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HomeOpinionTele-scopeThe many joys of watching Indians at Tokyo 2020. But it's the...

The many joys of watching Indians at Tokyo 2020. But it’s the commentary that excites more

Want to cry tears of joy watching Indian athletes in Tokyo? Let Sony's Olympics coverage add to it.

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The Alaskans did it; the Brits did it – at the poolside; the Canadians and Japanese did it too, by the pool; why, even the Russian men did it, on the mat. And you know what they say – if you can’t beat them, join them. So, let’s do it – let’s have a huge, synchronised cry.

There are many reasons to weep: as a sports lover, you’ll weep in relief that the Tokyo Olympics 2020 – yes, they’re still called that in July 2021 – finally got underway last Friday and you had not one or two but four channels beaming live from Japan (Sony 10 channels).

The reason we all are in Tokyo

If you’re an Indian fan, you were bathed in joyful tears – and sweat – on day 1, after celebrating Mirabai Chanu’s silver medal in weightlifting, by jumping up and down the way athletes do in a warm-up.

You will smile through the tears, seeing that Puja Rani, P.V. Sindhu, and Deepika Kumari have made it to the next round, in boxing, badminton and archery, respectively.

But you will also have wept in despair, each day, as you watched India’s ‘365 din wali training’, as the Sony promo called it, come to naught in other archery, shooting, table tennis, boxing, hockey and rowing encounters. ‘India lost…’ became the refrain on the lips of the studio anchors Ridhima Pathak and Arpit Sharma – she with the winsome smile even when India was losing; he with his immaculate clothes, tan shoes and ‘it’s only a game’ composure.

Ah, but there were also a few tears of joy when boxer Manish Kumar, – ‘inspired by Vijender’, we were told by the commentator – landed an almighty punch on his British opponent’s face (‘good stuff from the Indian,’ said the English commentator); and when Sharath Kamal Achanta took a set off ‘the dictator’ Ma Long, in table tennis – or just to see Bhavani Devi rattle the sabre for a first Indian win in fencing.

Thums Up, all of you, you say, inspired by the can of the carbonated drink, featuring prominently, on the studio table, during the ‘Sports Extraaa’ wrap-up show.


Also read: Pegasus, porn, Punjab, Parliament. Indian news channels didn’t pause this week


The tearful, cheerful commentary

Through the tears, you could see for yourself why Indian athletes had fared poorly. “Sai’s body language looking pretty low,” exclaimed the commentator as badminton player Sai Praneeth took a beating from his Dutch opponent, Mark Caljouw, Wednesday afternoon. The Indian women’s hockey team’s “body language was very poor”, remarked Olympian Viren Rasquinha after India went down 1-4 to Great Britain’s ‘ladies’ in the morning.

Once you had wiped dry the tears, you began to look elsewhere for thrills. And what could be more thrilling than to behold US gymnast Simone Biles, perfectly balanced on the beam? The question is – where was she?

After a brief and forgettable appearance on Sunday, little was seen of her – you were so, so disappointed: you had travelled miles, metaphorically speaking, to watch Biles – and she wasn’t leading the Americans to victory in the team event over ROC – once upon a time before doping bans, also known as Russia? ‘Oh dear!’, to use many commentators’ favourite exclamation while describing an event.

The commentary was, often, more entertaining than the contests. And there was nothing to beat the commentator who welcomed us to ‘the wonderful world of table tennis’, when China’s Ma Long – ‘the greatest, the dragon, the dictator’ – took on the ‘warrior’ Sharath Kamal. The commentator made each point sound like a battle of life and death – ‘he is the Shawshank Redemption’, he observed of a comeback from Sharath. Although the ‘most complete player in the game’ beat the Indian star, there were words of praise for Sharath: ‘A very impressive performance.’

The customary ‘oohs’, ‘aaahs’ and adjectives abounded – ‘beautiful’, ‘brilliant’, ‘fantastic’, and poetic flights – ‘As the sun rose, it shone on the Indian hockey team…’ when the men beat Spain 3-0.


Also read: Can’t cancel, can’t hold – Tokyo Olympics was going to help Brand Japan, now it’s a headache


For your eyes only

Sony’s coverage was pleasing and irritating. On a pleasing note, there was plenty to watch on different channels – you could choose from synchronised swimming, badminton, archery or hockey at the same time. Then it would be taekwondo, boxing, rowing and gymnastics—that too, with the top performers in each event. Wow. A once-in-four-years – five, this time – experience that is to be cherished, even if you are not a dedicated follower of sports.

And then there is the technical aspect of it. The camerawork deserves a 10/10. There was one shot that, virtually, sat in the crouching lap of American swimmer Brian Murphy, just before he launched himself into the pool. Also, there’s an overhead shot that gives you a much better idea of who is leading by how much. The slow motion and close-ups on the gymnasts revealed every taut sinew stilled in motion.

And then, there was the 360-degree camera shot of US basketball player Kevin Durant as he was about to score – unbelievable.


Also read: No cheering, singing, whistling — All that is different as Tokyo gets ready for Olympics


What’s wrong with Sony?

The irritants were plenty: first, Sony’s habit of breaking for commercials just when Biles was about to perform or just after Deepika Kumari had won her match – half the fun of watching sports is in the winner’s and loser’s reactions.

Another was the needless amount of time spent at some events – tennis, for example. We have watched Serbia’s Novak Djokovic win Wimbledon, a fortnight ago; we really don’t need to watch him take on players ranked far below him, at the Olympics – that too for hours on end. When there are so many events to be watched, why waste time here?

A half-an-hour highlights of the day capsule, morning and evening, could have taken care of such events — and given those who have something to do besides watch TV all day, a chance to catch up with the action.

Lastly, when there are more than 400 events, why would Sony Ten 1 wander off to Lord’s for old cricket matches, repeat highlights of India-Sri Lanka ODIs or to WWF bouts?

Makes you want to sit down and have a good cry.

Views are personal.

(Edited by Prashant Dixit)

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