Rear Grab Bar

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE Pt. V

• WHO WAS INDIA'S FIRST CRICKET COACH?

Ajit Wadekar was the first to coach the Indian cricket team. He was both the manager and the coach of the Indian cricket team from 1992 to 1996. John Wright was India's first foreign coach.

• WHAT IS A SUCKER BALL IN CRICKET?

When a bowler intends to tempt batsman into scoring runs by bowling a ball which appears easy to hit and the batsman hits the ball but t results in his dismissal by either being stumped, bowled or caught, such ball is called a sucker ball.

• WHICH BATSMAN HAS REMAINED NOT OUT MOST OFTEN IN CRICKET ODIS?

Michael Bevan of Australia has remained not out most often in ODI cricket — 67 times in 196 innings of 232 matches he ' has played. He has scored 6,912 runs with an average of (53.58).

• WHO WAS THE YOUNGEST WINNER AT WIMBLEDON?

Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg was the youngest winner at Wimbledon. At 16, Borg was the Wimbledon junior champion in 1973. American Kathy Rinaldi, 15, was the youngest woman winner at Wimbledon (1981). Martina Hingis of Switzerland won the 1996 Wimbledon at 15 years too. At 17, Boris Becker won the men's singles title in 1985.

• HOW MANY ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS IN CRICKET HAVE ENDED IN A TIE?

Twenty one one-day international cricket matches have ended in a tie. While Australia has been involved in the most (8), the others are Pakistan (6), West Indies and South Africa (5), England, Zimbabwe and New Zealand (4 each) and India and Sri Lanka (3 each). Australia and South Africa have played four tied matches.

• WHY IS CRICKET NOT A DISCIPLINE IN THE OLYMPICS?

Cricket was played just once, at the Paris Olympics in 1900. Cricket is played by just 10 countries at the highest level (though there are nearly 100 associate members of the ICC) and this would normally disqualify it from being included as an Olympic sport. The International Olympic Committee claims mass participation is a must (minimum of 16 nations). The only other occasion cricket was part of a multi-disciplinary meet was at the 1998 Commonwealth Games at Kuala Lumpur.

• WHEN WERE COLOURED UNIFORMS INTRODUCED IN ODIS?

Coloured uniforms for ODIs were introduced in 1977 by Kerry Packer for the World Series matches in Australia which did not have official status, even though many world class cricketers took part. However, it was a revolution in itself. Its legacy is a permanent change in the way the game is funded, watched, played and perceived. World Series pioneered three-cornered tournaments, night cricket, floodlights, coloured clothing, coloured balls, drop-in pitches, on-field microphones and multitudinous

• WHO HOLDS THE RECORD FOR WINNING THE MOST NUMBER OF OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALS FOR SWIMMING?

In the 1972 Munich Olympic games, Mark Spitz won seven Olympic gold medals, a feat yet unequalled by any other Olympic athlete. Even more remarkably, Spitz set a new world record in each of the seven events - the 100 m freestyle, 200 m freestyle, 100 m butterfly, 200 m butterfly, 4 x 100 m freestyle, 4 x 200 m freestyle and the 4 x 100 m medley

• IN CRICKET, WHAT IS POWER PLAY?

The original rules of ODIs stated that during the first 15 overs, only two fielders should be allowed outside a 30-metre circle around the wicket. This meant that attacking batsman were likely to score runs quickly in the first 15 overs, but would become more watchful at the end of the spell. In an effort to keep the game more exciting during the middle overs, the 15 over block with fielding restrictions at the beginning of the innings is reduced to 10, and thereafter, the captain of the fielding side has to decide when to bring his fielders in again for two further blocks of 5 overs, at any time he likes. These 5 over spells are called Powerplay 2 and Powerplay 3. (Powerplay 1 is the first block of 10).

• WHAT IS THE MILEAGE OF F1 CARS?

For every 100 kilometres, a 900 bph F1 car uses 70 litres of petrol. A team uses about 1,200 litres of petrol during a Grand Prix weekend.

• WHY IS THE SOUTH AFRICAN CRICKET TEAM CALLED "PROTEAS"?

The Protea flower with pink and yellow petals, is the national flower of South Africa, and hence their cricket team is called proteas. Similarly, South Africa's rugby team is called springboks, which is the country's national animal.

• HAS ANY PLAYER IN CRICKET BEEN DECLARED OUT BECAUSE HE CAME LATE TO THE GROUND TO BAT?

