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Showing posts with label Roger Federer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roger Federer. Show all posts
Sachin’s schedule for next Wimbledon.
Sachin can be very perceptive: he holds himself responsible for Federer’s defeat at Wimbledon. He believes that it was soon after their meeting that Federer was knocked out, whereas players like Nadal and Djokovic who he did not hangout with made the finals.
It could be a punishing schedule next Wimbledon – Sachin is taking no chances, and wants to be in London for 2 weeks till Federer seals the deal.
His plan: acquire Federer’s draw way before hand, and then meet each one of Federer’s opponents from the first round onwards. Rumour is Sachin could also meet some of Federer’s warm-up partners, for he knows only too well, how losing warm-up games can demoralize a champion.
As for meeting Federer, that can wait. Sachin will not appear at any of Federer’s matches. Superstitious as he is, he feels eye contact could prove fatal.
Another thing, Sachin will don a different suit next time around: A pajama suit if you please.
WADA: Whereabouts are you ?
Sounds a simple question. But that exactly is the question our cricketers don’t want to answer
The reason, intrusion of privacy and fears of security.
Before we get to see in detail about what WADA is and what this clause is all about, let us talk about the two reasons our cricketers give for not signing-up with WADA.
Intrusion of privacy
When me or you sneak into a cricketers property or hack in to his bank account that might be considered intrusion of privacy. Imagine an enforcement agency like the Income Tax department wanting to do the same.
Is it intrusion of privacy ?
I think not, there is a difference between an enforcement agency and a stalker. WADA is a world body that culls dope out of sports. So they are like any enforcement agency you could think of, hence what they do is nothing but enforcement of a code of conduct and not invading a cricketers privacy when he's having a good time.
I fear for my life, what will happen to my security ?
WADA is a body recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and many governments all around the world. So I can't imagine them trying to sell their database to someone sitting in the Tora Bora mountains nor would they have a hotline with them. There are some stringent confidentiality clause / agreement that governs the WADA officials conduct.
So what is the fuss all about ?
The whereabouts clause.
Read more about the clause here
Let's quickly see what & why WADA came into existance the first place ?
Seoul Olympics 1988, 100m sprint
One classic shot any sports buff would remember vividly is that of Ben Johnson, the Canadian sprinter crossing the line with one arm up in the air and looking to his left to see where his nemesis Carl Lewis is placed. He broke the world record, for the second time in a matter of months.
His celebrations were shortlived, 3 days to be precise when newspapers announced that he has been caught doping. The world became familiar with anabolic steroids, performance enhancing drugs & in this case something called Stanozolol. That was when the sporting world woke up to this menace of doping.
WADA was formed a year later, in 1999 with some initial funding from the IOC. These days IOC along with many govenments world over fund the WADA. The first WADA anti-doping code was implemented in 2004, just before the Athens Olympics.
Here is a short video about WADA (Thanks to the WADA website)
Interestingly, there is a known name in the WADA Athlete committee, Mr Anil Kumble from India. So why don’t our demigods speak to him and know more about WADA and the whereabouts clause.
See what Abinav Bindra has to say about the whereabouts clause. So it is not as tough or as intrusive as our cricketers make it to be. It just requires some sportsmanship, like how Bindra explains the process.
“I hate pissing into a bottle”
In the 90s when anti-doping regulations were introduced into sports, this is what John McEnroe remarked.
May be, he didn't have to, but his successors do. Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal might have reservations about the whereabouts clause but they still are signatories to the WADA regulation and get tested randomly.
Most of the top sportsmen and women are, aren't our cricketers sportsmen ?
Roger Federer - A cricket fan
I was quite fascinated to find out that Roger Federer is a cricket fan. He has even played some cricket as a kid, perhaps influenced by his mother who is South African.
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