My Science School

One of the most iconic moments of the last decade in cricket would definitely be Mahendra Singh Dhoni hitting a six to win the 2011 ODI Cricket World Cup and them twirling his bat in style. India emerged champions of the format for the first time since 1983 and it was only the second time, after Sri Lanka in 1996, that a host country won the event.

The significance of home advantage changed completely after that. For after India’s success, the next two World Cups in 2015 and 2019 were also won by host nations.

The 2015 World Cup final was in fact played by the two host nations, Australia and New Zealand, and was won by Australia, which hosted the final.

The 2019 World Cup was won by England, even though no team lost in the final. With both England and New Zealand tied after the scheduled 50 overs and the Super Over, the hosts were declared winners owing to a queer boundary countback rule.

 

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Briton Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton won his first F1 world championship title in 2008, when he was with McLaren. He moved to Mercedes in 2013 and there has been no turning back since then. He is now a six-time world champion, having won the title in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019, losing to team-mate Nico Rosberg by just five points in 2016.

By the end of the decade, Hamilton notched up the most career points, the most pole positions (88) and most points in a single season (413 in 2019). He is now second behind Michael Schumacher in the all-time list of world championship victories, 91 race victories and 155 podium finishes are surely within his grasp.

 

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With the first men’s T20 international being played only in 2005 and the first World Cup in the format being held in 2007, the last decade was the first full 10 years in which the format has existed.

While international T20s are plugged into almost every series and World Cups are a huge draw, the format has been especially popular in league forms, with a number of tournaments now being held around the world.

Indian Premier League (IPL), the first edition of which was held in 2008, continues to be the most popular involved and the entertainment value it provides.

The IPL has had its share of laws, what with match fixing and the ensuing ban of two franchises for two years. Despite the negatives, the IPL continues to be hugely popular with the masses, and continues to grab a lot of eyeballs.

In terms of results, Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings have proved to be most successful, winning four and three titles respectively so far.

 

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In 1960, in Rome, Italy, the first Paralympics were held. These are Olympic Games for athletes with disabilities. They are now held after each Olympic Games, often on the same site, and give disabled athletes from all over the world an opportunity to compete against each other. Taking place soon after the conclusion of the Olympic Games, the Olympic-style games for athletes with a disability attracted 400 participants from 23 countries, who competed in eight sports.

Paralympics Games, major international sports competition for athletes with disabilities. Comparable to the Olympic Games, the Paralympics are split into Winter Games and Summer Games, which alternately occur every two years. Many of the same Olympic events are included—such as Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and biathlon for winter sports and cycling, archery, and swimming for summer sports—although sports equipment for the Paralympics may be modified for specific disabilities. Since the late 20th century the Paralympics have been held in the same city that hosts the corresponding Olympic Games; the Paralympics follow shortly after the Olympics conclude. The International Paralympics Committee, which was founded in 1989 and is based in Germany, governs the Paralympics Games.

Paralympics athletes compete in six different disability groups—amputee, cerebral palsy, visual impairment, spinal cord injuries, intellectual disability, and “les autres” (athletes whose disability does not fit into one of the other categories, including dwarfism). Within each group, athletes are further divided into classes on the basis of the type and extent of their disabilities. Individual athletes may be reclassified at later competitions if their physical status changes.

The size and diversity of the Paralympics Games have increased greatly over the years. The Paralympics in 1960 hosted 400 athletes from 23 countries participating in eight sports. Just over 50 years later, at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, more than 4,200 athletes representing 164 countries participated in 20 sports.

The Ancient Greeks held sporting contests over 2000 years ago. In 1896, a Frenchman called Baron Pierre de Coubertin prompted the revival of the Olympic Games. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens, Greece, in honour of their origin. Since then they have been held every four years, except in wartime, in cities all over the globe.

The Olympic flame is a symbol of the Olympic spirit of striving to do one’s best. Before each Olympic Games, a series of runners carries the flame from Greece to the site of the Games, where it is used to light the main flame at the opening ceremony.

The original Olympics were always held at Olympia. Almost every modern Olympiad is celebrated in or near a different city of the world. The earlier Games were open only to Greek citizens and athletes from other Mediterranean countries. The modern Games encourage all nations to compete. A person may enter if his or her country has a National Olympic Committee (NOC) that is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. Events for women have become a major interest in the modern Games, and the winners receive honors equal to those given the male winners.

The ancient Greeks furthered culture by giving honors for cultural achievements at the Olympic Games. The modern Olympics hold an arts festival, where the culture of the host country is showcased in various art forms.

Footraces, jumping, discus and javelin throwing, boxing, wrestling, and some other events were carried over from the original Olympic Games. But such present Olympic contests as cycling, canoeing and sailing, football (soccer), basketball, judo, rifle shooting, and water polo were unknown in early times. The modern pentathlon tests an athlete's all-around ability in swimming (300-meter freestyle), cross-country running (4,000 meters), fencing with the horse show jumping, and shooting with a target pistol at 10 meters.