Law 31 in cricket provides that an incoming batsman must be in position to take guard or for his partner to be ready to receive the next ball within 3 minutes of the fall of the previous wicket. If this requirement is not met, the incoming batsman will be declared 'timed out'. The fielding side has to appeal for the wicket to be awarded. There is no known incidence of this in an international match. There are three cases, however, in first class cricket. H Yadav — Tripura vs Orissa at Cuttack in 1997; Vasbert Drakes — Border vs Free State at East London in 2002 and A J Harris — Nottinghamshire vs Durham UCCE at Nottingham in 2003.

• WHEN WAS THE FIRST INDO-PAK CRICKET TEST PLAYED?

India played Pakistan from October 16, 1952 at the Ferozeshah Kotia in Delhi to kick pff the first-ever Test series. India won this Test by an innings and 70 runs to take the lead in the five-match series. While Lala Amarnath captained India, A H Kardar led the Pakistan side. This was the beginning of a long and fierce battle for supremacy. Later this month, this "war by other means" continues with India's tour of Pakistan.

• WHAT IS PELOTA?

Pelota is a very fast ball game of Basque derivation (language spoken by the people who inhabit the Pyrenees in north central Spain and the adjoining region of south western France). Pelota is popular in Latin American countries and in the USA where it's a betting sport. It's played by two, four or six players in a walled court or cancha and resembles squash. Each player uses a long curved wickerwork basket or cesta strapped to the hand to hurl the ball or pelota against the walls. Basque pelota has been an exhibition sport in Mexico and Barcelona.

• WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF SKATING TEAM PURSUIT?

The basic elements are: Competitions may be announced for pursuit races with either three or four skaters in each team. In both cases, the finishing time of the team will be determined as the finishing time of the third skater in the team. If less than three skaters of the team finish the race, the team is considered not to have completed the race and is disqualified. In Team Pursuit races, the two teams start simultaneously at each side of the track at the middle of the straights. If a skater of a team is disqualified as per rules, the disqualification also applies for the team.

• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JUDO AND AIKIDO?

Developed in the 19th century, judo is a Japanese system of wrestling. It was developed from jujitsu in 1882 by a Japanese educator. It tries to develop the skill of using an op- ponent's own weight and strength against him. Techniques include throwing and grappling. Judo fighters learn how to fall safely when they are thrown to minimise injury. Aikido is (ai - harmony, ki - spirit, mind or universal energy, do – the Way) the Way of Harmony with Universal Energy. Created by Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969), it's based on bujutsu with an emphasis on self-defence and spiritual growth. In aikido, an attack is avoided with flowing, circular movements and it uses grappling, throws, and mainly non-resistance to tackle opponents.

• WHAT IS THE VJD METHOD IN CRICKET?

V Jayadevan, an engineer from Kerala, has devised a method which has the backing of the Indian board and will be discussed by the ICC's Cricket Committee during its two-day meet in Dubai on May 13 and 14. Like the Duckworth-Lewis method, Jayadevan's system (the VJD method) also comes from an analysis of numerous one day matches, and predicting scores and targets on the basis of scoring patterns recorded from earlier games.

• WHEN WAS THE STUMP CAMERA USED IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET?

The first stump camera was installed by the BBC in the early 1990s. It placed a Hitachi KP-D8s camera in the middle stump. This was a colour camera that used a 410,000 pixel CCD (charge-coupled device) with micro lenses, and offered a Horizontal resolution of 470 TV lines. Its size (42 cubic cm and 80 gms) makes it possible for it to be inserted into the stump. If one camera is not enough, two can be placed, one with a wide-angle lens and the other with a narrow-angle lens, giving the broadcaster four different views.

• WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD 'ACROBAT'?

The word 'acrobat' means a performer who is skilled in the feats of agility and balance. It comes from the Frencn word 'acrobate' which is derived from the Greek words 'akrobates' (one who walks on tiptoe) and 'akrobatein' (to walk on the stem of the feet).

• WHAT IS THE EIGHT QUEEN PROBLEM IN CHESS?

The eight queen problem in chess is one where a person has to place eight queens on a chess board such that none of the queens can capture another queen at that point of time. For example, place the queens at a8, b2, c4, dl, e7, f5, g3 and h6 respectively. There are a number of combinations (a fixed number, however) where a person can place queens at different positions and yet no queen can capture another queen.

• WHEN WAS FOOTBALL FIRST PLAYED?

Modern-day football has its origins in England. There are indications that a game akin to football called choule or soule arrived in England from Normandy, Brittany, and Picardy, during the Norman Conquest. According to historical evidence, football-like games were played in English public schools such as Eton and Winchester colleges in the 16th century. By the mid-19th century, public school boys more or less formalised the rules of football, which then became an organised activity. This gradually developed into football as we know it today.

• IN FOOTBALL, WHAT IS THE FALLING LEAF SHOT?

