Famous Sports Professionals - Agastya

Famous Sports People

By Agastya Desai

I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and

live the rest of your life as a champion.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.

I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I

knock 'em out, I pick the round.

Muhammad Ali


By Agastya Desai

Muhammad Ali : (Boxing)

============= On January 17, 1942, the heavyweight champion and one of the most popular men of the world, Muhammad Ali, was born in Kentucky, USA and was named Cassius Marcellus Junior, after his father. He changed his name later. Their father painted commercial boards while mother worked as a cleaning woman and cook. In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated. He won the World Heavyweight Boxing championship three times, and won the North American Boxing Federation championship as well as an Olympic gold medal. At the age of twelve, he got into boxing rather by chance. His new bike had been stolen and for this he met police officer Joe Martin who also ran a boxing gym. On Martin's suggestion, to Muhammad Ali took up boxing. His style was very unusual. He was already faster than most of his opponents and he used his hands not as guard but held them at waist height while avoiding the punches of his opponent just with his reflexes and footwork. He won Olympics gold medal for US at the age of 18, in 1960 by beating a veteran fighter of over 200 fights in the finals. On February 25, 1964, he fought the then heavy weight champion, Sonny Liston, for the world heavy weight champion title. He danced around the flat-footed champion very fast, landing lightning fast jabs and combinations again and again. At the beginning of the seventh round, Liston refused to resume the fight. No one expected him to win, so Ali ran around the ring, yelling at the incredulous journalists: "Who is the greatest? Eat your words! I shook up the world!" His career record was...Total: 61 - Won: 56 (91,8 %)- Lost: 5 (8,2 %)- KOs: 37 (60,7 %)


By Agastya Desai

Everything is Practice.

Pele


By Agastya Desai

Pele: (Football) ==== Born on 21st October 1940, in Brazil, Pele is regarded as one of the greatest footballer of all time. He was born in a poor family and his father was also a football player. Pele didn't have money to even buy ball to practice football in his young days. He used to shine shoes in order to raise money to buy a real soccer ball. In his career he scored 760 official goals, 541 in league championships, making him the top scorer of all time. In total he scored 1281 goals in 1363 games. He was also called as "The King of Football". The 1000th goal coming as a penalty. Pele started playing for professional football club at the age of 15, national team at the age of 16 and was the part of world cup winning team at the age of 17. Pelé's first international match was a 2–1 defeat against Argentina on 7 July 1957. In that match, he scored his first goal for Brazil at the age of 16 years and 9 months to become the youngest player to score in International football. He is the all-time leading scorer of the Brazil national football team and is the only footballer to be a part of three World Cup-winning squads. the only player in the world to have three World Cup winning medals. Since his retirement in 1977, Pelé has been a worldwide ambassador for football and has also been sports minister of Brazil.


By Agastya Desai

Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.

If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on.

Lance Armstrong


By Agastya Desai

Lance Armstrong: (Cycling) =============== Lance Armstrong was born September 18, 1971 in Plano, Texas, is an American professional road racing cyclist who is best known for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. His parents divorced when he was really young and was raised by his mother, Linda. Lance Armstrong got his first bicycle when he was 7 and started riding every day. Some days Armstrong would cycle all the way to Oklahoma (more than 300 Km far) and would have to call his mom to come pick him up. Eventually, Lance Armstrong was able to bike home himself and started entering amateur races. Lance Armstrong competed in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, Spain, where he placed 14th in the road race. After the Olympics, Armstrong turned pro and joined the Motorola cycling team. His pro career didn't get off to a great start, as Lance Armstrong finished dead last in his first race. In 1993, Armstrong won the World Road Race Championship in Oslo, Norway and by 1996 Lance was the 7th-ranked cyclist in the world. After competing in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, Armstrong started to feel tired and weak and couldn't race as well as he used to. Doctors told Lance he had cancer in his testicles and it had also affected his brain & lungs. His cancer treatments included brain and testicular surgery and extensive chemotherapy. Doctors only gave him a 40 % chance of surviving. That didn't stop Lance Armstrong from believing he could race again. Armstrong got cancer-free by February 1997. Lance Armstrong returned to competitive cycling in 1998, and in 1999 he entered Tour de France - more than 3400 KM race through the Alps mountains. Armstrong dominated the race from start to finish and won the event by nearly seven minutes. Lance's amazing comeback from cancer made Armstrong a world-wide celebrity and an inspiration for other people with cancer. Since returning to competitive cycling, Lance Armstrong became the world's number 1 cyclist. He went on to win the Tour de France a record seven straight times from 1999 to 2005, cementing himself as one of America's greatest athletes of all time.


