India at Rio: Tennis was on Expected Lines,Hockey we just scraped through

Where there is ego, there can never be success. That sums up the Indian Tennis Men's team performance at Rio. There were reports about how Leander checked in late and how he did not want to share a room with his partner Rohan Bopanna. Unconfirmed reports again. Its quite out in the open that Rohan did not want to partner with Leander. Washing dirty linen in the public is never really a good idea. We all know what a great champion Leander is. When it comes to country he gives out his best. We all have been a witness to the passionate performances Leander has given in Davis Cup matches, his game against France and then against the big serving Ivanisevic. One cannot forget his
epic battle against Agassi at the Olympics. Same cannot be said about Rohan Bopanna though. What are his achievements? What are the tournaments that he has won? Davis Cup or individually? other than his partnership with the Pakistani Gentleman. What is that which is fueling Rohan's ego? Surprising. What say can Rohan have in selection of his partner and why even encourage a player to have a say in such matters. Is it not fair enough that the best players be paired up to represent the country in international tournaments. What is even more intriguing is the fact that Leander is at his best when he pairs up with Overseas players. Why is the magic and zing lacking when he partners with Indian players? To exit in the 1st round itself in a major competition for Top ranked players does call for introspection.

I was quite happy with the most part of the India Ireland match except for the last part. We have witnessed some new facets to Indian Hockey. Long successful passes, magic dribbles and Penalty Corner execution have all improved. Sardar Singh has slowed down, He is considered to be a master in feeding accurate passes. However this aspect of his play was missing in Indias game. There is much improvement required in Indias performance in the D. There were no field goals and this is
worrisome for the next opponents Germany will be much tougher to beat, and are know for not conceding Penalty Corners. The other aspect which is worrisome for India is an age old problem. They tend to concede crucial goals in the dying minutes of the game. Fortunately yesterday, Ireland were not on top of the game, else the game could have gone closer. Its time for India to tie up the loose ends before the next game against Germany