THE PHONY WAR—that fallow period when players who’ve already suffered through the rigours of the European season join their national teams and limber up for the World Cup with a series of meandering ‘friendlies’—lasts an eternity.
The Champions League final took place in Kiev on May 27, just three weeks before the World Cup begins in Moscow. Starved of football, some of India’s armchair fans even dragged them selves to the Mumbai Football Arena to watch captain Sunil Chhetri play his 100th game for India. He scored twice, taking his tally in the last two games to five and his overall tally to an astonishing 61, placing him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the list of most prolific, still-active inter national goalscorers. Chhetri had to make a personal appeal on Twitter to fans, so exercised by the European clubs they follow and, during the World Cup, by their “doosri country”, as the advertising campaign puts it, to show up. Indian football authorities must ask themselves why they don’t work harder to convert passive support for inter national football into active support for local clubs and the national team; why they don’t seek to attract more investment into historic clubs and the grassroots rather than trumped-up corporate leagues featuring retired Europeans.
Players to Watch
MOHAMED SALAH
If unhampered by concerns about his shoulder, Salah will be a blur of sharp movement. Once a winger, he has become a finisher at Liverpool, cutting inside menacing defenders with his speed and aggression. Can he take Egypt past the group stage?
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 18, 2018-Ausgabe von India Today.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 18, 2018-Ausgabe von India Today.
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BACK IN ACTION
Besides making a thrilling comeback with Tipppsy, Deepak Tijori is working on pushing the boundaries with new projects
THE POWER OF PATIENCE
A steady approach has helped badminton player Lakshya Sen secure a spot in the upcoming Paris Olympics
Great Balls of Fire
The sport of PICKLEBALL is set to get a boost in India with the launch of the World Pickleball League here
Man of Many Ideas
Vanya Vaidehi Bhargav questions simplistic notions of Lala Lajpat Rai's politics in this well-researched book
THE HINDU NATIONALIST
Janaki Bakhle's Savarkar and the Making of Hindutva is a deep dive into the creation of the ideologue
LOVE CONQUERS
IKKA's third album Only Love Gets Reply brings together bigwigs like Diljit Dosanjh, Badshah and Karan Aujla, among others
The Great Indian Village
Everyone's favourite OTT show, Panchayat, is back for a third season on Amazon Prime Video. Expect a lot of laughs
VISUAL CONSTRUCTS
CLASSICS OF MODERN SOUTH ASIAN ARCHITECTURE ARE PORTRAYED IN THESE VOLUMES
TROPICAL TROPES
Tropical Modernism, an exhibition at the V&A, London, looks at the adoption of this architectural style in post-independence India and Ghana
INDIAN ARMY FACES THE GORKHA QUESTION
THE PANDEMIC AND NEPAL'S OPPOSITION TO THE AGNIPATH SCHEME HAVE STALLED GORKHA RECRUITMENT IN THE INDIAN ARMY. THEIR FALLING NUMBERS ARE A STRATEGIC CONCERN FOR INDIA, PARTICULARLY AMIDST RISING SPECULATION ABOUT CHINESE PLANS TO INDUCT THE LEGENDARY SOLDIERS