In a New Era of Sports - Big is Beautiful
A big knock, a big serve, a big jump - 'big is beautiful' in today's world of sports. We look at some of the aspects that have helped sports grow and evolve to what it is today, factors that shape the athletes and their future.
- Disha Chopra
- Updated: April 20, 2015 04:24 PM IST
I read about a 21-year old English cricketer Liam Livingstone smashing 350 runs in a club one-day game and I was like "Wow! What times have come?" I remember the time, somewhere in the 90s when India reaching the 200 run-mark was like being in the safe zone and wouldn't be called as an easy chase for the opposing team. And now, 200 is a good score only in the Twenty20 format.
In fact not only in cricket, other sports too are getting fast and furious.
Badminton, squash and tennis have become such power sports - faster serves, piercing smashes and some unbelievable shots.
Golf and 350-yard drives are a norm on big tours- power and precision are the name of the game.
Athletics - the mother of all sporting competition is literally getting 'Faster-Higher-Stronger'- like the Olympic motto.
Usain Bolt's unbelievable speed on the track, Michael Phelps' skill in water, Djokovic' returns- Sportspersons have gone from being heroes to super heroes in most respects.
The main reasons for this could be attributed to the following:
Sports' New Gadgets:
More R & D in Sports Equipment: Light weight graphic shafts, aerodynamic gear, altered sizes and perfectly angled tools. You should not 'blame your tools but you can certainly thank them time to time!" Golfer Ryo Ishikawa's driver didn't cost a million dollars for nothing.
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Sports Get Super Fit:
Call it the 'Tiger Woods' effect on golf or the 'Virat Kohli effect' on cricket. Athletes of today are lean-mean fighting machines. What's more, adding Yoga, meditation and alternate therapies to the fitness regime have made today's athletes, lean-mean fighting machines.
You Get What You Eat:
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80% of how and what we are depends on what we eat. Nutrition today is a huge factor in every athlete's development. Carefully regimented diets, approved supplements and vitamins are the need of the hour.. After all it's for this reason that Saina Nehwal didn't have a single ice-cream till she won her 1st international title!
Add to that the fact that Sports has now moved from being a profession to an industry in itself. Big money, big power, big performances- soak in the new-age world of sports where 'Big is Beautiful'.