The falling leaf shot is called so because the ball swerves twice, just as a falling leaf, during its flight towards goal. The diminutive Brazilian striker of 1950s and '60s, Manuel dos Santos Francisco Garrincha made the banana kick and falling leaf shot his own due to his brilliant skills. Garrincha earned the nickname of Little Bird due to his short stature and vast repertoire of beguiling free kicks that tormented defenders.

• WHICH IS THE WORLD'S FIRST VIDEO GAME?

In 1951, an .engineer Ralph Baer developed a game called Pong using raster video equipment. In 1958, William A Higinbotham created 'tennis for two', a game using an analog computer. The game was never patented and dismantled. Nolan Bushnell built an arcade game in 1969 using a rasterscan TV monitor. He is known as the father of video arcade games. From being a fun activity, video games are also used to help sick children manage pain and anxiety during hospital stays. Recently, Ethan Myers of Los Angeles made a partial recovery after a grave car accident, thanks partly to a video game system.

• WHEN WAS THE IDITAROD DOG RACE FIRST HELD?

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, also called the 'Iditarod' or the 'Last Great Race', is held in Alaska. It starts from Anchorage in southcentral Alaska and terminates at Nome on the western Bering Sea coast. Each team, of 12 to 16 dogs and their musher, covers over 1,150 miles in about three weeks. The Id- itarod Trail Sled Dog Race first ran in 1973. The idea was conceived by Dorothy G Page in 1964 as part of Alaska's Centennial Year celebrations in 1967.

• WHAT IS THE WORLD RECORD FOR THE DEEPEST DIVE?

The world record for the deepest dive is held by South Africa's Nuno Gomes, a 52-year-old engineer who dived to a depth of 318.25 metres (1044 feet). He was scuba diving in the Red Sea on June 10, 2005 and beat the earlier record of 313 metres set by Mark Ellyatt of Britain in 2003.

• WHO IS KNOWN AS THE POLE VAULT QUEEN?

Yelena Isinbayeva (23) of Russia has been hailed as the queen of pole vault. The world record holder has been virtually unbeaten in the past three years. Yelena, who spends most of her time in Monaco and trains in Italy, was recently asked to move to Italy and represent it for $6 million. However, she refused stating that she would never betray her country and that she is still based in Volgograd, her native place. She was Also approached by the oil baron Roman Abramovich to endorse the oil brand worldwide, but it did not materialise.

• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SOCCER AND FOOTBALL?

What Americans call soccer is called football elsewhere in the world. So, if is better to say that American Soccer and British Football are the same sport. The official name of the sport is Association Football and the international body governing it is FIFA (Federation International de Football Association).

• IF A BATSMAN IS OUT LEGITIMATELY BUT THE FIELDERS DON'T APPEAL, WOULD THE UMPIRE RULE

HIM OUT?

Law 27 clearly says that: The umpire shall not give a batsman out unless appealed to by the other side which shall be done prior to the bowler beginning his run up bowling action to deliver .the next ball. Under Law 23.1 (f) (The Ball becomes dead), the ball is dead on 'over' being called, this does not however, invalidate an appeal made prior to the first ball of the following over provided 'time' has not been called as Law 17.1 (Call of Time). Always remember an appeal shall cover all ways of being out. (Law 27.2). Even if a batsman leaves his wicket under a misapprehension that he is out, but umpire ruled him not out under such circumstances, the umpire shall intervene if satisfied that he is wrong (Law 27.5).

• WHO HAS WON THE MOST PAIRS FREE SKATING TITLES?

Andree Brunett and Pierre Brunett have won the world figure skating championship four times — in 1926, 1928,1930 and 1932. Three pairs have won it thrice — Ludowika Jacobson and Walter Jacobson (1911,1913,1924), Helen Engelmanri and Alfred Berger (1913,1922,1924) and Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev (1983,1985,1988).

• WHEN WAS THE STUMP CAMERA USED IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET? .

• WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE WORD "ACROBAT ?

Theword-acrobafmeansaperformerwho is skilled in the feats of agility and balgance. It comes from the French "word 'acrobate' which is deprived from the Greek words 'akrobates' (one who walks on tiptoe) and 'akrobatein' (to walk on the stem of the feet).

• WHO WAS THE FIRST BATSMAN TO BE DECLARED OUT BY A THIRD UMPIRE?

Sachin Tendulkar, on November 14,1992 at Durban, against South Africa. Tendulkar, who had scored 11, glanced the ball to the backward point where Jonty Rhodes was fielding. Sachin attempted a quick single, but was sent back by non-striker Ravi Shastri. Rhodes threw the ball to the stumps where Andrew Hudson, who had moved in from short leg, broke the wicket. It was a close call so square-leg umpire Cyril Mitchley asked third umpire Karl Liebenberg to decide. The TV replay clearly showed that Tendulkar was run out.

