yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Pickle-ball, golf and the new divide: Sport was once a shared experience, it's now a purchased service. Team at Deccan Herald - Thank you. Pickle-ball - a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis - began in the US during the 1960’s but was introduced in India only during the 2000’s. Its popularity, however, rose during COVID, and today pickle-ball courts are mushrooming in our cities and towns. With over 500 courts, Amadavad has emerged as the pickle-ball capital of our country. I asked a friend, who often plays pickle-ball, why the sport is so popular. The main reason, he responded, is that the sport is not demanding: the court is smaller than a tennis court, it requires less energy than badminton, age and gender are not barriers, and it is easy to learn. On top of these, it gives players the feeling of having played a serious sport. He suggested that I observe the pickle-ball set-up not far from where I live, a set-up fairly representative of th...

Matchless Years ago, in school, the English teacher had asked us to give an example of perseverance. The idea was to determine if we understood the term correctly. After some confusion, taking cue from the history class of the previous week, I had said Ghazni; it was a while before I realized why she had declared the answer incorrect. Today, to the same question, I would in a flash say Federer and, I understand, there is little chance that a teacher would disagree. How has he been able to come back after being written off? After not playing for few months at 35 when winning a few matches is tough task, forget winning a major? A lot about Federer cannot be easily explained. This includes support and love of fans. The support he got during 2014 and 2015 losses to Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals, for example, would have few parallels, especially for someone who is not a local. To Australia and Nadal’s credit the support was not as tilted in Federer’s favour during the A...