Coming back to diet is very tough: day 37

Today, I aimed for having water fasting and until 11 PM I could hold on. Then, I felt very bad and some sick and then I decided to eat enough and now I feel good. Because of winter, I could not do my diet in the last 5-6 weeks. So, I have to again start slowly and listen to my body. The only good thing I did today was that I did not eat any meat. Anyway, in my body, I feel fresh and the good part is that although I am now 101 KG, I really feel very good.

So, learn to listen to your body and don’t try to push your health too much with your diets. 

Birmingham secure a Much Needed 1-1 Draw against Tottenham

Tottenham dominated the entire match but in the end, it was the lucky day of Birmingham. Liam Ridgewell scored in injury time to rule out a lead of Tottenham Hotspur that came from the goal of Defoe in 69 minute. This season, Birmingham is in impressive form at home and with this draw, they are at the 8^th position. Tottenham is still in the fourth position but Liverpool is very close to them in league table with just one point behind. Both the goals came in second half after a goalless first half.

In the first half, both the teams had almost equal share of ball position but Tottenham played better. Tottenham got seven attempts on target and seven attempts off target. On the other hand, Birmingham could get only two attempts on and off target both. The best part of the match in the first-half was that the players tried to give a clean match and there was no yellow card on that part of the game. Tottenham came close on one or two occasions but they could not capitalize and scored the much needed goal.

Liverpool Defeat Bolton 2-0: EPL 30 January

Liverpool has secured a comfortable win against Bolton at Anfield . The match just finished now and the home side got two goals in the two halves.  Kuyt scored the first goal for his club at the 37 minute while the second goal came on the 70 minute thanks to an own goal by Davies of Bolton. In the first half, Liverpool was leading by 1-0. With this win, Liverpool has now 41 points from 24 matches and they are now at the 5^th position in the league table. On the other hand, Bolton is in 16^th position with 21 points from 22 matches.

In the first half, both the teams got some opportunities and it was Liverpool who could get the only goal in the first half. In 37 minutes, Kuyt scored from inside the six yard box. Liverpool had more ball position (54%) compare to Bolton (46%) and they had five corners in the first-half compare to just one of Bolton. Two players were shown yellow cards and for Bolton and Liverpool it was only Mascherano who was cautioned. Bolton got a good chance early in the match but failed to capitalize.

Weight Loss Surgery or Obesity: Which is better?

I personally am against weight loss surgery as there is a substantial amount of risk in it. However, there is new research that weight loss surgery is perhaps better than having a life with obesity. Christopher Still, D.O., director of the Geisinger Centre for Nutrition and Weight Management, has stated that surgery is better.

He said, "Some obesity-related conditions can be fatal, and others require chronic medication and treatment.

With the help of bariatric surgery, medical complications caused by obesity can be eliminated, and patients can enjoy a much healthier life."

The basic ideas are that first of all, a surgery can decrease weight substantially. Secondly, because of losing weight, the person can do many of the works that they could not do in the past.

As for me, I am not an expert on this topic. I am patient myself and fighting against this problem. I feel that they best way to deal with it to change in lifestyle and food habit. However, modern lifestyle makes changing food habit or lifestyle very difficult. 

Arsenal vs Manchester United Preview and Live Score: 31 January 2010

Arsenal is going to take on Manchester United on this Sunday at the Emirates Stadium. The match will take place on 31 January and the starting time is 16:00 GMT. The outcome of the result is very important for both of the matches as it is an important match in the league table at this moment. Naturally, both the team will play to win and whoever loses will perhaps suffer a big blow in the race of English Premier League table this season. Both the clubs are facing some problems in the recent risk and they are trying to come over the problems.

It is a home match for Arsenal. In this season, in August Manchester United entertained Arsenal at Old Trafford on August 29, 2009. In that match, United won by 2-1. It was a very tightly contested match and Arsenal scored at first and even was leading in the half-time one goals to nil. That goal was scored by Arshavin and it was a long distance shoot. So, again we are expecting a tight and competitive match at the Emirates Stadium on this Sunday.

What is at stake?