• WHY IS THE CAPTAIN OF THE TEAM IS CALLED A SKIPPER?

Skipper originated from the Dutch word 'schipper' (literally 'shipper'). Skipper usually means a person who commands a boat or ship. In naval terms, a skipper is responsible for the care and safety of the vessel, ship, yacht or boat. This is true of the captain as well, but in addition, the captain is also responsible for the care and safety of the crew. In sports, he is a team captain in lawn bowls. It is an informal title of a baseball manager and captain of a football team.

• WHAT IS A MAGIC BARRIER IN CHESS?

The International Chess Federation (FIDE) awards rating points to chess players to indicate their relative skill level. This system is based on a general statistical rating system called ELO. According to it, the more the rating points, the better the player. FIDE tracks players' performances continually, and the ratings are revised periodically. Garry Kasparov obtained 2851, the highest score ever. Only four players — Kasparov, Kramnik, Topalov and Anand have obtained a score greater than or equal to 2800, which is called the magic barrier. The term is an imitation of the term sound barrier, which is considered a difficult threshold to cross before achieving supersonic speeds.

• WLIAT IS A CRICKETER'S COFFIN?

Cricketer's coffin is a term used in jest for the kit bags that cricketers carry. The amount of paraphernalia carried by them on tours makes these bags resemble a coffin. It is also jocularly said that cricketers carry their coffin with them on every tour.

• HOW DOES THE SNICKOMETER WORK?

The Snickometer, although not used in adjudicating decisions, is a useful TV tool which tracks the cricket ball's path by picking up sounds from pitch and stump microphones. The Snickometer, invented by Englishman Allan Plaskett in the mid '90s, is used to display sound from stump microphones. The feed from the stump microphone is fed directly into the Snickometer which then represents the sound as a visual graphic. From that, viewers can tell whether the ball hit a pad (a flat, dull display) or hit the bat (a lot sharper graphic) or just went pass (a flat line).

• WHAT DO COLOUR CARDS SIGNIFY IN SOCCER?

• WHAT IS THE SOCCER WAR?

The Football War or Soccer War was a six-day war fought by El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. It had little to do with soccer but an attempt to settle cultural differences. The fact that the more aggressive Salvadoreans were illegally immigrating to Honduran territory was a leading cause of this war. It's called the Soccer War because it began after a bitterly contested series of three World Cup qualifying matches between them. El Salvador initiated hostilities when its army moved into Honduras. After more than four days of fighting (which left 3,000 dead, 6,000 wounded and caused $50 million in damage), a ceasefire was called under pressure from the US and the Organisation of American States. A peace agreement was not signed until 1980, and it took a 1992 decision by the International Court of Justice to settle the boundary issues.

• WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF SUMO WRESTLING?

With its origins in ancient Japan, sumo wrestling competitions are marked by elaborate rituals. A sumo bout takes place between two wrestlers belonging to a group of compatible ranks; the ranking system itself has been in existence since time immemorial. The wrestling takes place inside a circular area of 4.55 metres diameter with the ground made of clay and sand. The wrestlers can push, pull, slap, throw and grapple each other, but they are not permitted to engage in kicking, gouging or hair pulling. If any part of a wrestler's body, except the soles of the feet, first touches the ground inside the ring, or if he crosses the boundary of the ring, then he is declared the loser. An average bout lasts for a few seconds to a few minutes.

• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SPORTS AND GAMES?

A sport is a physical activity carried out under an agreed set of rules, with a recreational purpose: for competition or self-enjoyment or a combination of these. A game is a recreational activity involving one or more players, defined by a goal that the players try to reach, and some set of rules to play it. Games are played primarily for entertainment or enjoyment. The difference of purpose differentiates sport from game, combined with the notion of individual (or team) skill or prowess.

o IS THE WWF AN AUTHENTIC WRESTLING SHOW?

No. WWE (formerly WWF) matches are a completely staged event for entertainment. The WWE superstars are fully informed about their matches, their results and the moves, which they have to use. The superstars are always ready to have their bodies on the line for the sake of WWE. So, the bottom line is that WWE, although a staged show as far as the results are concerned, is purely authentic when seen from the point of view of the WWE superstars as the blood shed and injuries are for real.

• WHAT ARE THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE UNEVEN BARS IN GYMNASTICS?

The uneven parallel bars demands strength, concentration, courage, coordination, precision and splitsecond timing. The routine must move from the low bar to the high bar, incorporating many grip changes releases and regrasps, flight elements, changes of direction, saltos and circle swings through the hand-stand position. The entire routine should flow from one movement to the next without pauses, extra swings or additional supports. Each routine must have two release elements.

