My Last Cluster Meet …

So it ends. With great sadness, I keep my TT racket in its cover for one last time, zip it in and that's it for the Saudi Chapter. The just concluded 23^rd Cluster Meet was my last in my school career. Nostalgia was bound to hit me and so it did as I went back to the first time I played at the Inter-school level, the first time I proudly wore my IIS Dammam shirt and track suit given to me by the school. It was a long 6 years ago. Fast forward and here I am representing my school for the very last time. The experience of playing at this level is something so amazing that it is hard to describe. The chants, the cheering, the motivating, the tension, the pressure and above all the Pride and Glory of winning and showing the other schools who’s the BOSS around here. This cluster meet was not too different from the other ones, but was special for me as it would be my last one. It was, as expected a tight and tense affair. It was the 1st out of 3 phases, in which the indoor games TT and Badminton would be played. Being the most successful school, IISD and also the defending champions, we were confident as ever. Two schools took the responsibility of hosting this event, IIS Riyadh and NMEIS Riyadh and they did a mighty good job indeed.

6-10-2013: Opening Ceremony: Once we reached the venue, we got changed into our provided tracksuits and headed for the Opening ceremony.

There were multiple school teams participating in this Saudi Chapter.

From Riyadh:

IIS Riyadh
DPS Riyadh
IIPS Riyadh
NMEIS Riyadh

From Jeddah:

IIS Jeddah
DPS Jeddah

From Jubail:

IIS Jubail

From Dammam:

IIS Dammam

And finally Jabal Farsan International school.

Once the formalities were done with, we went back to our provided accommodation, rested for the day and prepared ourselves for next day’s matches. The next morning we were up and ready.

7-10-2013: Once we entered the arena, we knew it was time. The matches were a tedious affair; players fighting for each point, not letting the other one get on top. There were some epic ones alongside some one-sided ones.

IISD was handed a tough group to begin with. We had our eternal rivals IIS Jeddah in the group together with tough competitors DPS Riyadh and newcomers Jabal Farsan. Our first match was done and dusted quite easily against Jabal Farsan. The second was the big one, against Jeddah. The whole crowd was silent and one could only hear the sound of the TT ball bouncing on each side of the table. I myself lost a cliffhanger of a game. It went down to the wire and in the final set I netted my shot at 12-13 to heartbreakingly lose 11-7, 3-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-14. But my teammates did win their games comfortably and I too got my act together to win the reverse singles match easily and we were through to the semi-finals due to be contested the following day.

8-10-2013: The semi-finals. And we had to wait and wait and wait for it to start. Trying to keep ourselves warmed up and ready the whole day, we were practicing, jogging, cheering and doing what not only to see our match postpone to the very last game of the day. But of course there was a silver lining. I got to witness and umpire some great games of the younger age groups i.e. under-14 and under-16. The u-14 and u-16 finals were also contested under my supervision and it was a pleasure to watch the NMEIS boys win yet again. They are known for producing exceptional young players and have been qualifying for the CBSE Nationals in the u-14 and u-16 age groups for the past 3 years in a row and this year was nothing different for them. They romped home with ease. I too got inspired by the kids and went on to produce some of my best table tennis to finish off the semi-finals in a flash by winning in straight sets.

9-10-2013: The big day. The final. The event everybody was waiting for. The under- 19 final is the most marquee event of the cluster meet and so it was rightly the most anticipated as well. Even after 6 years of experience my heart was pounding moments before my game.  It was against IIS Jeddah again. My teammate Aves went first. He fought back brilliantly to come back from a set down and beat the Jeddah player Maniyar 3-1. It was time for me to play. Everyone with their eyes firmly set on my game again. Freakishly nervous, I somehow made it to the table almost shivering. Once the game began, that was it. The adrenaline took over and I played the best match of my life. I defeated my opponent in straight sets and didn’t give him a whisker of a chance. Everything seemed to gel. Each one of my shots seemed to land on the edges and for the first time in my life I got to feel what it was like to be in “THE ZONE”. The atmosphere was electric. And I finally won the game. My other teammate Adnan went next and didn’t take too long to finish his opponent off sending us into raptures as we had just qualified for the CBSE Nationals by winning the u-19 team Championship. It was a magical moment. 

