Besides Virk's gold, India won two silver and as many bronze medals in the championship.
In the finals that concluded this morning, Virk got the better of rowers from Iran and China in 7:31.88 minutes to bag the yellow metal.
The team of Anil Kumar, Robin P Ulahannan, Olympian Bajrang Lal Thakar, Ranjit Singh, Kapil Sharma, Mohammed Azad, Maninder Singh and Davinder Singh took 6:12.47 minutes to win the silver medal in Men's Eights event.
While Kapil Sharma, Mohammed Azad, Maninder Singh and Davinder Singh bagged the Men's Fours silver in 6:03.50 minutes.
India won the bronze in Lightweight Men's Double Sculls with Sonu Laxmi Narian and Shokindar Tomar winning it in 6:57.13 minutes.
Monalisha, Dittymol Varghese, Chaoba Devim and Amusana Devi clinched a bronze in Lightweight Women's Quadruple Sculls with a timing of 7:03.33 minutes.
In Men's Quadruple Sculls, Rakesh Raliya, Deepak Rana, Dushyant and Olympian Manjeet Singh finished fourth with a timing of 6:01.03 minutes.
Virk finished at the 16th place after finishing fourth in a minor placings race in the men's single sculls event at the London Olympics.
Virk had booked his berth for the 2012 London Games by winning the major qualifying event at the FISA Olympic Continental Qualification Regatta for Asia in Chung Ju, Korea.
It was Afghanistan's first SAFF championship and they really deserve it. India played well and ended up having many shots on goal but couldn't convert them into goals. Afghanistan played an intelligent game and had great counter attacks for India's missed opportunities.
India won the last two SAFF championships and we just didn't have the firepower to pull of a hat-trick, our team needs to improve more on defense and play smarter football going forward. It is exciting to see a new force rising in South Asia to form a rivalry against India. Good competition is not a bad thing, it will foster rivalries and improve India's footballing quality and South Asia as a whole.
Congrats to Afghanistan, it just wasn't India's turn this time and it certainly won't be the last opportunity.
All the wrestling fraternity and wrestling fans from India are elated about the fact that IOC brought back Wrestling into the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Over the last two Olympic events India rode a lot of its hopes on the sport of wrestling for winning medals. India won 3 medals in wrestling over the last two Olympic Events. The medal count might not seem like it is a lot but they do mean a lot for the sport of wrestling in India.
Sushil Kumar, who won a Bronze medal in 2008 Beijing Olympics and a Silver medal in 2012 London Olympics is a national hero. Yogeshwar Dutt, who won a Bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympics is someone millions of Indian children look up to for inspiration. There is a clear increase in the number of kids taking up wrestling as a sport in India. Many kids in India dream of achieving what Sushil and Yogeshwar have done. It would have been a disaster for the sport of wrestling in India if wresting got snubbed from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Anyways, a disaster was averted! Thank you IOC for waking up and reinstating wrestling as an Olympic sport.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, India ended up defeating a stronger Maldives team. Sunil Chhetri (C) wasn't able to play in the semi-final because he got double booked with yellow cards in the prior games of the tournament. With out Chhetri the Indian team was deflated and judging by how strong Maldives' performance was and how weak India's performance was in the prior games of this tournament it was hard to imagine India winning the match.
The final score was 1-0 in India's favor. Arnab Mondal, the Indian Center Back, was the one who scored the game winning goal in the 86th minute. It was Mondal's first International goal, the 23 year old lad scored it at a crucial moment of his national team.
Here is the goal scored by Arnab Mondal:
You can watch the complete India vs. Maldives match here:
This game is a great confidence booster for the Indian side. They will be facing off against Afghanistan in the finals of the tournament. Afghanistan is the highest FIFA ranked team in South Asia (139th) and it will be a tough match for India. The final is scheduled to be played on September 11th. I will keep you updated about the outcome of that match-up.
The South Asian Football Federation Championship has commenced on August 31st. The tournament is between Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka. India was part of Group A in the Group phase of the tournament facing off against Nepal (home team), Bangladesh, and Pakistan. You can get the schedules of the tournament on this link.
India's First Match: Against Pakistan
The match took place on September 1st, India ended up winning the match 1-0 while earning itself 3 points in the group phase.