In the league table at this moment, Manchester United is in the second position and they have 50 points from 23 matches. On the other hand, Arsenal is in the third position in the league table and they have got 49 points from the same number of matches. So you can see that just one point separates these two clubs. The league leader at this moment is Chelsea and Chelsea has 51 points from 22 matches. Thus Chelsea is ahead of United by one point and Arsenal by two points and another good thing is that Chelsea has played one match less than both these two clubs. These three clubs are much ahead of the other clubs. For example, Tottenham is in the fourth position and Tottenhum has got just 41 points from 23 matches and the fifth place Liverpool has got only 38 points from 23 matches. Thus, it is a three way match at this point of the season and if Arsenal losses this matches then perhaps they will be out of title or race. In the last few seasons, we have seen two way race between Manchester United and Chelsea but this time Arsenal has so far played superbly and they are well alive in the race for league championship.

If we look at the recent performance then we have to say that Manchester United has got better performance. Last Saturday Manchester United played in a league match and they won it by four goals to nil. In that match, Wayne Rooney was in superb form and he scored all four goals for his club against Hull City. On the other hand last week, Arsenal went to Stoke City to play in the fourth round of FA Cup 2010. In that match, Stoke City won by 3-1. Then on mid-week, Manchester United defeated Manchester City by 3-1 in a Carling Cup match and it was Wayne Rooney who was again in superb form for the club. On the other hand in mid-week, Arsenal played in a league match against Aston Villa and they played well but they could not win the match and it was a draw 0-0. If Arsenal had won the match then they could have gone to the top of the table perhaps. So, according to the recent performance I like to say that Manchester United is the hot favorite for this match.

Injuries and Availability

A very important factor perhaps in this match will be injury. For Arsenal, we already know that a number of players were injured and this time they will miss another two important players. There will be no Thomas Vermaelen and Eduardo. The only consolation for the Gunners fans is that the injury of Vermaelen is not that much serious and most probably he will come back in the next match. However, still Arsenal will be without their best defender in this match against United. I don’t think they will miss Eduardo that much because they are striker Nicklas Bendtner is going to play in this match and he is back from a long injury. Nicklas Bendtner can be a serious threat because of his height. He is gradually becoming a matured player. Arsenal will also miss players like Diaby, Djourou and Gibbs. As for Manchester United, the suspension of Ferdinand is going to be a bad thing for the team in this match. He is a very good defender but he needs perhaps to control his temper more. United will miss two players because of injury and they are Hargreaves and O'Shea. The good news for Arsenal is that Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboué will be available for the match as they are back after African cup of nations. This is very good news because Arsene Wenger is suffering from the injury this season and these two players can help him a lot. Their return will also give a mental boost for the players along with the return of Nicklas Bendtner. Nemanja Vidić is also going to be back after injury and his presence will be good too.

Arsenal Strength and Weakness

Now, I like to talk about the team strength and weakness of Arsenal and Manchester United. First I want to talk about the London club. They have a very good defense and perhaps Almunia is in his best form this season. Almunia has produced some good saves and he can be easily considered as one of the top three goal keepers in this season in English Premier League. In defense they will surely miss Vermaelen and I think that Sania, Gallas, Campbell and Clichy can play. Well, the return of Alex Song may happen too. In defense, I think that they look solid but a lot depends on how Campbell can work because Campbell has come to complete football after many weeks. In mid-field, Arsene Wenger will surely miss Diaby. However, Fàbregas is the key to the mid-field. I think that their will be Denílson, Rosický and Theo Walcott may feature too. In striking area, Bendtner will perhaps form a partnership with Arshavin. It is perhaps a bit bad for Arshavin that he has to feature so much as striker. He is good as striker but he can be better in the mid-field. However, as I have already said that Arsenal is suffering from injuries and Arshavin has to be there. He is in good form this season but we have not perhaps seen the best from him. Arshavin is always influential and he is playing well to but I hope that in the next three matches against Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea he can produce something exceptional for his club.