Later on we strode on to the stage with the WE OWN THIS PLACE feeling when our names were announced and there were loud cheers for our school. We went up onto the dais and proudly showed off the overall Championship trophy yet again. Chants of “Dammam Se Panga… Danga hi Danga” rang in my head. It was the last time I would witness something like this. I am glad I was part of it.

Trophy/Medal Haul from 2008-2013

                                                
Some of the players who impressed me the most and are monstrous talents with a bright future ahead are listed below. They are destined to provide breathtaking moments;

Amaan ur-Rahman- NMEIS Table Tennis Academy product. The Sachin Tendulkar of Table Tennis. That’s how highly I rate him. Tendulkar, not only because he is little but also because he is that good.

Robert Aaron- another NMEIS product. Another outstanding player with an amazing future.

Aves Mohammed- Yet another NMEIS product. My teammate.  I am so glad he came to my school.

Amar Jain- my teammate. First year representing IISD, playing in the u-14 category and he bravely fought to come 4^th in the individual championships. Fantastic effort and a great asset for the future.

P.S – Our u-19 Badminton teams too did win and have qualified for Nationals but I didn’t write about them as I wasn’t there to witness it and don’t know much about the other badminton teams.

4-0.. Can you ask for anything more?

Tired from another day at school, I had just reached home. As soon as I entered I ran in to check the scores. A few minutes later my face beamed with pride. Revenge had been well and truly taken. We had humiliated Australia 4-0 to win the Border-Gavaskar trophy back. It was India's time to shine after all the suffering(losing to England and Australia 4-0 in successive series). As cliche as it sounds I still never stopped believing in our team. . And I got my reward for it. A day to celebrate indeed. We were the better team throughout. Lets take a look at our dominance in the series:
The 1st test was a Chennai masterclass by two of Chennai's most beloved sons. Dhoni and Ashwin were simply magnificient. The latter especially brilliant for his 13 for. But one cannot understate Dhoni's importance as the Captain made his first ever double ton and a first ever for an Indian wicketkeeper to give India a huge lead. India sealing victory by 8 wickets. Fans all around also got to see the brilliance of Virat Kohli as he strolled along to yet another century and the resurgence of the maestro that is Sachin Tendulkar who made a glorius 81 to get India out of trouble for the umpteenth time reminiscent of his glorius past. If the 1st one was a bit competitive the second one was completely one sided to say the least. India bundled Australia out for 237 as Kumar and jadeja got 3 a piece and made a mammoth 504 courtesy Cheteshwar Pujara's brilliant double hundred, his second in a relatively young career(13 test matches) and a Murali Vijay century. And yet again Australia came out to bat but were completely outfoxed by India's spin kings as Ashwin and Jadeja ran them ragged. The 3rd Test match just showed how much India wanted to win this series. Despite being cut off a complete day of cricket as rains continued to pour in Mohali, from the second day onwards till, the final few minutes of the test match, India were all over Australia. It just showed the determination of the team to win the game. Australia did quite well in the first innings with a total of 408. But India, inspired by a scary Shikhar Dhawan went on to make 499, with Dhawan making the fastest ever debut ton in history and Vijay hitting another ton. India had their best ever start to an innings against Australia and, never looked back.
After finishing Australia out for 223 India had to chase a tricky target of 133 in a session. The target was comfortably achieved by Dhoni and co. after the loss of 4 wickets and Australia were left with their shoulders hanging yet again. The 4th and final test was supposed to be a formality and nothing more as Australia had been completely outclassed by the Indians. But India were rampant as ever, not forgetting the humiliation we faced in Australia recently. India had never won a test series 4-0. The 'Men in Blue' were gunning for glory from the word go. After getting Australia all out on 262( courtesy a fighting half century from their frontline bowler Peter Siddle!!!) India were up and away getting another fine start this time by Murali Vijay and Pujara(Dhawan not playing as he got injured in his debut match). But after such a good start, India suddenly collapsed right after the loss of the first wicket and were taken out for 272 having a mere 10 run lead. Heading into only the 3rd day, people were thinking Australia can salvage this one if they play a bit sensibly. They did try their best but India wouldn't take a loss for an answer and finished Australia off for 164 only. The Australians yet again falling like a pack of cards. But surely India wouldn't have the audacity to go on and finish the game and series on day 3 itself?
Well, Pujara had other ideas as he romped to a 92 ball 82 to take India through in the most emphatic of fashion and deliver India their first ever 4 test match whitewash! :D
A host of records were broken along the way as well.. here are the most impressive stats from the series:

