Category Sports

How many players can be eligible receivers in football?

The National Football League or NFL is a professional American football league in the U.S. For a long time, NFL rules dictated that wide receivers – a forward pass-catching specialist – wear uniform numbers between 80 to 89. The league changed this restriction in 2004 and since then many pass-catchers have preferred lower jersey numbers.

Perception of size

In 2019, ESPN looked at possible reasons as to why so many wide receivers preferred to wear lower jersey numbers. The story stated that many athletes picked these numbers as they believed it made them look faster and slimmer. A professor of psychology and neuroscience who was quoted in the story offered a psychological explanation for this phenomenon, but clarified that there was no scientific research on the subject.

That has changed now with a new University of California, Los Angeles study published in the journal PLOS ONE in September revealing certain insights. Subjects in the study, which included two experiments, consistently rated images with players in jerseys numbered 10 to 19 as thinner than those in jerseys numbered 80 to 89, even for body sizes that were actually the same.

For their study, the researchers showed respondents computer-generated images of players in the same pose, but different body sizes, skin and jersey colours, and asked to judge slenderness. Each player was seen twice by the subjects, but with different jersey numbers – one high and one low. Regardless of the different factors, players in smaller jersey numbers were perceived as thinner than those wearing bigger jersey numbers.

Learned associations

 In a second experiment, the researchers repeated the process in person. To address concerns that the amount of jersey space occupied by numbers from 80 to 89 (since 8 is wider than 1) could make players look larger, they chose number combinations that used the same numerals, but in different orders: 17 and 71, 18 and 81, 19 and 91. In this experiment too, subjects continued to perceive those with lower jersey numbers as being more slender, even though the effect was smaller than in the first experiment.

This study thus suggests that previously learned statistical associations between numbers and sizes influence even the perception of body size. In our everyday lives, we are used to seeing bigger numbers on bigger versions of similar types of objects. These learned associations usually help our brains thrive, enhancing the chances of survival.

While how viewers perceive the body size of American football players will have minimal effect on their performance, such biases might be harmful in other walks of life – be it when it influences judgement or when behaviour towards certain social groups is affected, a phenomenon known as implicit bias. Being aware might help us reduce implicit bias.

Picture Credit: Google

What is an unusual sport?

Ever played pillow fights at home? Did you know that pillow fight is indeed a profesional sport? Let’s learn about some of the unique and unusual sports.

ZORBING

A highly adventurous sport zorbing has the participants roll inside a zorb on a slope or a levelled surface. The participants fit themselves inside the inflatable bubble or a zorb ball and have only one task at hand- that is to reach the finish line as fast as possible. The sport uses two kinds of orbs viz a hamessed orb or a non-hamessed one. While the former has a smaller in-built capacity for one or two riders at a time, the latter can carry three to four riders at a time.

CYCLE BALL

Here is another hybrid sport, where you cycle and play football. This cycling game has two opposing teams on bicycles trying to trap and navigate the ball into the goal post using just the wheels of the cycle. Cycle ball is played indoors.

CHESS BOXING

Chess is a sport that requires mental agility, while boxing tests your physical strength. Now imagine blending these two. Chess boxing is a hybrid sport that combines chess and boxing. The sport has players alternating between one round of each discipline until one of them wins in either discipline. So you either win by knockout in the boxing rounds or by checkmate in the chess rounds.

WIFE CARRYING

A sport that originated in Finland, wife carrying involves male competitors racing, with each canying a female teammate. The first wife carrying event was held in Finland in 1992. Here, the teammates are not required to be legally married. The goal is to carry the teammate through a special obstacle track. There are no restrictions on how the female teammate is carried. Piggyback and fireman's carry (over the shoulder) are the most common. The team will be penalised if the teammate is dropped.

CHEESE ROLLING

An annual race held at Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth, Gloucester, England, cheese rolling competition has the participants hurtling down a steep incline after a cheese wheel. Traditionally the cheese is made from Gloucester cattle, an endangered breed. The event is said to be based on an old tradition that dates back some 600 years. The nine-pound double cheese wheel is set in motion from the top of the incline of Cooper's Hill and the participants charge after it, sometimes rolling down and tumbling down. The sport is also one of the dangerous ones as accidents are bound to happen as the participants move down the steep gradient of the hill. The person who crosses the finish line wins. The prize is the cheese wheel.