Manchester United Strength and Weakness

Manchester United has a great goal keeper Edwin van der Sar. Edwin van der Sar missed some matches because of injury but he is still a very good goalkeeper. Their defense will look really shaky without Ferdinand. Ferdinand, Evans and Evra may play and they need to develop better understanding. Compare to Arsenal mid-field, I feel that United mid-field is a bit weaker. Park, Fletcher, Scholes and Nani are their. However, Manchester United has a great striking option in Rooney and Berbatov and Owen. Rooney is in superb form and he is causing all sorts of problem for the opposition club. It will be interesting to see if he can do something special in this match. Berbatov is also not bad and Owen is also ok but they are nothing compare to Rooney.

Fabregas the Maradon

For Arsenal, Cesc Fàbregas is the Maradona. He is a mid-field player but he is now the top goal scorer for the club in this season. Cesc Fàbregas has scored 14 goals and out of them he has scored 11 goals in Premier League. After him, Arshavin and Vampersie both scored 8 goals. So, you can see that Cesc Fàbregas is not only playing in mid-field but Arsenal is also depending him on getting regular goals. That is why, I feel that he is really like Diego Maradona in this season for the club.

Who can Stop Rooney?

If we want to talk about Cesc Fàbregas then we must not leave Wayne Rooney. Rooney is also in greatest form of his career. He has literally become a goal machine for United and he has scored 21 goals in this season already for Manchester United. Out of them 19 goals were scored in league matches. So, Rooney is perhaps very successful in league and he may easily become top scorer in Premier League this season. On Sunday’s match, Sol Campbell will have to do a very bad job of guarding Wayne Rooney. Campbell is 35 years old and it will be perhaps a bit difficult but he will surely try his best. One of the smartest things Wenger has done in this season is to get Campbell again in the club. For him, the club did not have to pay much money and Campbell is showing that he is not yet finished.

Alex Ferguson Says

Naturally, before any such big match the two coaches say a lot of things. Sir Alex Ferguson thinks that this is the biggest match for United in this season. He said that it is very important for the club to win and both Arsenal and Manchester United has the capability to win the title this season.

Alex Ferguson said, "Looking at the way the league is shaping up, this game on Sunday is the biggest of the season for us if Chelsea win their game in hand they go four points ahead of us. That is the catch-up part. But Sunday's game has great relevance because both sides have a genuine chance of winning the league.

It is amazing how this league has changed. As I have said all along, the team that is most consistent will win the league now. Arsenal's current form has been very good. It has brought them back into the picture. That is why this is such a massive game for us."

Arsene Wenger Says

As for Arsene Wenger, perhaps the main thing to focus is how to content Wayne Rooney. He said that he is not afraid about Sol Campbell facing Wayne Rooney on Sunday. He has put his faith on Campbell and he has praised him for practicing very hard to make a come back in Premier League football. Wenger has said that he will take a last minute look at the condition of Vermaelen and if possible then he will try to put Vermaelen on the field but may be it will not be possible and most probably Sol Campbell will start for the club.

Arsene Wenger said, “Sol Campbell’s ready if he has recovered well. Normally he will play if Vermaelen doesn’t. It’s certainly not expected for him a few months ago when he signed for Notts County. He’s worked very hard. Every day he was motivated to push himself. He looks fit.

I think he’ll be able to cope with Rooney. He has experience and he likes, as well, the big games. He can turn up if needed. Experience helps in this kind of game.”

Who will win?

So, you can perhaps see that both the clubs have good potentials and it will be a very competitive match in the end. If you ask me who will win then I think that Manchester United is the favorite to win this match because of their recent performance and because of the good performance of Wayne Rooney. I do not want to discard Arsenal because of just one reason. Cesc Fàbregas is really becoming a top payer and I can the shadow of Maradona in him. At this moment, Arsenal does not have big stars but Cesc Fàbregas almost single handedly is taking the club ahead and I just wish that he stays here for another five to seven years.

Many websites will surely provide live score of the match and I am giving the names of few of them:

Live Score

Goalzz

Live Football Scores

Goal.com

BBC Football

In conclusion, I like to say that on this Sunday, try to be in front of a television set. Both the coaches are hopeful that it will be an enjoyable and competitive match. I hope that you will not miss it.

