<Afghanistan to play in ACC Trophy> and another war country Iraq has qualified for Olympics! These reports of hope and success are all too less important for world to take notice..may be destruction and hoplessness sells far better and gets the maximum price..
What a change couple of years make, from limbless youth in Afghanistan to youth who possibly would be contesting the world cup!
Cricket means fair and honorable behavior.. In the days of the Empire, the English took cricket to the colonies as a means of instilling the gentlemanly values of fair play while administering a sound thrashing to the natives. These days, the former colonies - such as Australia, the West Indies and India beat English regularly. Now new addition to the world cricket is Afghanistan never a colony and outside the sphere of British influence, just pre 911 it was a war torn country ruled by medieval clerics and nation that boasted mines and limbless youth has now made a great entry to world of cricket…a world fair and honorable behavior and undeviating result of changing priorities of nation as consequence of Bush post 911 doctrine that, I call this as proactive engagement with constructive forces and reduction of destructive icons by waging a determined effort of eradication, no mean task.
Who could have imagined these are collateral benefits, life of nations is changing for good, long lost lands are coming back to civilization. Few months from now Iraq will have the same future and will be a proud member of comity, of nations.. Iraqi football team already has qualified for Olympic instead of death threats now resurgence of capability is emerging, out of all the Arab teams only one team qualified and that was Iraq, if sports rejuvenation is a sign of emergence of nation this is an ample proof of a strategy that is building hope.
maxell.co.jp.
It is a far cry from the days if one can recall
<It was a qualifying match in Jordan, and at full time Iraq were drawing three-all against the United Arab Emirates. Arab League rules called for a penalty shoot-out. Abbas Rahim Zair walked up to the penalty spot with a prayer on his lips and his heart in his boots.
Any player knows the pain of missing a penalty, but for a member of the national team, it carried the certainty of ritual humiliation, imprisonment, and torture. Only three Iraqis dared to take penalties, and Zair was one of them.
"Many of the footballers refused to even touch the ball, but then we realised that if no one accepted we would all be punished," the midfielder said.
He missed. Two days after the team returned to Baghdad, Zair was summoned to the headquarters of the country's Olympic committee, the lair of Uday Hussein, eldest son of Saddam and the leading personality in Iraqi sport.
He was blindfolded, and taken away to a prison camp for three weeks. He shrugged: "End of story." >
guardian.co.uk
dailytimes.com.pk |