• WHEN WAS THE FIRST RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP HELD?

The first Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championship was held in 1963 in Budapest, Hungary The competition featured 28 athletes from 10 European countries. Rhythmic individual all-round competition was added to the Olympic Games in 1984. The Rhythmic group event was added as a medal sport at the 1996 Games. The Rhythmic Gymnastics group competition involves five athletes working together as a team.

• WHAT IS AUSSIE RULES FOOTBALL

This is the quintessential local Australian sport derived from a mixture of rugby and Gaelic football. It is played with 36 players (18 from each team) on an elliptical field, often called as an oval. First introduced in 1858, in the Victoria, Australia, the game is widely played in other countries like UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, Papua, New Guinea and New Zealand. The game is distinguished from other kinds of football by the fast, relatively free movement of the ball ' (due to absence of the off-side rule) ' and the awarding of a free kick for any clean catch, known as a mark, of a ball which has been kicked more than 15 metres.

• WHAT IS THE HIGHEST TOTAL SCORED BY ANY TEAM IN FIRST CLASS CRICKET?

The highest total score is 1,107 runs made by Victoria in a Sheffield Shield match against New South Wales at Melbourne in 1926. They scored this in 10 hours 30 minutes i.e. at an incredible rate of 1.76 runs per minute.

• WHO WAS INDIA'S FIRST CRICKET TEST CAPTAIN?

Lala Amarnath was independent India's first Test captain and led India on the of Australia in 1947. He was a swashbuckling all rounder and an outspoken personality who was not afraid to speak his mind. After his retirement from the game, he was appointed to the board of selectors.

• WHY IS THE CRICKET BALL RED IN COLOUR?

The red ball is not always used in cricket these days. During night cricket matches, a white ball is used. As for the game itself, it originated in England, where ambient light levels leave much to be desired. Light is made of seven different colours. The red wavelength is scattered least from its original path while blue is scatted the most. Red colour is, therefore, most suited for spotting in dwindling light. Incidentally, the cricket ball is called the red cherry. The same explanation holds true for the red appearance of the sun during sunrise and sunset. Also, the same logic can explain why the sky and the oceans appear blue.

• WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT THE REDNECK GAMES?

The Redneck Games, events for the not so athletic, is held every July in Georgia (USA). Started ten years ago as a spoof of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, it attracted about 15,000 participants this year. Events are unusual and include mudpit bellyflop, bobbing for pigs' feet, hub cup hurling, cigarette flip, redneck horseshoe played with toilet seats, seed spitting contest, bug zapper spitball, big hair contest and the armpit serenade.

• WHICH IS THE WORLD’S LARGEST SWIMMING POOL?

The Natural Buoyancy Laboratory or NBL at the Sonny Carter Training Facility, known as the SCTF near NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, is the world's largest indoor swimming pool. The pool is 62 metres (202 ft) in length, 31 metres (102 ft) in width and 12 metres (40 ft) in depth — 6 metres (20 feet) above ground level and an equal distance below ground. The pool holds 22.7 million litres (6.2 million gallons) of water. The pool is used by astronauts to train in conditions similar to zero gravity using specialised methods.

• WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SNOOKER, BILLIARDS, POOL AND SIDE POCKET?

The main difference is with respect to the number of balls used. In snooker, 22 balls, including the white colour striker ball, are used. The other coloured balls are as follows: 15 red, 1 yellow, 1 brown, 1 blue, 1 pink, 1 black and 1 green. In billiards, only three balls are used — white, yellow and red — and both the white and the yellow ball can act as the strikers. In pool, there are nine balls with numbers and stripes printed on them. Side pocket is not a recognised table game and refers to the corner pockets of the billiards table.

• IN RUGBY, WHY IS THE CALCUTTA CUP CALLED SO?

• WHAT IS THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM 'WILD CARD' IN SPORT?

The origin lies in card games, where a wild card means a card with no fixed value, and whose value is assigned by the player dynamically In other games like tennis, the term is nowadays used to refer to a player (or a team) who is awarded entry to a tournament at the discretion of the organizing committee, even though the player (or team) has not strictly satisfied the eligibility criteria. A wild card is awarded to players who are usually young and promising, and belong to the home country The term has been in use in the above sense since 1950s.

• WHAT IS THE WOODEN SPOON IN SPORTS?

'Wooden spoon' is a phrase which refers to the performance of an individual or a team which finishes last in a competition. Sometimes, a mock or real wooden spoon award is also handed over to the contestant coming last. The phrase is apparently based on the fact that a wooden spoon is almost valueless compared to the winner's trophy which is made of precious metal. The term had its origin in Cambridge University where professors used to dangle wooden spoon before students who failed in examination.