Related Articles

Guardian

BBC

Reuters

Telegraph  

Arsenal facing serious injury problem against Manchester United match

This weekend, the main attraction of English Premier League is the match between Arsenal and Manchester United. The match is going to take place on Sunday and Manchester United is coming to play at the Emirates Stadium. Although it is a home match, Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger has now a major problem with injury. A number of key players were already out because of injuries and two new players have been added to this list.

Defender Thomas Vermaelen had been in excellent form the first of this season and he did not suffer any notable injury until now. However, in last night’s match against Aston Villa, he suffered a leg injury and was taken out and it is now clear that he will not be able to play on Sunday against Manchester United.

Another important player is also injured. Striker Eduardo suffered a hamstring injury last night and he will not be able to play against Manchester United. After this match, Arsenal is going to face Chelsea and Liverpool. 

Going out and Staying Home: Day 34

I was busy today and yesterday as I had to go to in another part of the city for some banking related activities. I also could not sleep more than four hours for the last two days and as a result, I felt very tired and I was afraid to become sick. So, I could not follow my diet plan for the last two days and instead, I ate even more than normal. Most probably, I have gained some weight. However, I am very happy that I did not become sick as I was afraid of it. Tomorrow and Saturday, I am home and I hope to follow the diet plan and will try to eat as less as possible.

The only good part is that I refrained from eating any meat or sweet. I mostly ate healthy food items and as a result, I have good feeling in my mind. This is one of the basic improvements that I have now compared to the past. In the past, when I had any running, then I used to eat a lot of food and I used to mainly eat meat and sweets. Also, when I am on a diet but I have to do some intensive activities, I do not follow my diet but try to eat normal food. 

Easy Weight Loss: Is it Possible?

Weight loss is a very popular search topic in internet according Google keyword tool. In fact, every month thousands of people from different parts of the world search for it and when there is a demand for any topic there are a lot of advertisers and websites on that topic. So, you should not get surprised to see so many advertisements claiming that they can help you to lose your weight very easily.

Right now, I am trying to lose some weight and I have been trying for more than three months and I have seen some success with it. However, I can see that most of these advertisements promise that you can easily lose weight just following some simple tips and this is what confuses me a lot. From my own experience, I understood that it is not a very easy matter and you have to give a lot of effort and it needs a lot of mental strength to change your eating habit. Anyway, most people are influenced by these advertisements and that is why there are many websites who are ready to promote this idea that you can easily loss weight. I do not want to criticize them and it is up to you if you want to follow their methods. From my own experience, I have noticed otherwise and that is what I am going to talk about in this entry.

The first thing that we have to consider is that overweight and obesity are a huge problem in USA and Europe. This matter is gradually coming to Asia and with the flourishing economy of the countries like India and China, obesity and overweight is going to perhaps become the number one problem of the whole world in next ten years. In USA, nearly half of the adult population suffers from any of these two problems and in fact, it is causing billions of dollars to the US economy. . Things are not good for children as a few days ago there was a report that in England, nearly 10% children are suffering from obesity. So, there is no doubt that it is a huge problem.

Unfortunately, the media is not very active to highlight the problem. All the time in advertisement, dramas and movies, we can see very slim people acting. This is natural because if people like me do any commercials then most people will not perhaps buy the products. I don’t feel that there is any discrimination against fat people in the media but what the media is doing is that they are hiding the real problem. In other words, although many people are suffering from this problem, it is not reflected clearly in the media. So, when we see TV advertisements or movies or TV serials perhaps we feel that most people do not have any kind of problem.

 Just do some search in Google with obesity and overweight and you will understand the severity of this danger for the global economy. Perhaps the main reason of this disaster is that modern life is very tough and full of stress. For example, today I decided not to drink any tea or coffee but last night I had very little amount of sleep. In fact, I could only sleep for three hours and then today I had to go another part of the city for some banking related works.  After coming home I was very tired and I was forced to drink two cups of tea so that I could write this entry. If I do not write this entry today then tomorrow I have to work double. However, tomorrow I have to go out and go to the bank to get some money. Thus, you can see modern life is full of stress and here you can not always expect that things will work out smoothly.

