Random Thoughts

This has been a phenomenal year for Rafael Nadal. Winning 3 Grand  Slams in a year was known to be Roger Federer's forte. Well, that surely has changed and it seems as though the roles have been reversed. This year Roger was down to one Slam and Rafa won the other three. For a die hard Federer fan which I am, it's hard to digest the fact that his ranking has slipped to the 3rd, that he has won just the Australian Open this year, that his phenomenal streak of reaching 23 consecutive Slam semis was broken, that he was beaten by Novak Djokovic (whom he has beat all the previous years) in this year's US Open semis. All this and more has happened this year. This year, one particular player, not named Roger Federer has dominated all the slams and most of the tour. This saddens me. But then, one can't help but admire the humility that Rafa shows, no matter how much I want to hate him for having displaced Roger from the pedestal and making it his own. For all the comparisons p...

I love sports. And by that, I do not mean loving what they show on tv, though I like that too. What I really love is how you try to win, always. Love it when you win, love the rush when you're in the middle of the game, the focus in the game that takes you away from any and every concern you have in your life. It simply rejuvenates you like nothing else. I have been playing badminton on and off since I can remember. Don't even remember the first time I picked up a racquet. We used to have these small wooden racquets for kids back then, when I was in the 1st or 2nd std. As a kid, you are always fascinated by anything and everything that elders do. My uncle used to play badminton everyday. I used to accompany him sometimes to the club and wait for everyone to finish playing, after which he would play a couple of points with me. That is how I learnt it. I continued playing with my sister till about my 7th or 8th std. But I wasn't regular at it. It used to always depend on my m...