You can watch the complete game here:
India's Second Match: Against Bangladesh
This match ended up being a draw with a score of 1-1. India and Bangladesh both ended up earning 1 point each for the draw.
You can watch the complete game here:
India's Third Match: Against Nepal
Nepal ended up beating India with a score of 2-1, India didn't earn any points for this game but ended up making it to the Semi-finals of the tournament with a total of 4 points. Pakistan also had 4 points, but India had a higher goal differential so it got the Indian team over the hump to reach the Semifinals.
You can watch the game against Nepal here:
India will face Maldives in the Semi-final game on September 9th. I will post the results going forward and also the complete match videos.
NEW YORK– Indian qualifier Somdev Devvarman needed five sets over eight hours between rain delays and a determined foe, but he reached the second round of the US Open on Wednesday with a clutch late performance.
The 28-year-old former US college star defeated Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in three hours and 11 minutes of match time, although rain halted the match for more than four hours after he won the third set.
“Bummer for me, momentum switch,” Devvarman said. “But you have to pull your pants up and deal with it. Just the nature of the beast.”
Devvarman made 36 unforced errors, fewer than half of Lacko’s 73 such mistakes, and hung tough at the finish
“When you are playing in the fifth set, a lot of it is you play with adrenaline at that point. I know both of us were dying at the end,” Devvarman said ”I was pretty antsy and he was too. The nervous energy affected the both of us. We were just trying to do our best.”
Devvarman had just battled back to secure the third set when showers began to fall, sending him into the locker room. After a tease of returning quicker, more rain left him to sit and the marathon wait continue.
“I got two quarters of a meal at different times,” Devvarman said. “You just take a shower, eat and try to relax. You are in there with a bunch of your friends, playing games and the time passes pretty quickly.”
So did his momentum.
“Stopping and starting, it was a little unlucky to stop there,” he said. “You can’t control the weather. It changed the momentum. He came out and played well, changed his tactics. He played a great fourth and fifth sets.”
But at 4-4 in the final set, Devvarman came through with a break and held to book a second-round date with Italian 20th seed Andreas Seppi.
“I’m very happy with the way I played. It was an incredibly tough match,” Devvarman said. “I played a few great scramble points there in the fifth set at 4-4. I’m happy with that last bit of effort out there.”
Devvarman said having to fight through three qualifying matches has been an advantage.
“Less time on the court is better but you do what you can to take advantage of what you have,” Devvarman said. “I’m familiar with the speed of the courts. I’ve played a lot of matches.
“I’m match sharp. I hope I can take advantage of that in the next match. The only way I can improve is to fight through every match and I feel like I’ve done that.”
Indian Team Sports Ranking World Rank Date: 8/15/13
Test Cricket 2nd
One Day International Cricket 1st
Twenty20 3rd
Tennis Davis Cup 26th
Men's Football (Soccer) 145th (improved)
Women's Football (Soccer) 50th
Men's Basketball 58th
Women's Basketball 40th
Boys Basketball 43rd
Girls Basketball 39th
Men's Volleyball 30th
Women's Volleyball 103rd
Junior Boys Volleyball 16th
Junior Girls Volleyball 29th
Men's Rugby 74th
Men's Field Hockey 11th
Women's Field Hockey 12th
Individual Sports ranking:
Men's Single's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Somdev Devvarman 113th (improved)
Saketh Myeni 267th
Prakash Amritraj 312th
Men's Double's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Rohan Bopanna 5th
Mahesh Bhupathi 6th
Leander Paes 10th
Women's Single's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Ankita Raina 352nd (improved)
Rishika Sunkara 531st
Prerna Bhambri 592nd
Women's Double's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Sania Mirza 18th (improved)
Rishika Sunkara 377th (improved)
Kyra Shroff 512th (improved)
Men's Single's Badminton: India's Top 3 World Rank
P. Kashyap 14th
R.M.V Gurusaidutt 20th (improved)
Ajay Jairam 24th
Men's Double's Badminton: India's Top 2 World Bank
Pranav Jerry Chopra 40th
Akshay Divalkar 40th
Women's Single's Badminton: India's Top 3 World Rank
Saina Nehwal 4th
P.V Sindhu 10th (improved)
Arundhati Pantawane 54th
Women's Double's Badminton: India's Top 2 World Rank
Pradnya Gadre 29th
Ashwini Ponnappa 29th
If you think there is any other sport that should be added to this, please let me know and if you could provide me the source of where I can find the rankings it will be of great help. Thank you.