• WHY DO TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO PLAY AS A SEPARATE TEAM IN FOOTBALL BUT PLAY AS A PART OF THE WEST INDIES IN CRICKET?

West Indies is composed of several islands; some are independent nations, some others are dependencies or territories. Most were under the rule of Spain, Britain, France, Denmark, or the Netherlands. When England introduced cricket in its colonies in the 19th century it wanted to form only one cricket team in West Indies with representatives from all its colonies there and from British Guyana. The West Indies team was set up in 1890s and it gained Test status in 1928. It's managed by the West Indies Cricket Board, which today represents ten independent and two dependent English-speaking nations of the Carribean. Unlike cricket, soccer developed independently in the West Indies. It is possible for each country of West Indies, particularly Trinidad and Tobago, to participate independently in international football tournaments.

• WHO HAS WON THE MOST NUMBER OF FENCING TITLES?

Russia's Aleksandr Romankov has won the most men's Individual World Championship fencing titles — five in 1974,1977,1979,1982 and 1983. However, he was never an Olympic champion. SagineRejto Ildiko has won the most Olympic fencing medals by a woman — seven (two gold, three silver, two bronze).

• WHY ARE THE AUSTRALIAN OPEN, FRENCH OPEN, WIMBLEDON AND THE US OPEN CALLED GRAND SLAMS?

In tennis, a singles player or doubles team is said to have achieved the Grand Slam if they succeed in winning all these four titles in the same year. These tournaments are therefore also known as the Grand Slam tournaments. The term was first used in 1933 by American journalist John Kieran. In describing the attempt that year by Jack Crawford to win all four titles, he compared it with "a countered and vulnerable grand slam in bridge".

• WHAT IS TREE TRANSFER' IN FOOTBALL?

Every football player who plays for a club has a contract with the club for a particular period of time. After the contract expires and the player moves/transfers to another club, it is called free transfer because the latter does not have to pay the player's former club any amount of money.

• WHERE WAS TWENTY 20 FIRST PLAYED?

The Twenty20 format of cricket was first played in 2003, in a match between England and Wales at Lord's in England. It drew a crowd of 26,500. The first international Twenty20 match was played between Australia and New Zealand in Auckland's Eden Park.

• WHO WAS THE CAPTAIN OF INDEPENDENT INDIA'S FIRST CRICKET TEST TEAM?

The colourful cricket legend Lala Amarnath (1911-2000) was the first Test cricket captain of an independent Indian team. The first series he captained was against Australia, played in Australia in 1947-48. A brilliant all-rounder, he is best remembered as the first Indian to score a Test century in his debut match against England in Bombay in 1933. He was also the captain who led India to it’s first-ever Test victory and series victory in 1952- 53 when India and Pakistan played a series in India.

• WHY IS THE WIMBLEDON DRESS CODE WHITE?

Traditionally, white is considered the colour of sport since it stands for purity. Since the Wimbledon Championships places great emphasis on tradition, it insists that players wear only white. Of course, thanks to some players' flamboyant outfits, most notably Andre Agassi, the all-white dress code was relaxed to "almost white".

• WHO IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE FOOTBALLER?

In 2001, Zinedine Zidane transferred. From the Italian club Juventus F.C to Real Madrid of Spain , on a four-year contract. The transfer fee was $66 million, making him the most expensive, player in foot• ball history. The 34-year-old French captain, popularly known as Zizou, is considered one the greatest players of this generation. He has said that the 2(506 World Cup will be his last in competitive football. He is retiring from club football as well.

• WHY DO THE SURFACES OF TABLE TENNIS RACQUETS HAVE DIFFERENT COLOURS?

• IN FOOTBALL, WHY DOES THE BEST PLAYER WEAR NUMBER 10?

It's not that the best player in a team wears a number 10 jersey. It just happens so. Generally the manager and coach start numbering the formation, beginning from the goalkeeper and then defenders and so on. Accordingly, mostly midfielders or forwards have that number. It's completely according to strategies or formation.

• HAS ANY GOALKEEPER EVER SCORED A GOAL DIRECTLY FROM HIS 18-YARD BOX?

Luis Martinez, a Colombian goalkeeper achieved this feat in a match against Poland on May 30, 2006 in a World Cup warm-up match with Poland.

• WHAT'S THE HIGHEST SPEED RECORDED AT A FL EVENT?