PILLOW FIGHTING

Pillow fights are not just a fun activity you indulge in with your siblings or cousins, it's become a professional sport now. This new combat sport moved into the boxing ring in 2022, as the first-ever professional "Pillow Fighting Championship (PFC)" was held. As many as 16 men and eight women having backgrounds in mixed martial arts and boxing took part in the first edition of the showdown. As per the rules pillows made of foam are used in the combat. Here two competitors stand six feet apart and try to hit the opponent over the head as many times as possible. The pillows need to be swung single-handedly with the fights comprising only three 90-second rounds.

Picture Credit : Google 

What important event happened in sports in 2022?

SPORTS: What with a number of world cups being held across different sports, there was no dearth of action in 2022. While the T20 World Cup that concluded in November and the FIFA World Cup that saw a thrilling climax in December were easily the biggest highlights of the year, there was plenty more on show, both on and off the field. Indians too had plenty to celebrate in the sporting arena as our stars sizzled in different disciplines. Here's a quick wrap of all the big sporting news from the year that went by…

1. Djokovic's deportation

The first big sports news of 2022 didn't even take place in a sporting arena. Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic's vaccination status (he isn't vaccinated for COVID-19) remained a point of contention throughout the year and it started in January 2022 itself. Djokovic was deported from Australia before the start of the Australian Open and was banned from travelling to the country (a ban that has since been lifted).

Despite all the off-field drama, the Australian Open saw Ashleigh Barty end the country's 44-year wait for a home winner by clinching the women's section, while Rafael Nadal won a record 21st Grand Slam men's title.

2. IPL franchises splurge on players

When India's wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan was snapped for a whopping 15.25 crore during the IPL full auction in February 2022, he became the second most expensive Indian to have ever been bought at the auctions, behind only the 16 crore spent on Yuvraj Singh in 2015.

In the mini auction that was held in December, England's Sam Curran, Australia's Cameron Green, and England's Ben Stokes all matched or broke the record for the most expensive bids at IPL auctions (Chris Morris 16.25 crore). Curran's Rs. 18.50 crore, in fact, makes him the most expensive player in IPL history, even more than what is offered to retained players.

3. The King of Spin is no more

The fourth of March was a difficult day for Australian cricket in 2022. While veteran wicketkeeper Rod Marsh died aged 74 eight days after suffering a heart attack, spin legend Shane Warne died of a suspected heart attack aged 52. Warne, often hailed as the King of Spin, was not only a great cricketer, but also a brilliant showman. The leg spinner is the second-most highest wicket-taker of all time in Test cricket, with 708 wickets to his name. Australia kept their emotions in check to claim a 1-0 series win against Pakistan later in the same month, their first series in Pakistan in almost 25 years.

4. Pallikal makes the mother of all comebacks

Dipika Pallikal Karthik and Dinesh Karthik gave birth to twins in October 2021. Less than six months after becoming mother to the two newborns, the squash star did the unthinkable, claiming two golds at the World Doubles Championships in April 2022.

Playing her first competitive event since October 2018, she first clinched the mixed doubles by teaming up with Saurav Ghosal. Just an hour and a half after winning the mixed doubles final with Ghosal, she teamed up with long-time teammate Joshna Chinappa (left) to triumph in the women's doubles final as well.

5. Zareen boxes her way to gold

Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen joined elite company by winning gold at the Women's World Boxing Championships at Istanbul in May 2022. She became just the fifth Indian woman to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of six-time champion Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny R.L and Lekha K.C

Zareen clinched India's first world title since 2018 by defeating Thailand's Jutamas Jitpong 5-0 in the final. While India finished the event with a gold and two bronze medals, it took their overall tally in the history of the competition to 10 gold, eight silver, and 21 bronze medals.

6. India wins Thomas Cup for first time

Until 2022, India had never won the Thomas Cup, the premier team competition in men's badminton. That changed in May when India stunned 14-time champion Indonesia 3-0 in the final. After Lakshya Sen gave India a 1-0 lead by defeating Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made it 2-0 by beating Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in the doubles encounter. Kidambi Srikanth then ensured that India scripted history when he got the better of Jonatan Christie in the second singles encounter. For the first time since the tournament's inception in 1949, India were on top of the world.

7. Real Madrid continue their winning ways

In April 2022, Real Madrid secured a record-extending 35th La Liga title with four matches to spare. With that, their coach Carlo Ancelotti became the first manager ever to steer his sides to victory in each of the top five European Leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain).

Less than a month later, Real were at it again in May, this time claiming a record-extending 14th Champions League title by defeating Liverpool 1-0 in the final.