During the Citi Open Somdev Devvarman and John Isner (USA) played each other in the 3rd round of the tournament today. It was a decently contested match which ended with a score of 7-5,7-5 in Isner's favor. Both the players were rivals in college, in their last encounter Somdev beat Isner and as a result ended up clinching the 2007 NCAA Championship. Isner went on to play in the professional circuit after that loss while Somdev decided to finish off his college career by playing in his senior year, he ended up winning the 2008 NCAA Championship to become the second player to do it in back to back years.
This time around though Isner got to redeem himself in the professional circuit. Six years after their last encounter John Isner clearly ended up becoming a more refined pro, he always had more upside compared to Somdev due to his strong serve and height advantage. It was evident during the match that both the players are much improved from the past, hopefully we will end up seeing another match up between the two in the future.
All in all it was a good tournament for Somdev, he is currently playing at a Top-75 level and came short against a Top-25 Isner. The final result could have been sweeter for him but Somdev should gain a lot of confidence from his performance in this tournament and carry it into the rest of the tennis season. I will keep you updated with his endeavors going forward in the hard court season.
The event took place on 7/30/13 in Nepal. It was a great match, and I want you to see for yourself the quality and the outcome of the game. I am personally pretty impressed with the talent on both of these teams.
Somdev Devvarman ends up beating the World No. 25 and last year's Citi Open Champion, Alexandr Dolgopolov, with a score of 6-3, 7-6. This is definitely one of the best victories Somdev accomplished to date and he did it in a very decisive fashion.
Somdev has earned around 100 ATP points so far in this tournament and this will put him closer to the Top-100 range. As I have mentioned yesterday Somdev will most likely end up playing against John Isner, they were both rivals in the NCAA tennis circuit and faced each other in the 2007 NCAA Championship. Somdev was the underdog in 2007 and he ended up upsetting Isner who was a No. 1 seed. I am sure this will be an awesome match up to watch, mainly because Isner knows Somdev's game and he will be ready for this re-match.
To Isner's credit he is much improved since his college days (as is Somdev), he is currently ranked No. 22 in the world so we can certainly consider him to be the favorite in this match up. If Somdev can muster up enough energy from his tank to beat Isner this will be an amazing run for the Indian.
Win or lose in the next match, we know for sure that Somdev is back!!! May be even as a better player...
Here is the draw for the tournament: Citi Open Draw
Here is the tournament page, you can get the live scores as the match progresses: Citi Open
Somdev Devvarman, India's No. 1 tennis player, is about to enter back into the Top-100 world ranking. In 2012 he had shoulder surgery and had a long lay off from the tennis tour, as a result his ranking dropped and he fell way bellow the Top-100. His career high was 62 towards the middle of 2011.
His official ranking at the moment is 129 but currently he is playing in the Citi Open in Washington D.C and ended up winning through the qualifier rounds which will end up earning him 10 ATP points. Today he played against Rhyne Williams (USA, ranked 116), Somdev won the match decisively with a 7-5, 6-1 scoreline and notched himself 35 ATP points. With a total earned points during this tournament he would move into the 115 range in the world rankings. If he can muster up a win or two in this tournament he would comfortably move himself into a Top-100 spot.
Somdev has a tough player ahead of him in Alexandr Dolgopolov, who is currently ranked 25th in the world and was the champion last year at the Citi Open. The chances of Somdev winning this match going forward is low but if he can pull it off it would boost his confidence and propel him with a momentum into the US Open.
In case Somdev beats Dolgopolov his next opponent will most likely be his old college rival John Isner who is ranked 20th in the world. This tournament is a tough climb going forward but lets hope Somdev will be able to do something unimaginable for the Indian tennis fans. The match against Dolgopolov is tomorrow (July 30th) at 4:00 PM (EST). I will post an update about the outcome of the game.