I am one of those lucky persons who could really change eating habits. For last three months, I have almost omitted eating meat, fast food and outside food. I would not say that I could leave 100% but compared to the past yes, I have been able to overcome my problems of these addictions by almost 90%. However, if I were not a blogger but if I work in a company and had to go out and attend dinner and lunch parties on a regular basis then it would have been impossible for me. All the will power in the world would not help me to change my eating habit in this level.

Another big problem is that there is no time for exercise for most of the city people. For example, yesterday I could walk for 40 minutes and today my schedules are so much packed up that I could not do it. Even tomorrow, I don’t know that I will not be able to walk. So, if I have to make up for these two days then on Friday, I should walk for at least two hours which is impossible and when I have an important project in my hand then I have to leave everything and just dedicate my time for that project.

Because of these problems, I feel that there is no easy way out as far as losing weight is concerned. No matter what the advertisements say, it is my conviction that easy weight loss is not possible. However, you should not get frustrated but try to make better choice in your life. When you have meat and fruits in front of you then try to eat less meat and more fruits. I am giving you this advice and I know that only three months ago it was impossible for me to follow. However, if you want to loss weight then really you should cut back on your meat consumption and increase your fruit and salad and vegetable consumption. This is perhaps the best tip and best habit that you can develop. Don’t get frustrated if you cannot develop this kind of habit within one week or one month. Try to be conscious in your heart and if needed take one or two years.

What do you think about the whole issue? Do you think that easy weight loss is possible? 

Beginning of the Second Stage: Day 32

I just came back home after walking nearly 40 minutes. From today, my second stage of effort starts. I started the first phase on 23 October and continued the effort until 18 December. Because of cold weather, I suspended my efforts to lose weight and now, I am again starting from today. Today, my weight is 101 KG and this time my goal is to continue until I come to 90 KG.

The ideal style is to lose 10 KG in 10 weeks. However, even if it takes more time, I am not worried because after losing 10 KG in the first phase, decreasing my waist size by nearly 10 centimeter and changing eating habit- I felt much better when I walked today.

In the first phase, I realized the importance of two things. Will power and mental strength are very important factors when you are on a diet. For example, in the next room, there are some delicious food items and it is now 5 PM and I have not eaten anything in the whole day.

I am not that much hungry but I feel tempted to eat the food items. My goal for today is to eat only once and eat only one plate of rice. I am going to eat rice, vegetable, lentil soup and lentil chop. I am not going to eat any snacks or any other thing. I am not going to drink any malted drink. In short, I am going to eat just once in the day and I am going to drink only water throughout the day.

I am worried for tomorrow because I have to go another part of the city and that is why, I know that I have to eat more. On the other hand, if I want to eat like today then I may become sick. Well, the best way is that tomorrow, I eat enough and then on the day after tomorrow, I try to do water fasting. Even if I cannot do water fasting, I can eat minimum amount of food.

The second factor that is very important in a diet regime is learning to understand the messages of your body. In past, I often tried too much and weight loss efforts became boring and the impossible. This time, I am acting very gently.

Perhaps the most important ingredient of a weight loss effort is mental peace and calm. Of course, modern city life is full of pressure and stress everywhere. My main stress was related to work as I could not work for the last 6 months because of poor health and then strict diet. Now, I have changed my attitude and I am going to change the way I work. Fortunately, I am a blogger and this is a job that can give you a lot of flexibility.

I have to change my style of blogging for the next 1 month at least. Right now, I try to write about buzz topics or news items. For example, tomorrow, Apple is going to announce iSlate- its tablet. In normal time, I would try to cover about it a lot. However, this time, I am not going to do it and instead and I will write an evergreen entry. Evergreen entries are relevant always and I think that I should at least on month focus on evergreen content. You can write it anytime. So, from now, I won’t need to drink tea and stay awake. My sleeping has been messed totally. I cannot sleep whole night. Then, in the morning I sleep and my sleep gets broken during lunch and I am tired for the rest of the day and I am forced to drink two cups of tea and then I cannot sleep whole night again. So, the first thing to do is to totally forget news based blogging and follow evergreen content based blogging.

