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The X-factor
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Tina Sharma's emergence ushers in some hope that cricket in India could have a female voice
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KNOWS HER GAME Tina Sharma PHOTO: RAJEEV BHATT
She is a jolly-good talker. No big deal for television is full of such faces, but what puts Tina Sharma apart in the evolving set of female sports anchors is that she also understands the pulse of the game. Tina says she has been into sports journalism for donkey's years but people noticed her when she recently anchored the India-Pakistan series in Abu Dhabi for Zee Sports. "I have covered Under-14, Under-16 and Ranji Trophy for Hindustan Times before switching over to Headlines Today where I got the opportunity to cover the Athens Olympics."
In the post Mandira Bedi-era, Tina says the experts on her show do come with some doubts, "but once they realise that I am a qualified sports journalist they start talking like they do to any guy. However, it's difficult to reign in somebody like Sidhu in a live show. Once during the break, he asked me have you seen kevde ka ped? Gosh!"
Glamour element
Tina holds that the Mandiras and Roshinis did succeed in bringing the glamour element to the game, but that's it. "I don't buy the idea that they succeeded in taking the game to the housewives. In that case channels would have put an Arjun Rampal!" However, like Mandira ogled at Stephen Fleming, Tina also roots for a Kiwi. She says personal likes and dislikes are part of sports journalism. "I like Shane Bond, but not just for his looks. The determination and courage he has shown in coming back from the injury, is simply phenomenal."
Tina agrees her show also has an element of tamasha. "We don't want to overanalyse or keep it too serious like Sanjay Manjrekar does on Ten Sports. But, I keep telling my producer to let me speak more and more about cricket."
Cricket is just because you can't duck the sport in India; Tina says her heart lies in tennis. "I have grown up in Hong Kong playing tennis and Boris Becker is the reason that I am into sports journalism." Tina anchors and produces live tennis coverage on the channel. After the Navratilova - Graf era, Tina concurs tennis had lost the audience, "but after Sania's rise tennis has again seen a surge in the viewership."
ANUJ KUMAR
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