One of the most grueling events of the modern Olympics is the marathon. This footrace over a distance of 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 kilometers) is a supreme test of the runners' endurance. The marathon was not run at Olympia, but it has its origin in ancient Greece. In 490 B.C. the Athenians defeated an army of invading Persians at Marathon, which is northeast of Athens. From there, Pheidippides, a champion runner in the Olympic Games, carried the news of victory to the people of Athens. To do this he had to run a great distance. Once he reached Athens and gasped out his news of victory, he died. It is in his honor that the marathon race is run.

In 1924, the Winter Games became a new feature of the modern Olympics. Such cold-weather sports as pair and figure skating, ice hockey, bobsledding, and the biathlon (rifle shooting on a cross-country ski course) could never have developed in the warm climate of Greece (although figure and pair skating and ice hockey had been included in previous modern Games). Until 1992, the Winter Games were held in the same year as the Summer Games. Beginning in 1994, the winter and Summer Games were held two years apart, on separate four-year cycles.

When Athletes are running a circuit, those on the inside tracks have to run less far than those on the outside. In order to ensure that everyone runs the same distance, the start is staggered, so that those on the inside appear to start much further back than those on the outside. It is not until the final straight that it is really possible to see who is winning. Longer races often start from a simple curved line. Athletes break out of their lanes quite quickly and each runs as close to the inside of the track as possible.

If they all started from the same line, then the athletes in the outer lanes would have to run further than the athletes in the inner lanes, because of the semicircles at the top and bottom of the track.

So each lane has to have a special starting position so they all have to run the same distance.

In every Olympic event, officials try to keep things is as fair as possible. In track, this means making sure runners cover the same distance. Short distances make this easy—simply paint a perpendicular line across the track to denote the starting and finishing points. This works quite nicely for the 100 meter race.

But what if the distance is longer than 100 meters? Of course, officials could use a longer track, creating, say, a 400 meter track for the 400 meter hurdles. But with longer distances, it starts getting difficult for spectators to see all the action. Instead, the answer is a curved track. Modern track and field tracks typically are an oval.

This presents a problem. If you run around the entire track, an inner lane is a shorter distance than an outer lane. The solution to this is to make the athletes start at different points on the track.

Some Athletes do not specialize in just one sport but maintain a very high standard at several. For them, multi-disciplinary sports, in which points are awarded for performance in a variety of events, are ideal.

A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of international significance was the Olympic Games, first held in modern times in 1896 in Athens, Greece and inspired by the Ancient Olympic Games, one of a number of such events held in antiquity. Most modern multi-sports events have the same basic structure. Games are held over the course of several days in and around a “host city”, which changes for each competition. Countries send national teams to each competition, consisting of individual athletes and teams that compete in a wide variety of sports. Athletes or teams are awarded gold, silver or bronze medals for first, second and third place respectively. Each game is generally held every four years, though some are annual competitions.

Fitness is the physical condition of an individual. When considered in terms of sports and other physical activity, it is often thought of as having four aspects: endurance, strength, flexibility and speed. Sports differ in the degree to which each of these factors is important. For example, weightlifting requires enormous strength, while a sprinter needs the greatest possible speed. The four aspects of fitness are measured in different ways, but one general way of measuring fitness is to see how the heart responds to physical activity. During exertion, the rate at which the heart beats increases, as it pumps more oxygenated blood around the body. How quickly the heart rate returns to normal after exercise is one way to assess how fit someone is and how exercise is improving their fitness.

Body Composition

Body composition measurement helps you understand how much fat and muscle mass are present in your body. Your height, age, weight, bone structure, and the ratio of fat and lean muscle are all considered to find out your body composition. If you workout at a gym, I am sure your trainer must have asked you to get a body composition analysis (BCA) done so that depending on your goals (weight loss or muscle gain), he/she can help you reach your target. Here’s how body composition is analyzed.

Flexibility

Flexibility is the measure of the ability of your muscles to move to their full range of motion. Since most of us lead a sedentary life, the joints become immobile and lose their flexibility. As a result, you feel a sharp pain and tightness in your joints when you are asked to move your body parts to do certain movements. But being flexible will help you prevent joint injuries. Regular exercise, stretching, and yoga are great for increasing flexibility. If your joints are weak, wear joint support. Start slow, but be persistent.

Muscle Strength

Muscle strength is the ability of your muscles to lift weight and exert a force against a resistance. For example, when you lift weights or a heavy box or a child, your muscles have to act against the gravitational pull to be able to lift the weight. The muscles have to contract and relax to complete the range of motion. Unless your muscles are strong and flexible, you will not be able to lift, push, and pull anything. Include strength training in your workout. Lifting weights on a regular basis or even doing bodyweight training will help improve your muscle strength.

