing committee for 2012 Summer Olympics, London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) will be carrying out a full scale test of the Olympic Park from May 2 to May 8.
It's less than three months to go for the biggest sporting event on this planet. London 2012 Olympics has been one of the most awaited sporting events and every nation will have their mind on achieving the ultimate glory. Olympic Games have always been considered to be the biggest test for an athlete and gives immense pleasure to everyone who is connected with this massive event.
For India, 2012 Olympic Games is very important. India had a brilliant Commonwealth Games and the players will be desperate to repeat their feat in the competition which is considered to be the toughest challenge.
In the last Olympics at Beijing, Indians won three individual medals, one gold and two bronze. This time Indians will be hoping to better that record. The time has gone when India only focused on team sports like hockey and cricket and now people have started shifting their focus to sports like shooting, boxing, archery to name a few.
It all started when Leander Paes won a bronze in Atlanta Games and was followed by a bronze by Karnam Malleswari in Sydney and silver by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Athens. It showed that Indians can do it and 2008 Beijing Games saw India getting its first individual gold.
Things are looking good this time around for Indians. Sportsmen are looking more focused than before and are looking fitter than ever. Some of the best from different sports will take the plane for London 2012 Olympics and the chances of India increasing the numbers of medals that they won last time are looking good.
There are many sports in which Indians can do well and boxing is at the top of the list. Manoj Kumar (64kg); L Devendro Singh (49kg); Jai Bhagwan (60kg); Vikas Krishan (69 kg); Vijender Singh (75kg); Shiva Thapa (56kg); Sumit Sangwan (81kg) have qualified for the 2012 Olympic Games and these young boxers have it in them to win India some medals.
Vijender Singh will be leading the pack and his experience of winning a bronze medal in Beijing will be a great help for these kids. The boxers are in great form of late and each one of them has earned a quota place on the back of some brilliant place.
Apart from boxing, shooting is looking like a sport which can fetch some medals for India. Abhinav Bindra, 10 M rifle; Joydeep Karmakar, 50 M rifle prone; Ronjan Sodhi, double trap; Vijay Kumar, 25m rapid fire pistol; Sanjeev Rajput, 50m rifle 3 position; Anuraj Singh, 10m air rifle; Rahi Sarnobat, 25m pistol; Shagun Choudhary, trap; Manavjit Singh Sandhu, trap; Heena Sidhu, 10m air rifle are the people who will represent India in the Olympics Games.
Abhinav Bindra brought India the maximum glory when he won the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics and that gave shooting new dimensions. He along with Ronjan Sodhi are the favorites to beg a medal for India, but one thing is for sure that every shooter is raring to go and on their day can beat the best of the lot.
Sushil Kumar brought glory when he won the bronze medal and he along with Yogeshwar Dutt; Amit Kumar and Geeta Phogat will represent India in wrestling. Indian wrestlers have performed quite well in the recent past and they have it in them to bring India glory.
Athletics, Archery, Badminton are some of the other sports that India can do well in.
Apart from these individual sports Indian men’s hockey team have also qualified for the London 2012 Olympics which they failed to do in Beijing Olympics. It is true that it will be very difficult for Indian men to compete against the likes of Australia, Germany, Spain and others, but going by the way they played in the Olympic qualifiers anything is possible.
