The last time cricket was played at the CWG
With 19 sports and eight para sports, this year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham are the biggest in the event’s history. Along with the Commonwealth EGames championship that will run alongside the Games, this year will also see the introduction of para table tennis, beach volleyball and T20 cricket.
Eight women’s teams - India, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, England, Barbados and New Zealand - will compete in the event that begins on the 29th. Qualification for the tournament was determined based on international T20 ranking, with Sri Lanka making it through a special qualifying tournament and Barbados being nominated as the West Indies representative as a group of nations aren’t permitted to compete at the CWG.
The teams are divided into two groups of four, with the top two from each group making it to the semis. The tournament will serve as the perfect preparation for the teams ahead of the T20 World Cup in February next year.
While women’s cricket will be played at the CWG for the first time this year, this isn’t cricket’s first appearance on this stage. In the 1998 Games in Kaula Lumpur, a men’s ODI tournament featuring 16 teams was played, with South Africa under the leadership of Shaun Pollock bagging the gold medal.
It wasn’t just the format that was different back then. Unlike this time, the matches in 98’ weren’t given International status and fell under the List A category. Players inexplicably wore whites and unlike the billboards-disguised-as-jerseys of today, they were sans any sponsors.
Given that the organisers had only a year to prepare the pitch from scratch, it wasn’t upto international standards and was soggy with awkward bounce. The standard of cricket on show was reflective of this. Across 28 games, just three centuries and three five wicket hauls were registered. In the semi-final, bronze-medalists New Zealand were bowled out for 58 by silver-medalists, Australia.
Playing conditions were further worsened by the sweltering heat of Kuala Lumpur. In an interview with Cricbuzz, Sri Lanka’s Suresh Perera recalled how the humidity was far worse than anything he’d experienced before. In one of the games, India’s Amay Khurasiya had to be carried off on a stretcher after fainting!
India opted to send their B team to Kuala Lumpur as the Games’ dates clashed with the Sahara Cup being played against Pakistan in Canada. It should however be noted that this second string squad was captained by Ajay Jadeja and featured the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Singh and VVS Laxman!
Surprisingly, India fared poorly. Put in a group with Canada, Australia and Antigua & Barbuda, they finished third. They clinically dismantled Canada, had the same done to them by Australia and because of their game against Antigua & Barbuda being washed out, missed out on qualifying for the semis.
Ahead of the tournament, the BCCI wanted to fly out Jadeja, Tendulkar, Singh and Kumble to Canada in the event that they didn’t qualify for the semi-finals. Initially the Pakistan team was against this and ultimately only Tendulkar and Jadeja were permitted to join the team in Canada once the team’s exit was confirmed at the CWG.
Everything you need to know about the Chess Olympiad
Okay super noob question but what is the Chess Olympiad?
No reason you should, it’s only one of the oldest and most prestigious chess tournaments in the world. It’s a biennial team event that is competed by nations all across the world. Each team has five players.
This year’s Olympiad is expected to have over 2000 participants from 187 countries.
It sounds like a big deal! How did India win the bid to host this year’s Olympiad?
So, the Olympiad was originally meant to be held in Moscow but owing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) stripped the country of its hosting rights.
ESPN reported that once this news broke, the All India Chess Federation secretary general Bharat Chauhan texted the FIDE president and told him that India would be open to hosting the tournament. When the president asked if India would be able to host the Olympiad given that it was such short notice, Chauhan said yes immediately and told himself that he will figure out the details later.
The details were figured out and India will now be hosting the Olympiad for the first time.
How was Chennai picked as the host city?
So, initially Delhi and Ahmedabad were touted as possible venues but on March 1st, Chauhan and the Indian national coach approached Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin about hosting the Olympiad in the state.
"He just heard the brief and in less than five minutes said yes. He offered us a $10 million dollar assurance to conduct the Olympiad and five IAS officers accompanied us for a recce of venues. Within five days of pitching our interest, we had a solid plan in place," Chauhan said to ESPN
Chennai also has a proud chess tradition. It’s the city that has produced five-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand and rising chess prodigy, Praggnanandhaa R, who became a Grand Master at the age of 12. Manuel Aaron, India’s first International Master, too is from Chennai. The city also hosted the 2013 World Championship match between Anand and Magnus Carlsen. The AICF president Sanjay Kapoor dubbed it the “Mecca of Chess in India”.