• This is only the second time in test history that a team has won four or more tosses in a series and gone on to lose four or more matches in the same series.
• This is India's first ever 4 match test series whitewash. We have whitewashed 3 match test series, but not 4.
• India have won 12 test matches at Delhi's Ferozshah Kotla, which is next only to the MA Chidambaram stadium of Chennai where we have won 13. Our last defeat at Delhi was in 1987 to West Indies.
• (something for Australia).. Peter Siddle became the first no.9 in Test History to score at least a half century in each of the innings..
• This is only the 2nd time Australia have been whitewashed. The first was against South Africa in 1969-70.
• Murali Vijay scored the most runs in the series with 430.
• R. Ashwin finished with the most wickets with 29. Jadeja was second with 24.

Well, all I can say is this young Indian team, after facing lots of adversities from all ends has finally stood up and is, now, ready to face the world.
Oh.. and people asking if Sachin should be part of the team and if he has played his last test match at home..
one answer for you all.. He is the Greatest Batsman of all time. He will decide when to retire himself. Period.
Thank you. Glad to hear your feedback.

The Debate Over this Generation's two greatest Players: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

Well, welcome to my blog people!
I have been thinking for a while now to start one, and finally have gotten the courage to go ahead and do it.
Disclaimer: All the points written over here are my own personal views and opinions. Everyone’s entitled to their own, and so am I.

So lets begin with my first and probably the most controversial topic in the magical world of football..
The Debate over this generations’ two greatest players:
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now, both the players and their respective fans have their own facts and reasons to consider their favorite or themselves the better out of the two of them. Lets just once and for all end this..

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Why Cristiano Ronaldo deserves the tag of ‘Best player in the World’.