Here is the tournament page, you can get the live scores as the match progresses: Citi Open
The World Paralympic Championship is taking place in Lyon, France. Devendra participated in the Javelin throw event and notched a personal best of 57.04 meters. This medal is a milestone for the country and winning at such a high level was always a dream for Devendra since his childhood.
He said, "Sport is where an entire life can be compressed into a few hours, where the emotions of a lifetime can be felt on an acre or two of ground, where a person can suffer, die and then rise again on six miles of trails through a park." Devendra lost his arm in a severe life threatening accident and he suffered from the tragedy. As he implied in the above statement he certainly rose out of those ashes of suffering to achieve something great for himself and the country.
The president of the Paralympics Committee of India, Sultan Ahmed, announced that Devendra will get a cash prize of 5,00,000 rupees. Devendra is from the state of Rajastan and he is also an employee of the Indian Railways.
Sunil Chhetri just returned back to India after ending his contract with the Sporting Clube de Portugal (side B). The Indian captain wasn't getting enough playing time so he didn't want to waste a year sitting on the bench.
He decided to join JSW, the newly formed I-league club in Bangalore, they did a great job attracting Chhetri and signing a two year contract with them. It is a good PR move by the club which will bring much needed attention and garner support from the Indian footballing fans. Chhetri said, "I met the people at JSW a few months ago and the first thing that struck me was the passion behind all the planning. I want to play for a club that’s clear about its vision and I saw that in JSW. I know I am coming from a champion team but that works as more motivation here".
It is somewhat of a let down knowing that the figure head of the current Indian football isn't able to land a real place in a club abroad. Chhetri had a stint a couple of years back with the Kansas City Wizards, an MLS club in the US, but he couldn't fit in with the physicality of the game in the US. The stint in Portugal was in the second tier club yet it wasn't fruitful. India has been having a hard time producing players who can play abroad, but there are a bunch of upcoming players in India who might have a shot at playing abroad.
Here are the potential candidates who might end up playing abroad: 1) Syed Rahim Nabi:
Nabi was picked as AIFF's Player of the season and he is arguably the best offensive player India has to offer currently. Recently he has been garnering interest from abroad and was invited for a trial with the DC United from the MLS. The likelihood of him being selected is not too high at DC mainly because DC has some good talent in Pontius, Deleon and recently acquired Luis Silva from Toronto. The only way DC would pick Nabi is if they can see him as a substitution player for one of their offensive players. Nabi is a very versatile player and he has the experience and capability to play any one of the offensive positions. He is 27 years old and is at the prime of his career so lets hope he finds a spot abroad soon.
Nabi said, "DC United has seen my video clips and apparently that has evoked a lot of interest. It has been a childhood dream to play abroad. I will give my best in the trials so that i can grab a contract."
2) Moirangthem Gouramangi Singh:
Singh is actually the best defender on the Indian team. He is physically strong and can probably hold his own abroad in the leagues in Australia, U.S, and New Zealand. He had a trial with the Melbourne Heart a couple of years ago, there were reports that he impressed the coaching staff but they didn't end up giving him a spot over their local talent. He is currently one of the highest paid players in the I-league so may be he doesn't see the need or have too much of a desire to play abroad.
3) Subrata Pal:
Pal is the current Indian national goal keeper. He is a talented 6'1'' goalie with many years of experience in the I-league and the Indian national team. He is only 26 years old which is very young for a goal keeper, if Pal can stay physically fit he can possibly play into his mid 30s. He has a lot of potential if he gets picked up by a team abroad and is groomed correctly. A few years ago he had a trial with the Vancouver Whitecaps but it didn't pan out for him. During the 2010 Asian Games he was pretty impressive and garnered a lot of attention from the Asian fans, the Japanese press jokingly called him Spiderman. If he works hard and improves his game a little bit more it wouldn't be a surprise if he gets picked up by a team abroad.
4) Jeje Lalpekhlua:
Jeje is currently 22 years old and is one of the young guns of Indian football and most likely the face of Indian football after Sunil Chhetri. He falls in the mold of players who have had good training instruction from his late teen years, his predecessors (Chhetri, Nabi, Gouramangi, and Pal) all probably wish they had the guidance Jeje and his peers received in their teens. He was part of the first Indian Arrows team and was their offensive spearhead, at an age of 20 years he competed with the best of the Indian footballers and held his own and managed to keep the Indian Arrows competitive in the I-league.