Real's French forward Karim Benzema had been the star of their show for much of the season, earning him the prestigious Ballon d'Or award in October.

8. Nadal takes his tally to 22

There is no doubt that Rafael Nadal has forever etched his name in the clay courts of the French Open. He won it for a record-extending 14th time in June 2022, by defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud in the final. With that he won his 22nd grand slam men's singles title and extended his lead at the top-two more than what Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic had at the time.

Even though 2022 was marred by off-field drama for Djokovic, and despite the fact that he had to miss both the Australian Open and the US Open, he notched up his 21st title when he won his seventh Wimbledon title in July.

9. Warriors make it four out of eight

After the heady heights achieved in the last decade, many believed that the Golden State Warriors had fallen off the top and there were even murmurs that the franchise were a shadow of their past when they failed to make it to the NBA play-offs for two consecutive seasons. They bounced back in style in the 2021-22 season, clinching the title for a fourth time in eight seasons in June 2022.

Despite finishing last in the 2019-20 season, they continued with their strategy of holding onto star players while grooming young ones. After clinching the Western Conference, they defeated the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals 4-2 for the title.

10. Neeraj Chopra continues to make history

Indian athletics' poster boy Neeraj Chopra rewrote history again and again. It began at the World Athletics Championships in July 2022, when he clinched silver in men's javelin throw with a best of 88.13 m. With that, he became the first Indian to clinch a silver at the worlds, and the second Indian after Anju Bobby George to medal at the worlds.

He scripted history again in August by becoming the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League meet title by winning the Lausanne leg and qualifying for the final. Things got better in September when he won the final at Zurich, becoming the first Indian to win a Diamond League title.

11. Indians shine at the Commonwealth Games

At about the same time when Chennai was hosting the Chess Olympiad, the Commonwealth Games took place in Birmingham. India competed at the event that took place in July-August

 

2022, and finished fourth in the medals tally with 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze medals. Indian wrestlers were on top of their game as the sport provided for maximum golds (6) and maximum medals (12) at the event. While weightlifters accounted for 10 medals, athletes won eight, paddlers and boxers won seven, and the badminton players won six medals. Star paddler Sharath Kamal was India's most successful player at the Games, clinching three golds and a silver in table tennis events.

12. Chennai hosts the Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad came to India for the first time as Chennai hosted the 44th Chess Olympiad in July-August 2022. With a knight clad in traditional attire serving as the mascot, and roads and bridges turning into chess boards, everything was done to catch the public attention.

The event was a success with more than 1500 participants representing over 180 countries competing in the Open and Women's events. Uzbekistan clinched gold in the Open category, while war-torn Ukraine won top honours in the Women's event. India had more reason to celebrate as it won the prestigious Gaprindashvili Cup awarded to the team with the best combined performance in the Open and Women's tournaments.

13. Satwik-Chirag medal at the worlds

Having contributed to India's maiden Thomas Cup triumph and having won gold at the Commonwealth Games, Indian men's doubles badminton duo Satviksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were brimming with confidence. They make it count where it mattered as they became the first Indian pair to win a medal in the men's doubles event at the World Badminton Championships in Tokyo in August 2022. They lost to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wool Yk in the semi-final and settled for bronze. Satvik Chirag also became the first Indian doubles pair to win a BWF Super 750 tournament when they won the men's double crown at the French Open Super 750 event in October.

14. Federer announces his retirement

Shortly after tennis legend Serena Williams announced that she would be evolving away from tennis in August 2022, tennis fans had to endure another bombshell when Roger Federer announced his retirement in September. Just days after Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz had won the US Opens to become the youngest-ever men's world number one at the age of 19, Federer announced his decision to retire from tennis after Laver Cup on social media.

The 41-year-old, who has won 20 men's single grand slam titles, is seen by many as the greatest to have ever played the game. Federer ended his retirement announcement saying, "Finally, to the game of tennis: I love you and will never leave you."

15. Verstappen breaks record for most wins in a season

Dutch driver Max Verstappen not only defended his F1 title in 2022, but did it in style. He clinched the title after winning the Japanese Grand Prix in October 2022. With four races still remaining at that point, there was more to come from Verstappen.

Verstappen won three of those four races in the US Grand Prix, Mexico City Grand Prix and the season finale at Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. When he won the race in Mexico, he broke the record for most wins in a single season held previously by Michael Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vettel (2013). He added another win at Abu Dhabi for good measure, finishing the season with a record 15 race victories.