By Agastya Desai

God has given me the talent and it’s only because of sheer grit and hard work that I have made it so far.

I do not only rely on my technique or strength but also on my mind.

M C Mary Kom


By Agastya Desai

Mary Kom: (Boxing) ======== Born on 1st March 1983 in a poor family, MC Mary Kom or Mary Kom, is a female boxer from Manipur, India. Her parents worked in field. Mary Kom, a mother of two, is five times World Boxing Champion, successively. She came back from a two-year sabbatical to clinch her fourth successive World Amateur boxing gold in 2008, a feat that prompted the AIBA to describe her as 'Magnificent Mary'. Mary Kom took to sports in an effort to provide some financial support to her family. She was initially an all-round athlete, and was into 400-m and javelin. When another Indian boxer from Manipur, Dingko Singh returned from Bangkok (Asian Games) with a gold, she thought she should give it a try. She began boxing in 2000 and was a quick learner who preferred to be put through the same paces as the boys around her. She initially tried to keep her interest from her father, and mother, but winning a 2000 state championship got her photograph in the newspaper, as they would not approve her getting in this sport. Mary Kom had won four title of World Boxing Championship in the 46kg category but this time Mary Kom won in the 48kg category. In semifinal Mari Kom had defeated Filipino opponent Alice Appari 8-1. Recently, Mary Kom Won Fifth Consecutive World Boxing Championship Title. Mary Kom Won World Boxing Championship Title in Bridgetown, Barbados on Sep 18, 2010 in Bridgetown. This is the fifth consecutive win for Mary Kom in World Boxing Championship Title. Mary Kom defeated Romanian opponent Duta Seluta 16-6 Mary Kom is the only boxer to have won a medal in each one of the six World Championships. She was the first woman ever to receive India's prestigious Arjuna award for her achievement in boxing (2003). On August 29, 2009 she was selected for the India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award. Her aim is to win gold medal in 2012 Olympics in UK.


By Agastya Desai

I always want to win with a world record.

It is not difficult because I have a clear goal.

Yelena Isinbayeva


By Agastya Desai

Yelena Isinbayeva: (Pole Vault) ================ Yelena Isinbayeva was born on June 3, 1982 in Volgograd, Russia. Her father, is a plumber and mother, a shop assistant. Yelena was born in a modest environment and remembers that her parents had to make many financial sacrifices in her early career. Initially, Yelena trained as an artistic gymnast in her hometown of Volgograd but she had to leave the sport at the age of 15 because she was considered too tall to be competitive in gymnastics. So she turned to the pole vault, though her gymnastic skills didn’t go to waste – the body control she learned is particularly helpful at the top of her vault. She made an immediate impact, winning her first major victory at the age of 16 at the 1998 World Youth Games in Moscow (achieving a height of 4.00m). The following year, Yelena cleared 4.10m at the World Youth Championships in Poland to claim her second gold medal. Yelena is one of the greatest athletes of her generation, having set an incredible 27 world records – 15 outdoor and 12 indoor – and won nine straight gold medals in indoor and outdoor championships since breaking through in 2004. On July 22, 2005, she became the first woman to clear the historic 5-metre barrier in the pole vault. Yelena's current world records are 5.06m (16 feet, 6¾ inches) outdoors. Yelena is so dominating that her main measuring stick is often her own past performance. She has broken her own records multiple time. Her 5.06-meter vault in 2009 marked the 27th time she set a world pole vault record. She has been elected IAAF World Athlete of the Year in three of the last five years and world sportswoman of the year in 2007 and 2009. Very recently, she has decidded to break the world record of maximum world records held by Sergy Bubka (35 world records).


