The Good, Bad & the Ugly ft. Mirabai Chanu, India’s U-20 football team and Virat Kohli

AIFF would be delighted with the recent results of India’s U-20 and U-16 sides and I can almost feel their desperation to call a press-conference and rub it in the IOA’s face. After the latter’s refusal to include India’s football team in the Asian Games contingent, AIFF had blasted the association calling their decision “myopic”. AIFF had argued that apart from the senior team’s recent success in the Intercontinental Cup, their under-age and women sides had also been progressing well, a claim that was rubbished by one and many. However, India U-20 side’s stunning win over Argentina in the COTIF Cup and India U-16 side’s win over World Champions Iraq at the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) Tournament, will definitely force people to think twice. Though neither of the wins impacted India in their progression in any of their respective tournaments, India U-20 correctly put it, “To score such a win, you must have done something right, isn't it?”. Hope that continues to serve as a template for a better future.

Days after the Sports Ministry was hugely criticized for their delay in confirming India’s Asian Games contingent with just 10 days remaining, the department took a decision that forced many to change their stance almost instantly. After weeks filled with numerous scandals and accusations concerning the athletes being selected unfairly and not in accordance with the selection criteria of IOA, the selection of javelin thrower, Neeraj  Chopra to be the flag bearer for India at Asiad was a delightful news for sore ears. Javelin throw has never been one of India’s strongest suits at the world stage as the nation has mostly handed popular sports stars the onus of representing the country in opening ceremonies. 20-year old Chopra is the new face of India and recently created a national record of a throw of 87.43m at the Doha Games earlier this year. He also lit up the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games with a throw of 86.47m this year and the Sports Ministry has done really well to put their faith in him.

I cannot remember a better-suited advertisement to a series build-up like the one Star came up for India’s tour of England. To add further icing on the cake, the catchline “Shirt utregi ya…” has impeccably suited the Indian team’s Test display so far. While the early rains did bring shouts of frustrations from the fans, by the time the rain had interrupted the second day for the second time, fans were already praying for it to restart. However, we seem to have one of those cruel Old Biblical Gods in England who not only stopped the rain but also ensured that Indians were humiliated and wrapped up for a meek total of 107 runs in the first innings. Jokes aside, the Indian batsmen crumbled like a house of cards within hours bringing an awkward anticlimax to all the talks about England’s terrible record at the Lord’s against the Asian team. India’s slim hope rested on skipper Virat Kohli to salvage some sort of respect amidst the onslaught, but he could only make 23 runs and the rest of the players followed like sheep follow the shepherd.

The one thing worse than India’s hopeless displays in England is the frustrating team selection. While Kohli has reiterated it multiple times in press-conferences that the criticism on team selection has been subjective to the outcome, his tendency to make changes rampantly regardless of the previous game results has now started to get on people’s nerves. India’s decision to go with Kuldeep Yadav alongside Ravichandran Ashwin by replacing Umesh Yadav has been termed a no-brainer by everyone especially after the conditions were discouraging even for the England Cricket team to try Adil Rashid, a spinner they literally fought with the county associations to bring into the team to counter Indian batsmen. Consequently, after some early wickets by Indian pacers, England batsmen Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes were able to cement their place at a crucial junction, taking a lead that looks unassailable given the conditions. Even a draw looks bleak for India at the moment.