Muscle Endurance

Muscle endurance is the measure of the ability of the muscles to perform the same task again and again without getting tired soon. For example, running a marathon is a typical example of muscle endurance power. It also shows how effectively your heart and lung muscles are working to keep your cells oxygenated and prevent fatigue.

Practice your run/jog/planks/push-ups/bicep curls. Do a mixed workout 4-5 days a week. Eat healthily and set new targets for every week. Increase the sets and reps of your exercise over a period.

Other components of Fitness for Athletes

You cannot achieve fitness overnight. You have to work at it consistently to achieve a fitness level and maintain it. Eating healthily, taking rest, and not giving up on your workout routine are the keys to being fit. Also, do a mixed workout – strength training, cardio, a sport, dance, yoga, etc. This will help train your muscles better than just doing one type of workout. If you’d like a more focused and personalized approach, hire a personal trainer to craft and monitor your workouts and a registered dietitian to dial in your nutrition to best complete your workouts. Most importantly, do not judge fitness depending on how you (or anyone else) look(s) and take care of your mental fitness as well. Take care!

For the general population, being healthy and fit is the main target. And health-related fitness aims at improving the overall well-being and functioning of the body. Here are the components of fitness and how to measure them.

Many of the sports we know today have their origins in ancient history. Some began as religious rituals. Others were tests of strength or endurance. Sporting competitions encouraged men to practise archery, horsemanship, wrestling and other exercises. This helped warriors prepare themselves for battle.

Today, there are professional sports people who train hard and compete regularly with others from around the world. Many people also play sports for fun and exercise. They may join in team sports such as football and hockey, or perform as individuals in sports such as tennis and running.

The most famous sporting competition in the world is the Olympic Games which are held every four years. It is named after Olympia in Greece, where the games were first held in ancient times. They began as a way of honouring the gods and gradually became an organized competition with running, throwing, jumping, wrestling, riding and chariot-racing events.

In the modern Olympics, begun in 1896, men and women from all over the world try to win bronze, silver and gold medals in their sport. The Games are held in a different city around the world each time. A special stadium is often built for the event, such as the one in Munich, Germany, for the 1972 Olympics.

Of all the popular sports, association football (soccer) is probably the most international. National sides from all over the world compete for the World Cup every four years.

Cricket is a favourite summer game in England, South Asia, southern Africa, Australasia and the West Indies, while baseball is played mainly in North America and Japan. Pelota is a fast ball game that originated in the Basque region of Spain, and which is now popular in Latin American countries.

Some people prefer taking to the water to sail or row boats. The most daring sailors pit their wits against all conditions in round-the-world races. White-water canoeists steer their long, narrow canoes through very rough water.

Basketball was invented in the United States in 1891.The object of the game is to throw the ball into the other team’s basket, a net mounted three metres above the court. The game of netball was adapted from basketball and is quite similar.

Horses are used in some sports, including racing. They may run on a level course or one in which they have to clear obstacles.

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 Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian to take a Test match hat-trick on March 11, 2001. In what would become a historic victory against Australia at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Harbhajan achieved the feat on the first day of the game. Ricky Pointing, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne were the victims of Harbhajan’s hat-trick.

Nearly five years after Harbhajan’s hat-trick, Irfan Pathan became the second Indian to take a Test hat-trick. He dismissed Salman Butt, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf in the very first over of the Test match against Pakistan at Karachi, Pakistan starting on January 29, 2006. India, however, lost this game as Pakistan won by 341 runs.

Bumrah became the third Indian and the latest entrant into the hat-trick club in Test cricket when he achieved the feat in the second Test against West Indies at Kingston, Jamaica. On August 31, 2019 – the second day of the Test match – Bumrah accounted for Darren Bravo, Sharmarh Brooks and Roston Chase off consecutive deliveries. India went on to win the match by 257 runs.

Darren Bravo was the first wicket in Bumrah’s hat-trick. Bumrah’s length ball that was swinging away from the left-hander, kissed the high part of the outside edge of the bat. K L Rahul did the rest, completing an easy catch at second slip.

Sharmarh Brooks was the second to be dismissed, given lbw to a length ball that thudded into his pads, swinging in from outside the off stump. It looked plumb, but Brooks chose to use the Decision Review System. It only meant that the Windies lost a review as the umpire’s decision stood.

A full inswinger that got Roston Chase on the toes completed Bumrah’s hat-trick. Even though the umpire was unmoved this time and Bumrah’s wasn’t even keen on reviewing, Virat Kohli immediately signalled for it. As the three reds for pitching, impact and hitting the wickets came on, Chase had no choice but to walk off, lbw.

 

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Dick Fosbury was a teenager who liked to high jump. In those days jumpers just ran up to the bar and jumped clearing their legs, their body and then their head. This was known as the scissors technique.