By Agastya Desai

Lots of people let it go by and never accomplish what they want. I just wanted to see what I could do.

Edwin Moses

I always had to keep improving my skills in order to remain competitive and keep winning.


By Agastya Desai

Edwin Moses: (Track & Field) =========== Born on August 31, 1955, in Dayton, Ohio. Both of his parents were educators, and Moses grew up with a strong interest in academics. Moses started his track & field career by competing for the school track team. Despite his new interest in track and field, Moses never qualified for the Ohio High School State Track and Field Championships, and was not considered skilled enough to receive an athletic scholarship to college. His college did not have its own track, so he used public high school facilities around the city to train. Before March 1976, he ran only one 400-meter hurdles race, but once he began focusing on the event he made remarkable progress. He qualified for the US team for the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. In his first international meet, Moses won the gold medal and set a world record of 47.63 seconds, winning by largest winning margin ever in the Olympic event. He broke his own world record the following year. From 1977 to 1987, Moses did not lose another race for nine years, nine months and nine days. By the time American Danny Harris beat Moses in Madrid on June 4, 1987, Moses had won 122 consecutive races, set the world record two more times, won three World Cup titles, two World Championships, and earned his second Olympic gold medal in Los Angeles, Despite the US Olympic boycott that kept him from competing in Moscow, Moses was the 1980 Track & Field News Athlete of the Year. Apart from this, he has won numerous athletics awards.


By Agastya Desai

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot... when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

Michal Jordan

If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.


By Agastya Desai

Michal Jordan: (Basket Ball) ============= Basketball superstar Michael Jordan is one of the most successful, popular, and wealthy athletes in college, Olympic, and professional sports history. Jordan was born on 17th January 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. Hs father was an equipment supervisor & mother worked in a bank. His biography on the National Basketball Association (NBA) website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." and was instrumental in popularizing the NBA around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. He sarted his athletic career by playing baseball, football, and basketball in high school. He tried out for the university basketball team during his 2nd year, but at 5'11" (1.80 m), he was found too short to play at that level. To prove his worth, he joined the team next year and became a start with them. After a standout career at the University of North Carolina, where he led his team to National Championship in 1982, Jordan joined the NBA's Chicago Bulls in 1984. He quickly emerged as a league star, entertaining crowds with his prolific scoring. His skills, especually leaping ability, earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness". He also gained a reputation for being one of the best defensive players in basketball. In 1991, he won his first NBA championship with the Bulls, and followed that achievement with titles in 1992 and 1993. Although Jordan abruptly retired from basketball at the beginning of the 1993–94 NBA season to pursue a career in baseball, he rejoined the Bulls in 1995 and led them to three additional championships (1996, 1997, and 1998) as well as an NBA-record 72 regular-season wins in the 1995–96 NBA season. Jordan retired for a second time in 1999, but on September 25, 2001 Jordan announced his return to professional play with the Wizards, indicating his intention to donate his salary as a player to a relief effort for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks.He led the team with good performance, injury in his right knee ended Jordan's season after only 60 games.


By Agastya Desai

A good captain must be a fighter; confident but not arrogant, firm but not stubborn.

I find it difficult to come to terms with a life where old and valued friends insist on calling me 'Sir' instead of Don, simply because they think it is protocol.