The Grand Prix with the highest average speed was the 1971 Italian Grand Prix, won by Peter Gethin in a BRM at an average speed of 242.6 kph on the Monza circuit which at the time did not yet have any chicanes. Interestingly, a recent computer simulation suggested that current Formula. One car would achieve an average speed of well over 300 kph on the original circuit. In 1998, the fastest Grand Prix was the Italian, won by Michael Schumacher at an average speed of 237.591 kph.

• HOW IS 'WALKING' DIFFERENT FROM "RUNNING' IN THE OLYMPICS?

In walking, the constraint is that at any frame of time you should always maintain contact with the ground. This can only be achieved when before lifting your rear foot you put the front foot on the ground. In running, there is no such constraint but the former method will slow you down compared to the latter. m running, you push your rear foot to get a leap even before your front foot has reached the ground, thus achieving greater speeds. In the walking marathon at the Olympics, foot contact is closely monitored and if the visual suggests the participant has not maintained continuous contact with the ground, it results in disqualification.

• WHY IS AUSTRALIA CALLED OZ?

The word Australia when referred to informally with its first three letters becomes Aus. When Aus or toundfairult.

• IN CHESS, WHY ARE THE PIECES IN BLACK AND WHITE, AND NOT IN ANY OTHER COLOUR?

It is for the sake of contrast. Although the colour of chess pieces may vary, the lighter colour is called 'white' while the darker colour is called 'black'. The players are called 'white players' and 'black players', depending on the colour of pieces they control.

• WHAT DOES BMX STANDS FOR?

The full form of BMX is bicycle motocross. It is the sport of racing specially built bicycles on a rough, cross-country course that includes constructed obstacles. BMX wheels are much smaller in diameter than touring or hybrid wheels, and the frame is designed to be very small in relation to the size of the rider.

• WHY IS AUSTRALIA REFERRED TO AS DOWN UNDER?

Australia is known as 'the land Down Under' for its position in the southern hemisphere. The discovery of Australia began when European explorers searched for a land under the continent of Asia. Before Australia was discovered, it was known as Terra Australis Incognita — the unknown southern land. Despite the term's wide usage, it is rarely used by Australians themselves, many of whom regard it with some derision.

• WHERE DID ACROBATICS ORIGINATE?

Acrobatic traditions are found in many cultures. In the West, Minoan art from circa 2000 B.C. contains depictions of acrobatic feats on the backs of bulls, which may have been a religious ritual. In China, acrobatics have been a part of the culture since the Han Dynasty, over 2500 years ago. During the Tang dynasty acrobatics saw much the same sort of development as European acrobatics saw during the Middle Ages with court displays during the 7th through the 10th century dominating the practice. The first use of acrobatics as a specific sport was in (he Soviet Union in the 1930s, and the first world championships were in 1974.

• WHICH IS THE WORLD'S RICHEST SPORTING BODY?

India's cricket board claims it's on track to becoming the richest sporting body in the world. Since Sharad Pawar took over as president of BCCI in November, supported by vice-president Lalit Modi, who is aggressively overseeing sales and marketing, and former BCCI president Inderjeet Singh Bihdra, the body claims it has already multiplied its income by eight times to about $1.5 billion.

• WHEN DID WHITE RIVER RAFTING BECOME A SPORT?

Rafting or whitewater rafting is a recreational activity utilising a raft to navigate a river or other water bodies. This is usually done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. In the 1970s, raiting was included in the Munich Olympics. In the 1990s, rafting was included in the Barcelona Olympics (1992) and Atlanta Olympics (1996). The International Federation of Rafting was instituted in 1997, and the first official International Championship was held in 1999.

• WHICH IS THE NATIONAL GAME OF FRANCE?

France is one of the most sportsoriented countries in the world, considering that about two-thirds of the men and one-third of the women of France actively participate in at least one sport. Further, France hosts many prestigious international tournaments every year and France is one of the leading winners of gold medals in Olympics. Although a variety of sports and games are played and hosted by France, the most popular sports there are football, tennis, and cycling. Football has the maximum number of licensed players and is considered by many as the national game of France. However, cycling and tennis are also referred to as national games of France by some others.

• WHICH IS THE OLDEST GRAND SLAM TITLE IN TENNIS?

The Wimbledon Championships, played on grass courts, is the oldest Grand Slam tournament. It began as an amateur event called the Lawn Tennis Championships. The first championship was held in 1877. The other three Grand Slams of tennis are the US Open that started in 1881, the French Open in 1891, and the Australian Open in 1905.

• WHAT IS A DEAD BALL SITUATION IN FOOTBALL?

A dead ball situation in football is when the ball is not in motion. It is created whenever a foul is committed. A free kick is awarded to the respective team to whom the foul has been given. There should be a minimum distance of five yards between the ball and the player. Corner kicks as well as goal kicks are considered dead ball situations. The possibility of scoring a goal increases as the distance between the goal and the ball decreases in a dead ball situation.

