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Game for sports!
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CNN anchor Don Ridell in conversation with ANUJ KUMAR
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Putting in the right word CNN anchor Don Riddell
With Indian golfers doing well on the world circuit, the international media has also focussed its attention on the growth of the sport in the country. Recently CNN anchor Don Riddell was here to shoot his popular programme Living Golf in the country. “Every month I cover an exotic location where golf is getting popular. With Jeev Milkha Singh doing exceptionally well on the international circuit and the likes of Arjun Atwal and Jyoti Randhawa joining the big league, I believe it is bullish time for golf in India.”
Make it public!
However, Don, based in London, feels 185 courses is too small a number for a country of the size of India. “Golf is an aspirational sport which only those who are reasonably affluent can afford to play. The Indian economy is doing great and it is time for India to have more courses.” Tell him that it doesn’t gel with the politicians, as golf courses require huge chunks of land, and Don comes up with a solution. “The courses should be open to the general public. Today only some 10000 people who are members of different clubs are playing golf in the country. The government should bring in more people. This country loves cricket. I spoke to Kapil Dev, who is an avid golfer, and he says the hand-eye coordination that golf requires is quite similar to cricket. Also like cricket it is played with patience over a long period of time.”
With the advent of Twenty-20, the hand-eye coordination and patience have got a whole new meaning and the game has gone closer to baseball. “Maybe, but I don’t see Americans taking to cricket quickly. Every sport requires infrastructure and an atmosphere, where kids take to the sport from an early stage. Americans have taken a long time to pick football.”
On the recent episodes of sledging amounting to racism, Don quotes Colin Croft who says sledging exists in sport from the times of David and Goliath. “In football it is far more severe. Today it has become more racist and personal, which is dangerous. The stakes are so high that sportspersons feel it is fair to needle your opponent on his colour and personal life.” Don doesn’t buy the cultural difference defence. “I feel these people know what they are doing.” As for the audience, he says it took a generation to teach English audiences not to abuse black players.
The Indian Premier League is here and there are hardly any English players. “Cricket is what used to be in England,” quips Don. On the media hype surrounding certain players which gives them a status higher than their skills deserve, Don says that’s not his way but certainly the British tabloid way. “They allow the poppy to become too big, only to cut it. Either way it is a story.” David Beckham is one example. He agrees he is a great player but not an iconic one. “But I don’t think he minds the attention.”
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