16. England are the white ball champions

Every cricketing country in the world played a lot of T20 cricket in 2022 as they built form towards the T20 World Cup held in Australia in October-November 2022.

Barring a loss to Ireland by Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in a rain-curtailed game, England were undefeated throughout the tournament. After thumping India by 10 wickets in the semi-final, England then defeated Pakistan in the final by five wickets to lift the T20 World Cup for a second time.

Already possessing the ODI World Cup following their victory in 2019, England became the first team in history to hold both the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup at the same time.

17. Messi is finally a World Cup winner

Despite the controversy surrounding the 2022 FIFA World Cup during its build-up, Qatar delivered one of the finest tournaments in recent history in November-December 2022. The fact that Lionel Messi's Argentina came out on top seemed to many like the perfect icing on the cake.

Argentina got off to a nightmare start, losing to Saudi Arabia. They put that behind them and kept moving forward, with their talisman Messi leading from the front. The final against France was a spectacle as Messi and Kylian Mbappe put on a show in a 3-3 draw. Argentina came out on top in the penalties to lift the World Cup for a third time.

18. A shocking end to 2022

Just as an off-field event had kick-started the year, it was events off the field that left the sporting world in disbelief in December 2022.

On December 29, Brazilian football legend Pele passed away aged 82, plunging the football world into sadness. One of the greatest footballers of all time, Pele was a giant in the sporting world in the 20th Century.

Just a day later, cricketing fans were in for a rude shock as Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant met with a car accident. Owing to injuries in his leg and head, Pant is expected to be out of action for months, and maybe even a year.

Events that almost made it to our list

Mohammad Arif Khan became the first Kashmiri Olympian and the first Indian to participate in two events at the Winter Olympics in February.

Australian women won a record-extending seventh Women's World Cup title when they won the ODI tournament held in New Zealand in March-April.

Indian women's cricket team lost a couple of stalwarts as batter Mithali Raj (left) called time on her international career in June while pacer Jhulan Goswami (right) bid her farewell with a fairytale finish in September.

With four golds at the FINA World Championships in Budapest in June-July, American swimmer Katie Ledecky took her overall tally to 19, second only to Michael Phelps' 26.

Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia won bronze at the World Wrestling Championships in September. While Phogat became the first Indian woman to win two medals at the worlds, Punia took his tally to four.

Spain defended their FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in October in a tournament held in India.

Maharashtra's Ruturaj Gaikwad struck a world record seven 6s in an over in a Vijay Hazare quarter-final game against Uttar Pradesh in November.

Picture Credit : Google

Why is promoting fair play important?

Use of banned substances and doping to enhance performance to gain an edge over rivals. Employing tools like a sandpaper to rub on a cricket ball to make its swing more pronounced, thereby making batting more difficult. Accepting money for spot-fixing or even fixing the outcome of a game. If you think about what links all these different things, it is the fact that these are all forms of cheating prevalent in sports, even at the elite level.

The mentality of winning at all costs through your own performance is a good one to have, both individually and as a team. But when that same mentality pushes you to the brink and makes you adopt malpractices, then it is definitely wrong.

Even though there are checks and balances already in place in most elite sports, this hasn’t been enough. Be it bans that prevent participation for a fixed number of years or even a lifetime, it still hasn’t proven to be foolproof.

The allure of winning at the greatest of stages is one that might push even the best-intentioned to wrongdoings. It is therefore important to educate from a very young age on the importance of playing clean, regardless of what sport it is.

The reputation of professional cycling as a sport was battered when the repeated doping offences of U.S. cyclist Lance Armstrong, once considered an icon in the sport, was proved beyond doubt. Here, a 30-foot effigy of the disgraced American cyclist burns during Bonfire Night celebrations in Edenbridge, south east England in November 2012.

Most elite athletes grow up spending countless hours in their chosen field, losing out on other standard rounded education that most of us undergo. This does come at a cost at times, as implications of a wrong move might not be fully understood before it is done. Apart from ruining their own reputation, that of the sport in which they are involved also takes a huge beating when an individual or a team resorts to cheating to gain an advantage.

What we can do is to keep driving at the message that victory is worthy only if it is attained in the right way. By playing it clean, irrespective of the level at which you are playing the sport, you display gamesmanship that is often remembered, even if in a losing cause. Victories are important, yes. But only when it is attained without bending the rules.

Nurture the young stars

Despite our burgeoning reputation as a powerhouse in a number of sports, India as a country is still lacking and lagging in many others. While the lack of skill might be a reason, it doesn’t paint the complete picture.