If needed, I will continue this way of working for one year. Now, my first goal is losing weight. I want to improve my eating habit and totally become habituated to a healthy diet. I want to walk almost daily. I am not sure if I can walk tomorrow as I have to go to another part of city.

These are very simple goals but in life, we often make a mess out of our life. Then we have to stand up again and fix them. This is the thing I have to do now. 

Wayne Rooney Wants to Break His Scoring Record for Manchester United in 2009-10 Season

Manchester United star Wayne Rooney has now set his target to surpass his season-best 23 goals this season. The England international has recently scored 4 goals in United’s scintillating 4-0 victory over Hull City. With these 4 goals, Rooney’s goal tally has reached at 20 so far this season. With a handful of games left, it seems Rooney would easily surpass his 23-goal tally this season, making it his best at Manchester United and he is confident of achieving this mark.

Rooney said, “I'm confident of beating my best season at (Manchester) United.”
“I will be disappointed if I don't because I've still got hopefully another 20 games to play. I won't be happy if I don't get more than 23.”

Regarding his outstanding performance so far this season, Rooney said that he had been trying to get himself into goal-scoring situations more. Since the move of Ronaldo, the English forward found more room for scoring. Manager Sir Alex Ferguson also expressed his delight for the ace’s excellent recent form. With the large-margin victory, Manchester United moved to the top of the table with 50 points, two points ahead of Arsenal, who has a game in hand, and Chelsea, who has two games in hand.

Stoke City Advances Round 5 of FA Cup Defeating Arsenal 3-1

Stoke City has caused a huge upset by defeating Arsenal 3-1 in the fourth round of FA Cup 2010. At half time, score was 1-1. With this loss, Arsenal suffered the same fate of Manchester United and Liverpool of going out of FA Cup in this season.

The home side scored the first goal in within 70 seconds of the match. Ricardo Fuller scored with a header but more credit should go to Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski for his inaction inside the box. In the first half, Stoke City was a better team. Just 3 minutes before half time, the Gunners were really luck to equalize from a shot of Denilson getting deflected by a Stoke player.

In the second half, Arsenal had some good spells and missed some opportunities too. Stoke players kept the pressure and got the two goals in the last few minutes. Fuller scored his second goal in the 78^th minute and then Whitehead took the match by scoring the third goal for his club in 86^th minute.

Arsenal was already out of Carling Cup and today, they suffered exit from FA Cup. Will it be another barren season for Arsene Wenger and his team? 

Arsene Wenger: Demoting Gallas was the Right Gamble

Arsenal Coach Arsene Wenger thinks that his gable with removing William Gallas for captaincy last season has paid off and it has brought out the best from the player. In November of 2008, there was a lot of problem with Gallas and at this time his relationship with other players became bad and it attracted a lot of criticism in the media. As a result, Wenger removed him from captaincy but at the end of the season, he kept Gallas in the team. On the other hand, he sold Kolo Touré to Manchester City and he brought Thomas Vermaelen and there is a new partnership in Arsenal defense between Thomas Vermaelen and William Gallas. This partnership has provided good benefit for the club.

Wenger said, "The incident that happened with Gallas was in November of last season when he was stripped of the captaincy.

Toward the end of last season, he was very good. I expected at some point that he would want to leave because of what happened but he has found a new balance, a new mood and he has weight in this team.

It was a hard decision. You never know what kind of consequences that type of decision will have on the team or on the individual. Any decision like that can have psychological consequences that are hard to measure."

Arsenal supporters are also happy with the Gallas-Vermaelen combination this season. These two players have not suffered from any major injury in this season so far.

Arsenal is Serious about Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling is just 20 years old and he plays for Fulham. It is reported that Arsenal Arsene Wenger is ready to spend even £8million to get this player. He is one of the few players that Wenger is seriously considering to sign in this transfer window of January 2010. If Arsenal can not get him then they will try to have him in summer in transfer window that will take place in July 2010. Chris Smalling has also played for England under 20 and under 21 national team.