Sir Don Bradman


By Agastya Desai

Sir Don Bradman: (Cricket) =============== Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), often referred to as The Don, was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has been claimed to be statistically the greatest achievement in any major sport. No other player including Sachin Tendulkar, who has played more than 20 Test match innings has finished with a Test average of more than 61. Bradman practised batting incessantly during his youth. He invented his own solo cricket game, using a cricket stump for a bat, and a golf ball. When hit into the curved surface, the ball rebounded at high speed, at varying angles—and Bradman would attempt to hit it again. This form of practice developed his timing and reactions to a high degree. In more formal cricket, he hit his first century at the age of 12, playing for his School. Bradman's rise to the Australian Test team took just over two years. Before his 22nd birthday, he had set many records for high scoring, some of which (like scoring more than 300 unbeaten runs on 1 day) still stand, and became Australia's sporting idol. During a 20-year playing career, Bradman consistently scored with 29 centuries (including 12 double centuries) in 80 innings with numerous records. Only seven players have surpassed this number, all at a much slower rate, with next best being Sachin Tendulkar who required 159 innings score same number of centuries. A controversial set of tactics, known as Bodyline, was specifically devised by the England team to curb his scoring. As a captain and batsman Bradman was committed to attacking, entertaining cricket; he drew spectators in record numbers. Bradman retained a pre-eminent position in the game by acting as an administrator, selector and writer for three decades following his retirement due to world war. Bradman's image has appeared on postage stamps and coins, and he was the first living Australian to have a museum dedicated to his life. In 1949, he was knighted for his services to the game of cricket.


By Agastya Desai

I think if you come first with a new world record, that is the best.

Haile Gebrsellasie

Sport has been great for me, a great learning place that if you want to achieve you can, even if you are from the poorest part of Africa.


By Agastya Desai

Haile Gebrsellasie: (Long Distance Running, Marathon) ================ Haile Gebrselassie, born on April 18, 1973, is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. Gebrselassie was born as one of ten children to his parents in Ethiopia. As a child growing up on a farm he used to run ten kilometres to school every morning, and the same back every evening. This led to a distinctive running posture, with his left arm crooked as if still holding his schoolbooks. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon. Further to this, he won four world titles indoors and was the 2001 World Half Marathon Champion. Gebrselassie had major competition wins at distances between 1500 metres and the marathon, moving from outdoor, indoor and cross country running to road running in the latter part of his career. He broke 61 Ethiopian National Records ranging from 800 meters to the marathon, set 27 world records, and is widely considered one of the greatest distance runners in history. In September 2008, at the age of 35, he won the Berlin Marathon with a world record time of 2:03:59, breaking his own world record by 27 seconds. Since he was over the age of 35, that mark also is the Masters Age group world record. He announced his retirement from the sport on November 7, 2010 after dropping out of the 2010 New York City Marathon. He is even considering to return ni 2012 Olympics.


By Agastya Desai

I can't stay No. 1 for fifty years, you know. We'll see what happens.

Roger Federer

I like to play against guys who have beaten me, especially early in the career, try to get them back.


By Agastya Desai

Roger Federer: (Tennis) ============= Roger Federer (born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the number one position for a record 237 consecutive weeks and 285 total weeks, one week behind record holder Pete Sampras. As of 18 October 2010, he is ranked World No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Many sports analysts, tennis critics, and former and current players consider Federer to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer has won a male record 16 Grand Slam singles titles. He is one of seven male (and only swiss player, male or female) players to capture the career Grand Slam and one of three (with Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal) to do so on three different surfaces (clay, grass and hard courts). Federer has appeared in an unprecedented 22 career Grand Slam finals. He holds the record of reaching the semi-finals or better of 23 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments over five and a half years from the 2004 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open. Federer also holds the record of reaching 10 consecutive Grand Slam finals and appeared in 18 of 19 over four and a half years from the 2005 Wimbledon Championships through the 2010 Australian Open, excluding the 2008 Australian Open. Federer has won 4 ATP World Tour Finals and 17 ATP Masters Series tournaments. He also won the Olympic Gold Medal in doubles with his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. As a result of Federer's successes in tennis, he was named the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year for four consecutive years (2005–2008). He is often referred to as The Federer Express or abbreviated to Fed Express, the Swiss Maestro or simply Maestro. Federer supports various charities. He established the Roger Federer Foundation in 2003 to help disadvantaged people and to promote sports.