Out of all the players mentioned above in the article I think Jeje has the best chance to play abroad. He is strong, talented, was trained and taken care of professionally by the AIFF. He played for Pune FC for the past two years and just recently signed with Dempo SC. He had a bit of a set back over the last couple of years when he got injured, but he is recovering properly and will be back soon hopefully as a much better player. 5) Brandon Fernandes:
This 19 year old mid-fielder from Goa is projected to be one of the stars of Indian football. He was scouted at a very young age and received an opportunity to train with the African Soccer Development (ASD) academy in Cape Town, South Africa. Brandon is known for his brilliance with passing, field vision and his very advanced free-kick technique. He played for the India's U-13, U-14, U-15, U-16, U-17, and U-19 teams.
He recently got invited for trials with the Reading FC (Premier League club) and the Leicester City FC (Champions League club). He apparently did well during those trials but there hasn't been any word if he was picked by either teams for their developmental teams. It would be a really great opportunity for him to get picked by these clubs because they have a history of developing players to their full potential. It would be an amazing boon for Indian football as well because many more kids will gain confidence from Brandon's forays into the European footballing world.
Brandon represents the next generation of Indian footballers who (unlike Jeje's peers and predecessors) are receiving training and guidance starting in their mid-teens. The U-16 team for example has been traveling abroad more extensively and playing their peers from other countries. This gives them more exposure to the outside world and footballing cultures. Part of the challenge in playing abroad is to thrive in the local cultures and adjust to local personalities.
Here is a small clip of one of Brandon's goals:
I will keep you all updated in case there are any new developments in regards to Indian players getting opportunities to play abroad.
Here is a good article written by the Press Trust of India about the new IBL auction:
Success of IBL auction proves growing popularity of sport, says Badminton Association of India
The grand success of Indian Badminton League's (IBL) inaugural players' auction has proved the growing popularity of the sport in India, said BAI president Akhilesh Das Gupta.
Das Gupta was delighted with the outcome of Monday's auction where six franchisees picked up 60 players.
"A generous amount has been spent on Indian players by the franchisees, which is a very positive sign for the Indian players and the sport as a whole. Other than auction money the players would also be getting endorsement deals," Das Gupta said.
While world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, who was bought by Mumbai Masters for USD 135,000, was the most sought-after player India's shuttle queen Saina Nehwal was not far behind as she commanded a price of USD 120,000 from Hyderabad HotShots.
"Today's auction reflected a healthy and exciting competitive streak among the franchisees and shed light on their game plan. The IBL auction has set the ball rolling for what promises to be an inimitable experience in sports entertainment," said Das Gupta, who is also the chairman of IBL Governing Council.
"BAI's support has ensured that the IBL takes off well. The players will benefit tremendously in terms of value," Das Gupta added.
Chief national coach, Pulella Gopichand, who present at the auction held at a city hotel here, appreciated the efforts of IBL organisers.
"The BAI president and IBL team has to be commended for bringing this wonderful event and hope the money which the players earned will only go to motivate them further in proving their performances," he said.
Among other notable Indian players, Asian junior champion P V Sindhu (USD 80,000) went to the Lucknow Warriors, London Olympic quarterfinalist P Kashyap (USD 75000) was picked by Banga Beat, the Bangalore Team and emerging stars like B Sai Praneeth and Guru Sai Dutt commanded a price of USD 40,000.
Then I thought, may be I should look into what Bosh actually said instead of going into a traumatized state of mind as I can't stop imagining the status-quo in India for perpetuity where Cricket is the only sport every kid plays. Oh the night mare and the boredom!
This is actually what Bosh said:
"I don't think basketball will be the most popular sport in India. Even in America it isn't the most popular sport. American football will always be the king, but that doesn't mean a lot of people won't like basketball. I think cricket will always be the national sport, but it is always great to [play] other sports and [learn from other people] to see what else is out there.
I have heard about different guys in [Indian colleges] who have the ability to develop their talent. Given the right situation, it is not going to take long. I am sure it is going to be very exciting. Once an Indian player makes it to the NBA, kids will watch that and they will know they can do it.