Arsene Wenger has good reputation about nurturing young talent. Chris Smalling plays as a defender and he is in center-half position. Arsenal has been suffering from injuries and they could really do with a young and talented player like him. 

Omitting Meat helps to Make your Body Light: Day 30

I have been writing about my fight against obesity and overweight since 26 December 2009 and today is the 30^th day. In the last 30 days, I could not decrease weight even one KG and even I gained 2 KG. Still, I am not unhappy because I have seen remarkable improvement in my eating habit. It was perhaps the coldest spell of one month in my city that I have seen in my entire life but still, I could manage to largely omit the meat from my diet. In the past, I used to eat mutton or beef daily two times even during summer. So, it is a huge improvement.

Funny thing is that although I gained two KG in the last one month, my waist line decreased by 2.5 centimeter. I feel very light in my body from yesterday. I feel that a lot of fat has gone from my belly and I feel fresh and light. Instead of feeling week in my health, I feel more comfortable and I have the feeling that I can increase my work. My heart beat is now normal most of the time.

Officially, I am back to obesity again but I feel very good in my body. I am going to start strict diet again from next Sunday (1 February 2010) and I have the feeling in my body that this time, it will be easier to lose some weight. In fact, I am getting a lot of mental encouragement because in my body, I am improving.

If possible, think of decreasing consumption of meat. I thought that life without mutton was impossible. Now, I can see that it is not only possible but also brings good feeling to both body and mind. 

Bangladesh vs India 2nd Test 2010: Day One Report

Visiting India is on dominant position at the end of the first day of the second test as Bangladeshi batsmen struggled against Indian pacers. Winning the toss, Bangladesh decided to bat first and scored only 233 runs losing all the wickets. Then Indian openers remained unbeaten putting on 69 runs on the board at stumps. So, India trails by only 164 runs with 10 wickets at hand.

India got off to a great start thanks to dominant show by their two pacers: Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharm. At some point, Bangladesh was struggling at 51 for 5. However, Mahmudullah’s unbeaten 96 saved the hosts from more humiliation. Bangladeshi top order failed to show any resistance against the Indian bowlers. Under pressure Ashraful tried to build the innings, but fell for 39, while Shakib and Mushfiqur also got out after betting set in the wicket. Zaheer Khan picked up 3 wickets, while Ishant Sharma picked up 4. India played two specialist spinners: Harbhajan and Ojha- who shared the remaining 3 wickets.

Indian openers got a good start for the visitors. Gambhir and Sehwag are now batting at 26 and 41 respectively.

Schedule of World Cup Hockey 2010 in India

Men’s Hockey world cup 2010 kicks off from 28 February in Delhi, India. The 14-day tournament will come to an end with the final match being taken place on 13 February. The tournament was advanced by a week to avoid a clash with the IPL 2010 which commences from 12 March. All of the 38 matches will be held at the Dhyan Chand National Stadium in New Delhi. This is the second time India is going to host men’s hockey world cup. India first hosted the tournament in 1982 when Mumbai (formerly Bombay) was the host city.

Men’s hockey world cup 2010 will be the 12^th edition of the tournament which first took place in Spain in 1971. Initially, the tournament was held every 2 years, but from 1975This will be 12^th edition of the tournament which first took place in 1971 in Spain. Initially, men’s hockey world cup was held after every 2 years, but from 1978 onwards the tournament has been held after every 4 years.

In a lavish ceremony held on 27 July 2009 at the Le Meridien Hotel, New Delhi, it was revealed that Hero Honda, a renowned motorbike manufacturer, would be the title sponsor of the tournament. So, the tournament’s official name has been Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010.