It should be noted that the Olympiad will be held at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mamallapuram, which is 50km away from Chennai.
When does the Olympiad begin?
It begins on 28th July and goes on till August 10th. To celebrate the launch of the tournament, the Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin has declare a holiday for all schools, colleges and other non-essential government offices in four districts on the 28th!
Wow, they are really going all out huh?
You don’t know the half of it. This is the first year there was a Chess Olympiad Torch Relay, with PM Narendra Modi flagging off the torch in mid June. The torch traversed 75 cities in India before reaching Mammalapuram.
Thambi - a horse wrapped around in a veshti - is the official mascot of the Olympiad and its installations can be found in various areas across the city. Promotional slogans of ‘Namma Chess, Namma Pride’ have been slapped across billboards and buses and a fortnight ago, Rajnikanth released a promotional video for the Olympiad that has been made by AR Rahman and director Vignesh Sivan. The duo will also be part of the opening ceremony where PM Modi will inaugurate the Olympiad.
Per Indian Express, the Tamil Nadu Tourism Department is planning to run five hop-on hop-off buses for tourists to and from Mamallapuram, free of cost.
How has India done at Olympiads in the past? What are our chances of winning this year?
India’s best showing came in 2014, where it won a Bronze Medal. In 2020, India were joint winners with China in the first ever Online Olympiad and last year, finished third. Naturally, there is an asterisk marked against these last two performances.
This year will see a record 30 Indians compete across six teams (three in the open category, three in the women’s category). The absence of the powerhouses of Russia and China in these categories increases the chances of a podium finish.
The three Indian open teams are seeded 2nd, 11th and 17th respectively. All 15 players in the Open category are Grandmasters. In the women’s section, India-1 team is the top seed while India-2 is seeded 11th and India-3 team is seeded 16th.
“First of all, we should acknowledge that the U.S., at its full strength, will be the favourite. It’s not like I don’t fancy Indian teams to compete against that. I think for the rest, we have a good team, you still have to win the medal, nothing is given to you.” said Viswanathan Anand, who is the team mentor for the Olympiad.
Where can I watch the Olympiad?
All matches will be broadcast on Doordarshan and streamed on the YouTube channels of Chessbase India and FIDA.
Person of Interest
Sport can be so cruel sometimes. Still basking in the glow of his silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, Neeraj Chopra suffered a crushing blow on Tuesday after being ruled out of the Commonwealth Games that begin this week with a groin injury.
Chopra had spoken of the strain he had picked up in the aftermath of the World Championships.
"I was feeling the strain after my fourth throw. I wasn't able to put in as much effort at that point...I was feeling it (the strain). The doubts did creep into my mind after that. I've strapped my leg now and hopefully I'll be fit in time for my next competition. I should, hopefully, be alright."
The fourth throw that Chopra references was his best one at the Championships. After a slow start in his first three throws, the 88.13m throw propelled him from outside the medal positions to a 2nd place finish. But, it’s come at a cost.
The General Secretary of the Indian Olympic Association said Chopra underwent an MRI after the event in Oregon and has been advised a month’s rest.
It’s the first setback Chopra has faced in what has been a stellar season so far. In the four tournaments he’s competed in after the Olympics - Paavo Nurmi Games, the Kuortane Games, the Stockholm Diamond League and the World Championships- Chopra hasn’t finished outside of the top two. He’s broken his own national record twice within the space of a couple of weeks last month. His 89.94m throw in Stockholm being the closest he’s come to hitting the 90m mark.
India’s javelin hopes at the CWG now lie with Rohit Yadav and DP Manu. Yadav competed alongside Chopra in the World Championships final where he finished 10th. He has a personal best of 82.54m. The Birmingham Games will be Manu’s first international tournament. But, a personal best of 84.35m at the National Inter-state Senior Athletics Championship last month would have given him a confidence boost!
Direct Hits
In last week’s edition:
Waxing lyrical about Rishabh Pant
India’s growing legion of aged athletes
PV Sindhu’s Singapore Open win
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