Sixteen-year-old Fosbury was frustrated with the traditional technique. He thought he could lower the resistance of gravity by jumping backwards and he developed a technique to do so.

Almost at once his records improved. Earlier he could clear only 1.65 m, now he could clear 1.78 m.

In 1964 he passed the 2 m mark. He represented the USA in the 1964 Olympics in Mexico. There he was, an unknown athlete competing against world class jumpers, all of whom used the scissors style. One by one, they were left behind, as Fosbury cleared 2.24 m to take the gold with a new Olympic record.

Nobody had heard of Dick Fosbury before the Olympics but by the end of the Games his name was on everyone’s lips. Fosbury’s coach warned that imitators could end up with broken necks. However all the world’s leading high jumpers abandoned their old techniques and started using the ‘Fosbury Flop’. Four years later at the 1972 Munich Olympics nobody using the traditional technique had qualified. By 1976 nobody remembered the traditional technique. Everyone was using the ‘Fosbury Flop’.

 

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I’m currently doing my B.A. Since my school days I was very interested in basketball and I represented my school in inter school tournaments and played for different local clubs. I believe I have talent and determination but due to the lack of infrastructure and facilities in my town I’m thinking to go back to my home state Jharkhand after my BA studies and start my career in basketball and play for my state. I searched online for basketball clubs, Sports Authority of India in Jharkhand but I couldn’t find anything. I want to be a basketball player but I don’t know how to start my basketball career in Jharkhand. Please help.

There are various institutes and academies under the Sports Authority of India (SAI) that impact training to young talents to transfom them into talented sportspersons. Other than SAI, there are many state level and private organizations that support sports enthusiasts. Basketball Federation of India (BFI) is the governing and controlling body of basketball in India, and is responsible for the development and promotion of this sport at all levels.

Remember, breaking into the sports profession is not an easy task. Just because you’re good, doesn’t give you a free pass to a professional career. The fact of the matter is that in order to get there, you need to put in plenty of hard work, more than you may anticipate. Also, most sportspeople compete as amateurs (unpaid) until they reach a sufficiently high standard to be offered payment for their performance. Professional sportspeople are usually paid on individual contracts.

 

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Michael Phelps (born June 30, 1985) is an American retired competitive swimmer and the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps is the long course world record holder in the men's 100 meter butterfly, 200 meter butterfly, and 400 meter individual medley as well as the former long course world record holder in the 200 meter freestyle and 200 meter individual medley. He has won 82 medals in major international long course competitions, of which 65 were gold, 14 silver, and 3 bronze, spanning the Olympics, the World Championships, and the Pan Pacific Championships. After the 2008 Summer Olympics, Phelps started the Michael Phelps Foundation, which focuses on growing the sport of swimming and promoting healthier lifestyles. Phelps retired following the 2012 Olympics, but he made a comeback in April 2014. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, his fifth Olympics, he was selected by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics Parade of Nations. He announced his second retirement on August 12, 2016, having won more medals than 161 countries. He is often considered the greatest swimmer of all time.

 

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Raymond "Ray" Clarence Ewry (October 14, 1873 – September 29, 1937) was an American track and field athlete who won eight gold medals at the Olympic Games and two gold medals at the Intercalated Games (1906 in Athens). This puts him among the most successful Olympians of all time.

Ewry was born in Lafayette, Indiana, and contracted polio as a young boy. In his childhood, he used a wheelchair, and it was feared that he might become paralyzed for life.

However, Ewry did his own exercises and overcame his illness. Ewry attended Purdue University in 1890–1897, where he captained the track and field team, played American football, and became a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity. After receiving a graduate degree in mechanical engineering at Purdue, he moved to New York. There he worked as hydraulics engineer and became a member of the New York Athletic Club. He specialized in now defunct events, the standing jumps: the standing high jump, the standing long jump and the standing triple jump. These events are identical to their modern, normal versions but are contested without a run-up.

 

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Royal or real tennis is the distant ancestor of lawn tennis, the game which is now played all over the world.

     The old game of Royal tennis was popular with the kings of both England and France in the 16th and 17th Centuries. It is mentioned in Shakespeare’s play Henry V. when the French Dauphin sent a contemptuous gift of tennis balls to the English king. A famous tennis court at Hampton Court Palace, near London, was built for Henry VIII in 1530. But the earliest known rules date from 1599, and those used today were drawn up in 1878.

     The game, which can be even more strenuous than lawn tennis, is played by two or four players, with a ball made of tightly bound cloth strips and rackets made of ash wood. About 27 inches long and weighting 15-17 ounces. The enclosed walled court is usually 96 feet long and 30 feet wide, with gallerious and openings which form the scoring points. Scoring is generally similar to lawn tennis, but usually the best of 11 games is played.