According to me, Cristiano Ronaldo is better than Lionel Messi. You might say i am biased as I am a huge Real Madrid fan. Of course there is nothing bad one can say about Leo Messi . As a football fan I consider him a Legend of our sport and he will go down as one of the all time greats. He has almost broken every single goalscoring record there is in football. Last season he broke the record for goals scored in a single la liga season(50), broke the record for goals scored in a single season in all competitions(73) and finally broke the record for no. of goals scored in a calendar year(91). He also has been the CL top scorer for the past 4 seasons, a record again and looks set to break the former aforementioned La Liga records this season again. He also has won the last 4 Ballon D’ors, being the first ever to do so in history.
But here’s where the problem lies. This Ballon D’or Saga has been going on for quiet a while now. The Ballon D’or is considered the most prestigious individual award in football and is given to the player who has performed the best for his team over the course of the season, contributed to the team as well as helped them win trophies. Leo Messi unquestionably scored loads and loads of goals last season, and even has an amazing assists record of 37 over the year. Mind boggling numbers. But the question is what did these goals and assists contribute to? And did he really deserve the Ballon D’or? I dont think so..
Barcelona merely won the Copa Del Rey in the 2011-12 season. They lost the La liga to Real Madrid and the CL to Chelsea. Cristiano Ronaldo completely outperformed Messi in the first six months of 2012 and much of the 2011-12 season. Messi sneaked past him in the end with 50 goals, Ronaldo ending up with 46 goals. But those 46 helped immensely as Madrid won the La Liga by reaching a record 100 points and also breaking the record of scoring the most goals in a La Liga season(101) which ended Barca’s reign as Spanish Champions. He, also at the Euro 2012, helped Portugal reach the semifinals of the tournament by being the joint top scorer. But all this was overlooked as Messi ripped opponents apart in the last 6 months. Cr7 was also fantastic but Messi seemed to be scoring for fun as Barca recorded their best ever start to a liga season. People conveniently brushed aside the amazing work done by Cr7 and co. as the Gerd Muller record came closer and closer. But here’s a fun fact. Gerd Muller himself never won the Ballon D’or even when he made the record which Messi eventually broke. But FIFA blindly keep giving the award to Lionel Messi which frankly speaking is disrespectful to Cr7 and the other players as well. I fully agree that Messi deserved the 2009 and 2011 Fifa Ballon D’or. But the 2010 Ballon D’or was just a horrible mistake or the fact that FiFa is corrupt and biased towards Barcelona is a fact after all. In the 09-10 season Barcelona and Messi only won the la liga with Messi top scoring in both the Liga and CL competitions. On the other hand, Messi was shambolic in the FIFA World Cup held in South Africa whereas his Barcelona teammates Iniesta and Xavi were the catalysts behind Spain’s success in winning the tournament. More so, the fact that Wesley Sneijder didn’t even make the shortlist, just shows what sort of a love affair FIFA has with Messi. Sneijder guided Inter Milan to a historic treble as well as being joint top scorer in the World Cup leading Netherlands to the final only to lose against Spain even providing a fair share of important assists on the way as well. And the same thing occurred for the 2012 Ballon D’or as well. People were blinded by the ‘91 goals syndrome’ completely forgetting the great work done by Cr7. He too scored 60 goals in all competitions. And another big factor in Cristiano Ronaldo’s favor was he stepped up in all the big games throughout the season. He scored the decisive goal which clinched the league at Nou Camp to earn Real a win, also scored in the CL semifinals against Bayern twice to drag the game to penalties unfortunately losing it there. Messi on the other hand didn’t score in important clasicos as well as being unable to score against Chelsea in the semis of the CL when Barcelona needed him, even missing a penalty. he was still the top scorer of the competition but ask any Barca fan if they would take his 5 goals in a single match record against Bayer Leverkusen or a single penalty against Chelsea and they will prefer the latter. FIFA’s explanation seemed to be the amount of goals Messi scored earned him the award. If that is the case, then why didnt they give Cr7 the award in 2011?

When he scored considerably more goals then Messi in la liga(40>31) becoming the first player in history to score 40 goals in a la liga season and coincidentally breaking an even older record than the Gerd Muller one set by Telmo Zarra. But FIFA’s explanation was that Messi stepped up in the big games and also won more trophies. FIFA seem to contradict themselves with the criteria of this trophy making it easier for Leo to grab it.
I believe, currently and for the past year or so Cristiano Ronaldo has been the Best Player in the World and is better than Lionel Messi simply by the fact that he has played in 2 of the most respected leagues in the world and succeeded immensely in both. Messi has got to challenge himself instead of the comfort zone that the Spanish League has become for him. A player of his quality cannot waste his time in La Liga. It is just too easy for these kind of players. Of course loyalty is good, but if he left on good terms like Cr7 did with United, there would be nothing bad about it. I respect one club men, but if you really want to be one of the greatest ever, you need to be successful elsewhere. People like Pele, Maradona, played most of their careers in one league only but that is different compared to Messi’s situation as Leo has it way too easy as La liga is probably the easiest league in the world whereas Maradona and Pele played in their respective leagues at the time when it was considered the best . Dont get me wrong, La Liga is a fantastic league, but competition wise there is no other team, except probably Atletico Madrid which can challenge the League title which is in the firm grip of the two biggest clubs in world football, Madrid and Barcelona. The fact that no other team except Barcelona and Real Madrid has won the league since the 2003-04 season when Valencia clinched it seems to just prove my point. 

Today’s end result:
Cristiano deserved the Ballon D’or and also the Best player in Europe Award which UEFA gave to Iniesta.. (another shocking decision) but was robbed by FIFA And UEFA.
These are solely my views and opinions. Glad to hear your feedback.