Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Salaam oldies

Millions of football fans join The Hindu in saluting "Football's golden oldies" (editorial, June 29) participating in the World Cup. They have excited and delighted everyone with their movement and vision on the field. Their positional sense of creating opportunities as if by magic, culminating in incredible goals, is awesome. Special mention is due to Ronaldo the top scorer.

C.P. Srinivasan,
Chennai

* * *

The salute to the oldies has come at a time when longevity has come to be regarded as a crime. A fortnight ago, the media called Ronaldo a somnambulist. Three goals later, he is a talisman again. From agony to ecstasy of football — it is all there in Ronaldo's indifferent smile. He is still the hero of the great game and one wishes to see his right forefinger raised yet again.

M.V. Radhakrishnan,
Palakkad, Kerala

* * *

Small countries such as Ghana, Turkey, Iran, and South Korea have made it to the World Cup. But in almost 60 years of our existence as an independent nation, we have not been able to find a team of 23 men, perhaps because of corruption and squabbling over petty matters.

A.V. Reddi Sastri,
Srikakulam, A.P.

* * *

How many know that India reached the Olympics semi-finals in football (Melbourne, 1956), twice won the Asian Games gold medal (1951 and 1962) and qualified for the World Cup finals in Brazil (1950)? It withdrew because FIFA would not let Indians play barefoot. Today, when almost half a dozen Asian nations figure in the World Cup finals, India is nowhere. Football is ideally suited for India. All it needs to popularise the game are open space with demarcated boundaries, markers for the goalpost and a ball. If we stop giving undue importance to cricket, we can still think of securing a place in the World Cup.

Md. Ziyaullah Khan,
Pune

* * *

Many `experts' as usual blame everything on cricket. But should football really be the number one sport in India? Vivian Richards once said he would love to be born a cricketer in India because Indians place their players on a pedestal. Cricket is the soul of India. If football were to become India's number one sport, nothing will change in the world of football — India is most unlikely to go beyond its present ranking of 118. But what will happen to the gentleman's game if the country that loses its sleep and breathes cricket stops patronising it?

Manmath Deshpande,
Nagpur

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