• WHY ARE ATHLETIC EVENTS HELD IN ANTI-CLOCKWISE DIRECTION?

As we know, the Earth rotates in the anti-clockwise direction, and hence, it is much easier to go around a circle in the anti-clockwise direction during sports meets, particularly athletic events. Therefore, all such events are held in the anti-clockwise direction.

• WHICH IS THE WORLD'S OLDEST AND NEWEST FOOTBALL CLUB?

It is possible that a football-related organisation existed in London between 1421 and 1423. The records of the Brewers' Company of London, a guild, mention the hiring out of their hall 'by the football players' for 20 pence, under the heading 'Crafts and Fraternities'. The listing of football players as a fraternity is the earliest allusion to what might be considered a football club. There is evidence that in the 18th century, English cricket clubs regularly played football in the winter. It's been claimed that the Barnes Club (later Barnes Rugby Football Club), from Barnes in London, was formed in 1839. However, this has not been conclusively documented.

• WHEN AND WHERE DID FIGURE SKATING ORIGINATE?

Figure skating began in the later part of the 19th century in Europe. An American ballet master Jackson Haines, who lived in Vienna in 1860s, added the elements of ballet and dance to figure skating. The first world championship for men was held in St Petersburg in 1896, followed by the women's championship in 1906.

• WHAT'S THE MASCOT OF THE BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES?

The mascots of the Beijing Olympic Games are Fuwa (five children). Fuwa, designed to express the playful qualities of five little children who form an intimate circle of friends, embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals — Beibe (the Fish), Jingjing (the Panda), Huanhuan (the Tibetan Antelope), Nini (the Swallow) and the Olympic Flame. When you put their names together — Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni, they say 'Welcome to Beijing'.

• WHAT ARE THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS?

Special Olympics is an international organisation created to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence, social skills and a sense of personal accomplishment through sports training and competition. Among their other activities, Special Olympics conduct the Special Olympics World Games every four years. This year it is taking place in China.

• WHAT IS A MASSE SHOT?

A masse shot, a term in billiards and snooker, is a technique that causes the cue ball to follow a curved path similar to a spin ball in cricket. The masse shot is accomplished by tilting the axis of the ball so that it spins to the inside of the desired curve, and against the grain of the felt. The forward direction of the ball is accomplished by the horizontal angle of the cue. The amount and direction of spin is achieved by the vertical angle and the point of contact. The force by which the ball is pushed is also decisive. The masse shot is an extremely complicated combination of physics that requires lot of concentration and practice.

• WHAT IS A LOW ULTIMATUM GAME?

A low ultimatum game is money related game. A person can offer a sum of money on a non-negotiable basis to another. The person receiving the cash knows how much the other has and how much he is being given from the total pie. At times, even if the sum of money offered is high, some people re-fuse it for they feel they are being given a very small slice of the pie. Scientists are now correlating this seemingly irrational decision to the testosterone level in these men while taking this decision.

• WHAT IS A PROGRESSIVE SCORE IN CHESS?

In chess tournaments, when two players end up with the same score on the final round, the tie needs to be broken for ranking purposes. Different systems of rating follow different rules for such tiebreaking, and the FIDE (Federation Internationale des Echecs) or the Worldwide Chess Federation system uses the cumulative progressive score. Progressive score in a round is the points obtained for the result in the current round plus the progressive score of the previous round if any In general, the system tends to reward early wins rather late wins.

• IN WHICH YEAR WAS BILLIARDS FIRST PLAYED?

Though the origin of billiards is lost in history, an account by the Greek traveller Anacharsis suggests that a rudimentary version was played by Egyptians around 400 BC. This form was adopted by the Greeks. The word 'billiard' has its roots in the French words 'billart' meaning stick, and 'bille' meaning ball. In 1470, the first billiards table was found among the possessions of French king Louis XI. The earliest record of how the game was played was made in the 15th century It started as an indoor version of croquet. The Spaniards introduced billiards to the Americans in 1565. Shakespeare's use of the word 'billiards' in his playAnthony and Cleopatra shows that this sport was well known to the Elizabethans.

• WHAT'S SPECIAL ABOUT EUROPASS FOOTBALL?

The EuroPass is the official football for UEFA Euro 2008. The adidas EuroPass combines tradition with modernity It has a new surface structure which allows players to have more control over the ball and direct it perfectly in all weather conditions. The PSC-Texture, which consists of fine structures on the outer surface, guarantees optimum grip between the ball and boot. The 12 black dots on the ball contain individual graphic e