I think the work we are doing here will go a long way. There are other ways through which you can get people's interest. With the development of technology and social media, the people of India can see what a great game it is. People can see an NBA game. If they like it they will play the game or still remain a fan.
I will probably coordinate with NBA here. They brought me here, otherwise I never would have had the chance to come here. It is great that the NBA is here.
Hopefully, one day I will be able to come back and be one of the spokespersons for basketball here. This is a once in a lifetime experience. As I grow as a person, I have the ability or have the chance to come back, if I do, I will try to and grow the game."
[On playing in future international events]
"I don't think I will play in the Olympics again, I have kids and a family. Our summers are short, we work so hard during the season that I want to give them some time in the summer.
Plus I want other guys to experience it, because it is such a great game. I want other guys to enjoy it and have great stories, just have a good time playing international basketball because it is such a great thing."
[On his move from the Toronto Raptors to the Miami Heat]
"It was a very difficult decision but I'm happy I made it. Toronto was a great place for me, where I grew a lot as a player. Miami was a chance to take it to the next step. I'm really glad we [Miami] won, it shows I made the right decision. [In working with the team] it has taught me a lot more about team concept, what you have to give up to be on a team, how difficult it is to come together as a team and succeed. The bond that you great when you go through tough situations with guys.I have had such good time with the team and we have made bonds that will last a lifetime because of that.
We have a lot of work do. We can get a lot better. We have a chance to be mentioned with some of the best teams that have played the game. We know we have the chance. We know we have to work hard and stay focused doing what we are supposed to do and it will happen. We just concentrate and hopefully one day we can say we were one of the best teams to have played NBA."
[In regards to his role models]
"My dad played a lot and so it came naturally to me. I found I could play and I enjoyed playing it. It has been that ever since when I first picked up the basketball. I am just fortunate to have the success I have had. I never thought I could make it this far.
My role model in the NBA is Kevin Garnett. As I started getting older and went to high school, I started paying more attention to the NBA. I wanted to be just like him because we play the same position, to do what he did and try to be like him. "
To paraphrase what Bosh said:
Basketball is coming to India and it is here to stay. This is a great game and people will fall in love with it. Will it ever beat cricket in popularity? No. But if we can handle being as popular as we are playing second fiddle to American Football in the US, then we can do the same in India.
If anyone asks me to name an upcoming Indian tennis player who has the potential to be in the world's Top-100 one of the names that pop into my mind would be Ramkumar Ramanathan. This 18 year old dude is from Chennai and stands taller than 6'3'', and from what I heard he is very disciplined and hardworking.
The Tamil Nadu Tennis Association is sponsoring Ramkumar to train at the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy in Spain. With his singles ranking at 703 and his doubles rank standing at 603, many tennis fans like myself are waiting anxiously for this lad to take his game to another level. It is a wonder though about why he is training on clay courts instead of working on his game on the hard or grass courts. Considering the fact that he is tall and could develop a strong serve it would seem he is more suited to play on hard and grass courts.
The evidence is also in the results of his matches. He has been competing in the Spanish clay circuit for the past two years without too much success, but recently he played in a hard court Futures Tournament in Spain and ended up reaching the finals. In the final, Ramkumar fought hard against Steven Diez (world rank: 267), and ended up losing a close match with a score of 5-7, 7-6(4), 4-6.
Regardless of which surface he is training on, lets hope he is getting good instruction from the Sanchez-Casal Tennis Academy. Spain produces the best tennis players in the world (i.e Nadal, Ferrer, Moya and etc.), may be the Spanish secret is to develop players on the clay surface? We will see if that secret holds true for Ramkumar's future success.
I will keep you updated about his progress as time goes on, but remember his name because most likely you will read about him again in the future.
I wanted to make a list of the number of Association football stadiums by the order of the FIFA rankings to show the importance of sports infrastructure for the countries' standing in the world rankings.
