Chris Bosh: Cricket will always be the No. 1 sport in India

My first reaction:

Oh Lord! Say it ain't so Bosh, Say it ain't so!

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. 

Men's Tennis: Ramkumar Ramanathan

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.     

Association Football Stadiums by FIFA Ranking

Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata:

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:

1. Spain - 50 stadiums
2. Germany - 33 stadiums
3. Argentina - 29 stadiums
4. Croatia - 8 stadiums
5. Netherlands - 42 stadiums
6. Portugal - 17 stadiums
7. Colombia - 21 stadiums
8. Italy - 53 stadiums
9. England - 10 stadiums
10. Ecuador - 38 stadiums *
11. Russia - 36 stadiums
12. Belgium - 10 stadiums
13. Ivory Coast - 18 stadiums *
14. Switzerland - 7 stadiums
15. Bosnia-Herzegovina - 8 stadiums
16. Greece - 24 stadiums
17. Mexico - 33 stadiums
18. France - 9 stadiums
19. Uruguay - 20 stadiums
20. Denmark - 13 stadiums
21. Ghana - 8 stadiums
22. Brazil - 45 stadiums
23. Mali - 17 stadiums *
24. Czech Republic - 27 stadiums
25. Chile - 11 stadiums
26. Montenegro - 3 stadiums
27. Sweden - 26 stadiums
28. USA - 32 stadiums
29. Norway - 26 stadiums
30. Peru - 6 stadiums

FIFA Top 25 Asian Teams:

1. Japan - 36 stadiums
2. Australia - 12 stadiums
3. Korean Republic - 61 stadiums
4. Iran - 25 stadiums 
5. Uzbekistan - 16 stadiums *
6. Jordan - 7 stadiums *
7. UAE - 15 stadiums *
8. Oman - 9 stadiums *
9. China - 15 stadiums
10. Iraq - 20 stadiums 
11. Saudi Arabia - 16 stadiums *
12. Tajikistan - 4 stadiums *
13. Kuwait - 9 stadiums *
14. Korea DPR - 25 stadiums *
15. Qatar - 11 stadiums *
16. Bahrain - 1 stadium
17. Lebanon - 14 stadiums *
18. Turkmenistan - 5 stadiums *
19. Kyrgyzstan - 6 stadiums *
20. Thailand - 60 stadiums *
21. Afghanistan - 4 stadiums *
22. Syria - 9 stadiums *
23. Philippines - 4 stadiums *
24. Vietnam - 37 stadiums *
25. 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.