Fat but fit

K DATTA

Rahkheem Cornwall Virat Kohli’s cricketers were still relishing their successes on the tour of the West Indies when it was time to start the campaign at home against Quinton de Kock’s South Africans. The Indian captain himself set the winning trend by leading his team to a seven-wicket victory at Mohali in the second T20 International after rain washed out the first T20I at Dharamshala.
Coming to think of it, the Kohli’s cricketers could have put their Dharamshala visit to better use by paying a visit to the nearby McLeodganj resort of the Dalai Lama, provided His Holiness was available to receive them.
Moving to Mohali in the warmer plains of Punjab, Kohli played a 52-ball knock of 72 not out, chasing a target of 150. India won the second of the three-match of the T20 series by seven wickets with six balls to spare.
With no disrespect meant to the brilliant role played by Kohli, cricket fans were still good-humouredly talking of the world’s heaviest cricketer, a giant called Rahkheem Cornwall of the West Indies. Weighing 140kg, the 6ft 5in tall Cornwall, a 25-year-old Antiguan, stood intimidatingly in the slips, where he showed a safe pair of hands to snap two good catches, not to mention the three wickets he took with his off-spin bowling in the second Test against Kohli’s touring India team.

Admittedly, excessive tonnage is a drawback when it comes to swiftness in fielding positions in the deep. But that disadvantage is overlooked by selectors as long you hold catches, take wickets and score runs, no matter what your weight may be.

For the record, the heaviest man to play Test cricket before Cornwall made his Test debut against Kohli’s Indian team was Warwick Armstrong who played 50 Tests for Australia and captained his country’s team in 1921. Armstrong weighed 133kg. For all their tonnage, fat men have won fame for their contribution to cricket. Mike Gatting, England captain in the Ashes series of 1986-87, who was known “Fat Gat”, played 79 Tests for his country, scoring 94 centuries.

How can one forget the big and burly Inzamam-ul-Haq.of Pakistan, who was one of his country’s best batsmen, or Colin Milburn whose career cut short by an injury in a car accident. Then there was a man called Dwayne Leverock, a Bermudan policeman who weighed 127 kg. He is remembered for the famous diving catch he took to dismiss India’s Robin Uthappa in the 2007 World Cup.

Fat men add to the fun too!

Iran’s women football fans!

That football is the most popular sport is an undeniable fact. It is the No. 1 sport even in Iran, a country which figured in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and hopes to there again in 2022 in Qatar. But clerics of that Islamic republic hold that women should be barred from watching men’s football matches because the players are scantily clad.
When Sahar Khodiyari set herself on fire outside a Tehran court and died fearing she faced a sixmonth sentence for entering a football stadium dressed as a man, the feelings of the world’s football fans have been so outrageously hurt that FIFA, the international body which controls the sport, has decided to send a delegation to persuade authorities there to open the gates of football stadiums to women spectators.

Football is gaining popularity as a women’s sport, with increasingly large attendances at female international tournaments. Following the last world women’s football cup, the US women’s team has gone to court demanding wages equal to those that men footballers receive.

Iran banned women from entering sports stadiums after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have both asked FIFA to take steps to lift the ban, which Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, said was “unacceptable”.



		EDITOR'S MAIL EDITOR'S COMMENT HOUSTON’S MEGA SHOW TACKLING SAGGING ECONOMY FEARS OF RECESSION SAGA OF CHANDRAYAAN-2 REALPOLITIK FRANKLY SPEAKING GUBERNATORIAL CHALLENGE LEFT IN KERALA KARNATAKA EDUCATION WINDOW ON PUNJAB CHANDIGARH DIARY PUJA BOAT TRAGEDY REMEMBERING RAM JETHMALANI HITS & MISSES INDIA-CHINA SUMMIT AFGHAN WAR THEATRE HONG KONG & CHINA BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR SIGNS OF THE TIMES DISCOVERY IN DERMATOLOGY NATIONAL AWARDS ART OF LIVING Issue:June' 2019 Subscribe Now	HITS & MISSES Fat but fit K DATTA Rahkheem Cornwall Virat Kohli’s cricketers were still relishing their successes on the tour of the West Indies when it was time to start the campaign at home against Quinton de Kock’s South Africans. The Indian captain himself set the winning trend by leading his team to a seven-wicket victory at Mohali in the second T20 International after rain washed out the first T20I at Dharamshala. Coming to think of it, the Kohli’s cricketers could have put their Dharamshala visit to better use by paying a visit to the nearby McLeodganj resort of the Dalai Lama, provided His Holiness was available to receive them. Moving to Mohali in the warmer plains of Punjab, Kohli played a 52-ball knock of 72 not out, chasing a target of 150. India won the second of the three-match of the T20 series by seven wickets with six balls to spare. With no disrespect meant to the brilliant role played by Kohli, cricket fans were still good-humouredly talking of the world’s heaviest cricketer, a giant called Rahkheem Cornwall of the West Indies. Weighing 140kg, the 6ft 5in tall Cornwall, a 25-year-old Antiguan, stood intimidatingly in the slips, where he showed a safe pair of hands to snap two good catches, not to mention the three wickets he took with his off-spin bowling in the second Test against Kohli’s touring India team. Admittedly, excessive tonnage is a drawback when it comes to swiftness in fielding positions in the deep. But that disadvantage is overlooked by selectors as long you hold catches, take wickets and score runs, no matter what your weight may be. For the record, the heaviest man to play Test cricket before Cornwall made his Test debut against Kohli’s Indian team was Warwick Armstrong who played 50 Tests for Australia and captained his country’s team in 1921. Armstrong weighed 133kg. For all their tonnage, fat men have won fame for their contribution to cricket. Mike Gatting, England captain in the Ashes series of 1986-87, who was known “Fat Gat”, played 79 Tests for his country, scoring 94 centuries. How can one forget the big and burly Inzamam-ul-Haq.of Pakistan, who was one of his country’s best batsmen, or Colin Milburn whose career cut short by an injury in a car accident. Then there was a man called Dwayne Leverock, a Bermudan policeman who weighed 127 kg. He is remembered for the famous diving catch he took to dismiss India’s Robin Uthappa in the 2007 World Cup. Fat men add to the fun too! Iran’s women football fans! That football is the most popular sport is an undeniable fact. It is the No. 1 sport even in Iran, a country which figured in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and hopes to there again in 2022 in Qatar. But clerics of that Islamic republic hold that women should be barred from watching men’s football matches because the players are scantily clad. When Sahar Khodiyari set herself on fire outside a Tehran court and died fearing she faced a sixmonth sentence for entering a football stadium dressed as a man, the feelings of the world’s football fans have been so outrageously hurt that FIFA, the international body which controls the sport, has decided to send a delegation to persuade authorities there to open the gates of football stadiums to women spectators. Football is gaining popularity as a women’s sport, with increasingly large attendances at female international tournaments. Following the last world women’s football cup, the US women’s team has gone to court demanding wages equal to those that men footballers receive. Iran banned women from entering sports stadiums after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have both asked FIFA to take steps to lift the ban, which Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, said was “unacceptable”.