XXX Olympics London 2012 - Let the games begin!

 Here we are; a fortnight before the biggest sporting event falling in this calendar year kicks off - Games of the XXX Olympiad or the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Don’t take me wrong but it’s the first time since 2^nd April, 2011 that I am looking forward to the display of patriotism in India when it comes to sports (including me). Let’s be true to ourselves, we have always fought over Rafa, Djoker, Roger or Chelsea, Liverpool, ManU or Spain, Portugal, Italy and not to forget MI, CSK, KKR and the likes. The most exciting part of the next 17 days is the fact that 81 athletes from India will be competing against the likes of Jamie Dywer, Wang Yihan, Roger Federer, Dani Samuels and many more – the best in business to be more precise. However, this is one event where we let go our favoritism and support athletes from home irrespective of their rankings. Every Indian, avid sports follower or not, will come out and support that team or athlete – the one that belongs to India. Now, this is the beauty that makes Olympics not only the biggest sporting event of any year but THE biggest sporting event there ever was, is or ever will.

Liu Xiang

Roots of the Games date back to the 8^th century BC better known as the Ancient Olympic Games which saw a series of competitions held between representative of several city-states and kingdoms in ancient Greece. However, with shift of ruling powers, the Games experienced their demise by 5^th century AD.  By the 19^th century, the interested and wealthy were instrumental in the revival of the Olympic Games. Although the first games on revival took place in 1859, Pierre de Coubertin was influential in forming the governing body for the Games – International Olympic Committee (IOC). The first Games held under the auspices of the IOC were hosted in the Panathenaic stadium in Athens in 1896.  Growth of this event in the past 116 years can be understood by one factor alone – the number of participants in one edition of the Games. They have risen from 241 participants representing 14 nations in 1896 to just over 11,000 competitors from 204 countries at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Mo Farah

Looking back at Beijing 2008 will give us a fairer view of the fireworks we can expect in London. Taking into consideration the gold medal tally, China topped the list with 51 gold medals, followed by the USA with 36 and Russia with 23. However, taking into consideration the tally of total medals, USA topped with 110 medals followed by China with 100 and Russia with 73. China and USA clearly had a competition of their own. When it came to India, with both the men and women hockey teams failing to qualify for field hockey, the nation’s hopes rested on the tennis duo of Bhupati and Paes and Athens silver medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. Both events failing to make a mark, Abhinav Bindra was the first surprise for India by winning us our first individual gold medal till date. This was followed by one bronze medal each for Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar in wrestling and middleweight boxing respectively. Thus, with three medals, the last edition of the Games was the most successful till date for any Indian contingent.

The world experienced 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records in Beijing. The most notable performances in Beijing were those of American swimmer Michael Phelps who broke the record for most gold medals in one Olympics and Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt becoming the fastest man on the planet. These men remain favorites to defend their events in London. However, there are a few who have impressed over the last four years and have emerged as a threat.

  Ryan Lochte (left) and Michael Phelps (Right)

Michael Phelps, who has 16 Olympic medals to his credit including 14 gold medals, is clearly ‘the’ man to beat in his pet events. However, he faces a serious threat from his countryman Ryan Lochte who was named the 2011 World Swimmer of the year. Lochte won 5 gold medals in the 2011 world championships in which he beat Phelps in 200-meters freestyle and 200-meters individual medley. Although Phelps has withdrawn from 200-meters freestyle, keep an eye out for a final showdown between the two in 200-meters individual medley. Lochte will give Phelps a run for his money preventing a clean sweep in what Phelps has announced will be his last Olympic appearance.                                                                                                  

     Usain Bolt (left) and Yohan Blake (Right)

From one favorite to another, Usain Bolt – very difficult to look beyond this name in 100-meters dash and 200-meters. Another Jamaican bloke named Yohan Blake, just 22 years old has already proven Usain Bolt is good (ok maybe an understatement) but not God. Yes, Blake did beat Bolt in 100-meters in the world championships held at Daegu in 2011 for which he may be claimed lucky because of a Bolt false start, however he backed his performance by beating Bolt in both 100-meters and 200-meters in national championships. The finale of these two legs is going to be one of the best moments of London 2012.                                     

Yelena Isinbayeva

Moving on to one of my favorite sports, field hockey – couldn’t be more excited that India (well at least the men’s team) has qualified for the Olympics. India has a relatively inexperienced team with a coach who has not been with us for a long time either. India in pool B has tough competition in defending champions Germany, one of the best performers Netherlands and New Zealand. Going into the knock-out stages, India needs to put in brilliant performance to stay in the game. Realistically the tournament favorites have to be the world number one Australian team (more famously known as Kookaburras) which is led by five-time ‘hockey player of the year’ Jamie Dwyer. This team consists of a number of World All-Star team players and has won every major competition since 2010 (including the World Cup and the Commonwealth Games, 2010). Netherlands or Germany will be their likely rivals in the finals. Among the women, it is going to be a battle for gold between the Dutch and the Argentines. Netherlands will try to retain their gold while Argentina led by Lucina Aymar (referred to as he Maradona of hockey), seven time player of the year, will try to bring home the gold before she calls it a day.

Sally Pearson

For the ones who share my enthusiasm of the Olympic Games, keep an eye out for the following names - they will excite you. The journey of Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva would be a very interesting watch. She is the world record holder and looks good to break her own record yet again. A few other names to keep a track of would be Matthew Mitcham (diving), Sally Pearson (100m hurdles), Liu Xiang (110m hurdles), Sir Chris Hoy (track cyclist), Rebecca Adlington (swimming), Mo Farah (5000m) and last but not the least the Dream Team (basketball). Russia, China and USA sure remain at the top of my list for some interesting rivalries followed by USA and Australia in the pool. An interesting catfight would be in the pool between Australia’s golden girl from Beijing Stephanie Rice and their golden girl from Commonwealth Games in Delhi. 

Deepika Kumari - The one to watch

            India is sending her biggest contingent till date to the London Games. Considering our performance in the past 4 years, we have the best opportunities to win medals in badminton, boxing, wrestling, archery, mixed tennis and shooting. My biggest hopes lie on the world number one player in Archery- the 18 year old Deepika Kumari. It is not going to be an easy road to success for any of the athletes. Athletes from around the world will have a huge appetite to be on the podium but it will be the grit and determination over the next 17 days which will make the difference. With London 2012 right at the doorstep, it is safe to say that the Games are a bigger deal than they ever were. Now why am I saying that? It’s not because of the money or glamour involved in the staging of this edition of the Games but the dimensions covered by athletes involved in it. London 2012 will see the fastest man on earth, fastest man in water, highest vaulter, legends on the tennis court, magicians on the hockey field (just a handful figures out of many) ready to challenge the world. Defence versus emergence is going to be the royal battle in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.




(Shweta Vishwanath is an athlete by dawn, equity trader by noon, event manager by evening and blogger by mid-night. She is a sports enthusiast hoping to make a change. 
You can follow her on Twitter: @crazyindie1888 )