Richer Countries Win More Medals in the Asian Games

Asian Games have recently concluded. Various analysis have been made about performances of different countries in the games, but one interesting aspect is that the richer countries had a better medals-to-population ratio in the recently concluded Asian Games. 

From the article "The wealth of nations and sporting success", published Wed, Sep 05 2018: 

"The most tangible manifestation of wealth’s impact is on the ability to spend on sports. In their book, Successful Elite Sport Policies, Veerle de Bosscher and co-authors analyse the performance of 15 successful sporting nations to highlight nine pillars for sporting triumph. They find that while there is no generic policy blueprint, there is a strong positive relationship between money spent on sports development and success."

Is it not logical and at the same time a little sad? 

This is why I have my personal opinion that poor countries should not spend too much money over sports; because they simply can't compete with the amount of money the richer countries spend. 

Referece: https://www.livemint.com/Sports/1DKgIYnkuOgW7eqHzgIs5M/The-wealth-of-nations-and-sporting-success.html

Drama in US Open Final 2018

You must have come across what happened in the US Open Final where Serena William lost. 

If decades of disciplined training and professional sports can't teach Serena Williams about how to behave herself; are benefits from professional sports all but hype? 

Not only she used foul language against the umpire, she also threatened him, accused with sexism where there was none, hijacked the stage and completely ruined it for the true Champion! 

Serena has mother of all meltdowns in US Open final loss

What was supposed to be history descended into histrionics. Serena Williams came into Saturday’s U.S. Open final looking for a record-setting title. What she got was a game penalty and an emotional meltdown. 

Though Williams repeatedly demanded an apology from chair umpire Carlos Ramos and got a game penalty after calling him a “liar” and a “thief,” she ended the match in tears. And Osaka — who sat in the stands at Arthur Ashe Stadium when she was 5, watching Williams play — was in tears herself as the pro-Williams crowd rained boos upon the victor’s stand, which included USTA officials. 

In the second game of the second set, Ramos hit Williams with a code violation for receiving coaching from Patrick Mouratoglou from her player’s box. 

“You owe me an apology,” Williams said. “I’ve never cheated in my life. I have a daughter and stand for what’s right for her.” 

Still, Mouratoglou admitted he’d given her advice, though threw in the disclaimer she may not have seen it from the other end of the court. 

“I just texted Patrick, like, what is he talking about? Because we don’t have signals, we’ve never discussed signals. I don’t even call for on-court coaching,” Williams said. “I’m trying to figure out why he would say that. I don’t understand. Maybe he said, ‘You can do it.’ I was on the far other end, so I’m not sure. I want to clarify myself what he’s talking about.” 

Williams got a second code violation four games later, up 3-2. After Osaka broke her serve, Williams broke her racket in frustration and was assessed a point penalty. 

“You will never, ever be on another court of mine as long as you live. You’re the liar. When are you going to give me my apology? Say it! Say you’re sorry!” Williams ranted, before ending with, “You’re a thief, too.” 

That was the last straw, and Ramos hit her with a third code violation for verbal abuse, which cost Williams a game to put Osaka up 5-3. An irate Williams argued in vain to tournament referee Brian Earley and got closed out two games later. 

The U.S. Open released a statement saying “the chair umpire’s decision was final and not reviewable by the Tournament Referee or the Grand Slam Supervisor who were called to the court at that time.” Williams contends that letter of the law wouldn’t have been followed if she’d been male. 

“I’ve seen other men call other umpires several things. I’m here fighting for women’s rights and for women’s equality. For me to say ‘thief’ and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was sexist,” Williams said. “He’s never taken a game from a man because they said ‘thief’. For me it blows my mind.” 

https://nypost.com/2018/09/08/serena-has-mother-of-all-meltdowns-in-us-open-final-loss/ 

It’s shameful what US Open did to Naomi Osaka 

Naomi Osaka, 20 years old, just became the first player from Japan to win a Grand Slam.
Yet rather than cheer Osaka, the crowd, the commentators and US Open officials all expressed shock and grief that Serena Williams lost. 

Osaka spent what should have been her victory lap in tears. It had been her childhood dream to make it to the US Open and possibly play against Williams, her idol, in the final. 

It’s hard to recall a more unsportsmanlike event. 

Here was a young girl who pulled off one of the greatest upsets ever, who fought for every point she earned, ashamed. 

At the awards ceremony, Osaka covered her face with her black visor and cried. The crowd booed her. Katrina Adams, chairman and president of the USTA, opened the awards ceremony by denigrating the winner and lionizing Williams — whose ego, if anything, needs piercing. 

“Perhaps it’s not the finish we were looking for today,” Adams said, “but Serena, you are a champion of all champions.” Addressing the crowd, Adams added, “This mama is a role model and respected by all.” 

That’s not likely the case now, not after the world watched as Serena Williams had a series of epic meltdowns on the court, all sparked when the umpire warned her: No coaching from the side. Her coach was making visible hand signals. 

“I don’t cheat to win,” Williams told him. “I’d rather lose.” 

She couldn’t let it go, going back multiple times to berate the umpire. At one point she called him a thief. 

“You stole a point from me!” she yelled. 

After her loss, Williams’s coach admitted to ESPN that he had, in fact, been coaching from the stands, a code violation. The warning was fair. 

Everything that followed is on Williams, who is no stranger to tantrums. Most famously, she was tossed from the US Open in 2009 after telling the line judge, “I swear to God I’ll take the f—king ball and shove it down your f—king throat.” John McEnroe was taken aback. Even Williams’s mother Oracene Price couldn’t defend her daughter’s outburst.
“She could have kept her cool,” Price said. 

On Saturday, she also could have tried to be gracious in defeat. No matter how her fans try to spin this, Williams was anything but. Upon accepting her finalist award, she gave parsimonious praise to her competitor while telling the crowd she felt their pain. 

“Let’s try to make this the best moment we can,” she said in part, “and we’ll get through it . . . let’s not boo anymore. We’re gonna get through this and let’s be positive, so congratulations, Naomi.” 

Osaka accepted her trophy while choking back tears. She never smiled. When asked if her childhood dream of playing against Williams matched the reality, she politely sidestepped the question. 

“I’m sorry,” Osaka said. “I know that everyone was cheering for her and I’m sorry it had to end like this.” 

She turned to Williams. “I’m really grateful I was able to play with you,” Osaka said. “Thank you.” She bowed her head to Williams, and Williams just took it — no reciprocation, no emotion. 

Osaka, a young player at the beginning of her career, showed grit, determination and maturity on that court and off. 

She earned that trophy. Let’s recall that this wasn’t Osaka’s first victory over Williams — she beat Williams back in March, causing a hiccup in that great comeback narrative. 

Osaka earned her moment as victor at the US Open, one that should have been pure joy. If anything was stolen during this match, it was that. 

https://nypost.com/2018/09/08/its-shameful-what-us-open-did-to-naomi-osaka/

The manner in which Serena Williams has behaved today, tells the real truth about how professional competitive sports kills the true "sportsmanship" and turns champion players into just slaves of their own successes.

While entire world is condemning Serena Williams for her behavior, let us also accept that it is not only about Serena. It is about the "game".