By Agastya Desai

I just tried to keep my cool and continue with my race plan: to win.

I'm trying to do the best I can. I'm not concerned with tomorrow, but with what goes on today.

Mark Spitz


By Agastya Desai

Mark Spitz : (Swimming) ========== Spitz was born to a Jewish family in Modesto, California, USA on February 10, 1950. He was the first of three children of his parents. When he was two years old, Spitz's family moved to Honolulu, Hawaii where he swam at Waikiki Beach every day. He won seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, an achievement surpassed only by Michael Phelps (Australia) who won eight golds at the 2008 Olympics. Between 1968 and 1972, Spitz won nine Olympic golds, a silver and a bronze, five Pan American golds, 31 US Amateur Athletic Union titles and eight US National Collegiate Athletic Association titles. During those years, he set 33 world records. He was named World Swimmer of the Year in 1969, 1971 and 1972 and remains the only Olympic athlete to both win a gold medal in every individual event he entered in a given year, and to set a world record in each event.


By Agastya Desai

Michael Schumacher

My overriding memory of childhood is having the freedom to decide which way to go in life and having my parents' support.

When you start out in a team, you have to get the teamwork going and then you get something back.


By Agastya Desai

Michael Schumacher: (Car Racing Driver) ================== Michael Schumacher was born on born 3 January 1969 in in West Germany. He is a Formula One racing driver & drove for Ferrari & Mercedes GP. He was also known by nick name Schumi. Most famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and according to the official Formula One website is "statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen". He holds many of the formula's driver records including most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions, points scored and most races won in a single season – 13 in 2004. In 2002 he became the only driver in Formula 1 history to finish in the top three in every race.


By Agastya Desai

Hard work has made it easy. That is my secret. That is why I win.

I don't run away from a challenge because I am afraid. Instead, I run toward it because the only way to escape fear is to trample it beneath your feet.

Nadia Comaneci

I believe that you should gravitate to people who are doing productive and positive things with their lives.

You should also appreciate the goodness around you, and surround yourself with positive people.


By Agastya Desai

Nadia Comaneci: (Gymnastic) ============== Born on 12 November 1961, in Onesti, Moldava, Romania, Nadia Comaneci, is one of the greatest gymnast of all times. Nadia was known for her clean technique, innovative and difficult original skills, and her stoic, cool demeanor in competition. She was first to score perfect 10 (points) in Olympic gymnastic history. In fact, when she achieved the feat in 1976 Olympic in Montreal, the scoreboards were not even equipped to display scores of 10.0—so Nadia's perfect marks were reported on the boards as 1.00 instead. She achieved, what mankind has not even thought of !!! After that she earned seven perfect scores. Comaneci went on to compete in the 1980 Moscow games and brought her lifetime medal total to five golds, three silvers and one bronze. She retired from competition in 1984 and became a judge and the coach of the Romanian national team. In 1989 Comaneci fled Romania and was granted political asylum in the United States. Her coach Bela Karoloyi found her from school and described Nadia as the perfect pupil. He said, "She knew no fear." Nadia trained 6 days a week and 4 hours each day. Nadia was the first to arrive in the morning and start warming up for her workout. She would practice exercises again and again (and again one more time) without a single complaint and she never seemed to get tired. In 2000 Comăneci was named as one of the athletes of the century by the Laureus World Sports Academy. In 1984 a television biopic of Nadia Comăneci was made by the name Nadia.

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Famous Sports Professionals - Agastya