Top 25 FIFA teams:
Spain - 50 stadiums
Germany - 33 stadiums
Argentina - 29 stadiums
Croatia - 8 stadiums
Netherlands - 42 stadiums
Portugal - 17 stadiums
Colombia - 21 stadiums
Italy - 53 stadiums
England - 10 stadiums
Ecuador - 38 stadiums *
Russia - 36 stadiums
Belgium - 10 stadiums
Ivory Coast - 18 stadiums *
Switzerland - 7 stadiums
Bosnia-Herzegovina - 8 stadiums
Greece - 24 stadiums
Mexico - 33 stadiums
France - 9 stadiums
Uruguay - 20 stadiums
Denmark - 13 stadiums
Ghana - 8 stadiums
Brazil - 45 stadiums
Mali - 17 stadiums *
Czech Republic - 27 stadiums
Chile - 11 stadiums
Montenegro - 3 stadiums
Sweden - 26 stadiums
USA - 32 stadiums
Norway - 26 stadiums
Peru - 6 stadiums
FIFA Top 25 Asian Teams:
Japan - 36 stadiums
Australia - 12 stadiums
Korean Republic - 61 stadiums
Iran - 25 stadiums
Uzbekistan - 16 stadiums *
Jordan - 7 stadiums *
UAE - 15 stadiums *
Oman - 9 stadiums *
China - 15 stadiums
Iraq - 20 stadiums
Saudi Arabia - 16 stadiums *
Tajikistan - 4 stadiums *
Kuwait - 9 stadiums *
Korea DPR - 25 stadiums *
Qatar - 11 stadiums *
Bahrain - 1 stadium
Lebanon - 14 stadiums *
Turkmenistan - 5 stadiums *
Kyrgyzstan - 6 stadiums *
Thailand - 60 stadiums *
Afghanistan - 4 stadiums *
Syria - 9 stadiums *
Philippines - 4 stadiums *
Vietnam - 37 stadiums *
India - 5 stadiums <--------------------------------------------------------------
* If there is an asterix next to the stat it means I couldn't determine how many of the stadiums are the country's association football stadiums.
To have enough football infrastructure in India, my educated guess would be at the minimum to have 50 association stadiums around the country by 2050. As per the country's population the number should be much higher, may be close to a hundred, but let's be realistic about the goals. I specify association stadiums because it is important that the AIFF has the convenience to field a practice when ever it deems necessary. If the AIFF thinks a group of state players need a stadium to prepare for an event they can't go to a privately owned stadium to use it as a practice ground. So it is important to have Association football stadiums where Indian football has the highest priority.
Indian Team Sports Ranking World Rank Date: 7/13/13
Test Cricket 2nd (improved)
One Day International Cricket 1st
Twenty20 3rd
Tennis Davis Cup 26th
Men's Football (Soccer) 146th (improved)
Women's Football (Soccer) 50th (improved)
Men's Basketball 58th
Women's Basketball 40th
Boys Basketball 43rd
Girls Basketball 39th
Men's Volleyball 30th
Women's Volleyball 103rd
Junior Boys Volleyball 16th
Junior Girls Volleyball 29th
Men's Rugby 74th
Men's Field Hockey 11th
Women's Field Hockey 12th
Individual Sports ranking:
Men's Single's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Somdev Devvarman 131st (improved)
Saketh Myeni 266th (improved)
Prakash Amritraj 308th (improved)
Men's Double's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Rohan Bopanna 5th (improved)
Mahesh Bhupathi 6th (improved)
Leander Paes 9th (improved)
Women's Single's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Ankita Raina 363rd
Rishika Sunkara 528th (improved)
Prerna Bhambri 582nd
Women's Double's Tennis: India's Top 3 World Rank
Sania Mirza 19th
Rishika Sunkara 394th (improved)
Kyra Shroff 516th (improved)
Men's Single's Badminton: India's Top 3 World Rank
P. Kashyap 12th
R.M.V Gurusaidutt 22nd (improved)
Ajay Jairam 24th (improved)
Men's Double's Badminton: India's Top 2 World Bank
Pranav Jerry Chopra 38th
Akshay Divalkar 38th
Women's Single's Badminton: India's Top 3 World Rank
Saina Nehwal 3rd
P.V Sindhu 12th
Arundhati Pantawane 52nd (improved)
Women's Double's Badminton: India's Top 2 World Rank
Pradnya Gadre 27th (improved)
Ashwini Ponnappa 27th (improved)
If you think there is any other sport that should be added to this, please let me know and if you could provide me the source of where I can find the rankings it will be of great help. Thank you.
