Sports are an important part of human society and have existed since roughly 2000 BC. A sport can be defined as “any form of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aims to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants and spectators.” Sport is mostly competitive, where winners are identified by objective means, and sometimes require a degree of skill. The word “sport” comes from the old French word “desport” meaning “leisure”. The French word for sport is based on the Persian word “bord”, which means “winning” or “to win”.

The whole nation let out a sigh of relief when Ashok Dinda finally took the wicket of Mohammad Hafeez in the 19th over. Hafeez had put up a fantastic front against the Indian team with 55 runs off 26 balls, in the second match of the India-Pakistan T20 series; it almost looked like he was going to cost India the game.

There are some things that you have to know and do, by virtue of being an Indian. So, if you are an Indian, you have to be fond of chai. You have to be big on weddings. You have to know the story of monkey-man. You have to know the deeper meaning behind “taking board exams”. You have to have that one relative who, when they come from “abroad” get nice chocolates and cameras.

There was a time when the number of centuries made by the whole of Indian team did not amount to half the number of centuries made by Desmond Haynes. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (SRT) changed this. And in less than eight years after his debut, he broke Haynes’ record for the most number of ODI centuries, inspite of reaching the three figure match only after 79 matches. If this isn’t phenomenal, what is?

“Charges under section 120B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (destruction of evidence), 420 (cheating), 467, 468, 471 (relating to forgery), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and section 13(1) (d) read with section 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the PC Act is ordered to be framed against all the accused.”

These were some of the comments and news headlines of various respected celebrities and news channels all across India. The common man and the crazy fans had some similar sentiments. The reason was quite clear. No one had expected a team (the poms) to defeat the mighty Indian cricket team in its own backyard. It had not happened for the last eight years.

The Indian Olympic Association was ordered by a Delhi High Court to hold its elections according to the new sports code which the government had laid down. However, being affiliated to the International Olympic Council means it must adhere to their guidelines. They should have listened when they were told to not do so because polls can only be held under the global Olympic charter. This had a very valid reason behind it – the law was meant to keep the autonomy of national Olympic bodies intact.

In any kind of sports competition, mainly football, cricket and tennis matches, you will be able to find similar set of people in different corners. There will be the coach of the team, who’s either staring blankly at the game and pacing up and down very calmly; if he’s like the German football coach Joachim Low, or letting cute, sneery grins escape him if he’s like the Spanish football coach, Vincent del Bosque.

Well, this one’s been quite a wait. Into only its second year this time around, the Formula One Airtel Indian Grand Prix was expected to be bigger, better and more organized. Now that it’s done, it was neither bigger nor better organized. It was, however, better. I think it’s fair to paint a picture for everyone before I get on with the intricate-ish details.

As I stepped inside the Buddh International Circuit, the first thing that flashed in my mind was, “Is the experience [...]