Indian Sports-person of the year 2010

It is the end of an year, a time for assessment and evaluation. Its difficult to measure up sports-persons from different sports against each other. It is difficult because statistics don’t match; you cant measure the number of aces served against the number of wickets taken just as you cant compare a hole in one to a hat-trick. But what can be done is that, one of the sports-persons can be rewarded and by his isolation from the rest, the exclusive values in him can be commended for the inspiration of others.

The year 2010 was a year dedicated to sport in many ways. First of all, the biggest sporting extravaganza touched African soil as South Africa hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup. There was little representation for India at that world cup but Asia did well and we can take some heart from it. The Commonwealth Games in Delhi made India the center of attention for the world and we stood up to the task. The Games were held without many glitches and to top it all the performance exceeded expectations.

It was a revolutionary year for Indian athletics, as India won medals in a number of medals breaking the jinx. Young prodigy Ashish Kumar bagged medals at CWG and at the Asian Games in floor exercise to open up new avenues for young followers. Woman power was at display as the 4*400 m relay team bagged golds at CWG and at the Asian Games. These are good signs for the future.

2010 was the year of the rise of Indian Athletics

In Cricket, the dream run of Mahendra Singh Dhoni continues as he lead his side to supremacy in Test Rankings. Their ultimate test is coming soon as they will play the world cup next year. Sachin Tendulkar meanwhile continued to show how the definition of excellence can be furthered. It was fulfilling year in many ways on field.

Indian Hockey has shown signs of revival in the latter part of the year yet the administrative glitches have marred the little success. The Hockey India elections were controversial, even more shameful is the fact that Hockey India is itself controversial after the HC revived the IHF. Rajpal Singh was leading the team well on to all challenges when he surprised us with a abrupt decision to quit as the captain. However, there were some bright spots in this grey picture. The silver medal at the CWG came after India beat teams like England, Malaysia and arch rivals Pakistan. Sandeep Singh has continued his form as the PC expert and is certainly one of the best in the world. Coach Jose Brasa will want to see India qualify for the Olympics as soon as possible.

In tennis, the famed pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi came together at the CWG once again and won a bronze. But the headline story has by far been, Somdev Devvarman who bagged the gold at CW?G as well as at the Asian Games for India. Add to that his improving performance in the WTA rankings.

In Badminton, Saina Nehwal has regained her second position in the rankings. But more importantly it was her medal that helped India on to the second position the CWG tally.

In the next article, we will decide the nominees from various arenas. Not necessarily one from every sport but as many as deserve to be on the list. You can help me out by posting your nominations with name and sport as a comment.