It is hard to accept that for a country of our size and population, we do not have enough competing at the highest level in many sports. We can make progress in this if we are able to identify talent at a young age and groom them.

In India, there is sometimes a strong emphasis on education, even if it is at the cost of other skills. Without the right backing, many youngsters talented in sports and arts have had to stick to academics. Within sports too, the focus has been in a few select ones, like cricket.

By widening our view as a society, we can make steady improvement. If you are good in a sport and wish to pursue it, you are bound to do better if you feel encouraged to do it. When this goes along with the financial and infrastructural backing of the government and the corporates, then chances are that a new star will be born!

Picture Credit : Google 

What can we do to bring about CHANGE in the way we promote sports and encourage leisure activities?

Quite a lot, actually. From changing the way we foster sports to tweaking the ways in which we perceive our sportspersons, there are many things that we can work on, right from the time we are at school. Here are five such aspects that we can change, along with activities to make you dwell further on these subjects….

There’s more than one sport

Ask anyone who their favourite sports star is and chances are that the answer will be a cricketer. For a country of over a billion, our perspective seems to be rather limited when it comes to sport, as most of us take to just cricket.

From badminton to tennis, hockey to football, athletics and many others, India has a presence in a wide range of sports other than cricket. What’s more, we have even had great performances in recent times in a number of these sports.

While backing our cricketers and following the sport religiously does no harm, it shouldn’t come at the cost of other sportsperson losing out on our backing. Fans play a central part in performances and the support that we can offer might even enhance how they fare on the day.

It is important to go out and show the support, filling the stadiums and pouring messages of love and support online. While we are already getting better at it and giving more and more attention to those playing other sports, there’s plenty of room for improvement.

If we start doing this, then there will be more takers for other sports as well. And when that happens, we might stop looking at whether we have got on the medals tally at the Olympics, and rather look at where exactly we are on the table.

Win or lose, back your stars

We live in an age when there are extremes of emotions all the time. We celebrate our stars and even hero-worship them when they produce favourable results. When these very stars are at the receiving end of heavy defeats, we rubbish them and question their intent.

Even though this has been something that has been around almost all the time, it is now more vitriolic in the virtual world, where everyone’s opinions can easily be amplified. Not even in public offices is the public scrutiny so harsh at times, making the position of sportspersons really difficult at times.

While many stars say that they are inside their own bubble and aren’t affected by stringent criticism that is sometimes endless, it is our responsibility as fans to indulge in our following in a more effective manner. There is no need to go overboard with our praise, nor is it necessary to tarnish reputations when our country’s representatives fail at the first hurdles.

Brewing hate does a lot of harm, not just for the one at the receiving end, but to the sport as a whole. It is important to remember that those representing a country are the finest in their sport in their nation and they would likely want to win, as much if not more, than the fans following the sport.

It might be easy to forget that in the end, elite athletes and sportspersons are also humans. Even though many high-profile sportspersons have voluntarily come out with their mental health issues in recent years, fans continue to associate their stars with superhuman performance all the time. While this creates a lot of euphoria, it also pushes fans to unruly behaviour when their expectations aren’t met.

As fans, it is necessary that we change our perspectives and back our stars throughout, regardless of the results. We all want the team we support and the individual representing our country to win all the time. But we also know that there can be only one winner in any tournament as opposed to many losers. It is therefore pivotal that we back our stars during their setbacks, as much as we cherish their wins like our own.

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When was the Aqua-Lung invented?

The aqualung invented in 1943 is the best and safest of all diving devices. Read on to know about the people behind the invention

About 200 years ago, divers used a device called a diving bell, which was lowered from a ship into the water. It was open at the bottom and received air from the surface through a hose. The air pressure kept the water out of the device. The diving bell gave way to the snorkel and diving suit.

However, the best and safest of all diving devices is the aqualung invented in 1943 by a French naval officer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and an engineer named Emile Gagnan. The aqualung is a portable diving apparatus, which consists of cylinders (tanks) of compressed air with a valve and mouthpiece. The valve adjusts air pressure automatically and supplies air as a diver needs it, so that air pressure inside the divers lungs matches the pressure of the water. Unlike previous devices, the aqualung was light and convenient and Lalung now part SCUBA millions Id every allowed the diver to move about freely.

The first aqualung was sold in 1946. The system is now part of modern SCUBA gear, with millions of units sold every year. Recreational scuba diving has become an international phenomenon.

Picture Credit : Google