India’s hosting right came under a threat when FIH (International Hockey Federation) ensured that the tournament would not take place in India unless it had a democratically elected governing body for hockey. Here, it is worth mentioning that Indian Hockey Federation was dissolved and its president Kanwar Pal Singh Gill was sacked by Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on 28 April 2008 following a series of controversies over the administrative and selection issues. IOA initially formed an ad-hoc committee to run the game in the country. Under the pressure of FIH, Hockey India was formed in July 2009 by IOA. However, FIH said that Hockey India must hold an election before the men’s world cup 2010. Hockey India initially set 29 January as the date for the election, but it was postponed due to complications regarding state affiliation issues. This was the second time Hockey India (HI) election was postponed. HI president Ashok Kumar Mattoo has ensured that the election is now going to take place on 7 February 2010. Antonio Van Ondarza, the vice-president of FIH, has been appointed as a FIH observer for the election.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has said that it considers the men’s hockey world cup as a preparatory tournament for Commonwealth Games 2010 which is supposed to take place in Delhi in October. Suresh Kalmadi, the IOA president, said that this tournament would help the organizers of Commonwealth Games. The profit of the world cup will be shared by the organizers and FIH. However, FIH’s share would be spent for the development of hockey in India.

Qualification to Men’s Hockey World Cup 2010

There are 12 teams participating in the Hero Honda Men’s Hockey World Cup 2010 tournament. Five continental champions and the host country were given automatic qualification to the world cup finals. India has been qualified as host nation. Five continental champions are:

Champion Team	Continent	Tournament
South Africa	Africa	Africa Cup of Nations 2009
South Korea	Asia Cup	2009 Men’s Hockey Asia Cup
England	Europe	Men’s Euro Hockey Nations Championship 2009
Australia	Oceania	Men’s Oceania Cup 2009
Canada	Pan America	Men’s Pan American Cup 2009

Besides these five continental champions and host India, there are six other teams who got the world cup berths. Out of these six teams, three were decided through 3 qualifying tournaments and other three teams got the world cup tickets on the basis of FIH (International Hockey Federation) ranking at the end of the Olympics Games 2008 in Beijing.

3 teams who were qualified for the hockey world cup 2010 through FIH ranking are from Europe. They are:

Germany (1^st in the ranking)

Spain (3^rd in the ranking)

Netherlands (4^th in the ranking)

FIH ranking at the end of the Beijing Olympic Games 2008:

Ranking Position	Team	Continent
1	Germany	Europe
2	Australia	Oceania
3	Spain	Europe
4	Netherlands	Europe
5	New Zealand	Oceania

Germany got into the world cup finals as no. 1 ranked team, followed by Spain (3^rd) and Netherlands (4^th) to make up the 3 vacant places to be decided on the basis of ranking. Australia, who was at no. 2, ensured their world cup berth as the champion of Oceania region. So, their place went to 4^th ranked Netherlands. If India could qualify both as host as well as continental champion, then 5^th ranked New Zealand from Oceania could have qualified for the world cup finals on the basis of ranking (New Zealand later on qualified winning their qualifying tournament).

Qualifying Tournaments

There were 3 qualifying tournaments held in between 1 November 2009 and 15 December 2009 to determine three remaining participants of the tournament. Three teams reached through the qualifying tournaments are: Pakistan, New Zealand and Argentina. For the 3 qualifying tournaments, 18 teams were decided on the basis of FIH ranking at the end of the Olympics Games 2008. Each of the 3 tournaments consists of 6 teams and the three winners of the tournaments got into the men’s hockey world cup 2010. Participating teams of the qualifying tournaments are:

Tournament	Participating Teams	Winner
1st Qualifier	France, Italy Japan, Pakistan, Poland, Russia	Pakistan
2nd Qualifier	Austria, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales	New Zealand
3rd Qualifier	Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Czech Republic, Ireland, USA	Argentina

So, the 12 participants of Hero Honda Men’s Hockey World Cup 2010 are:

Participating Team	Continent	How Qualified
Argentina	Pan America	Qualifier
Australia	Oceania	Continental Winner
Canada	Pan America	Continental Winner
England	Europe	Continental Winner
Germany	Europe	FIH Ranking
India	Asia	Host
Netherlands	Europe	FIH Ranking
New Zealand	Oceania	Qualifier
Pakistan	Asia	Qualifier
South Africa	Africa	Continental Winner
South Korea	Asia	Continental Winner
Spain	Europe	FIH Ranking

Men’s Hockey 2010 World Cup Format

Twelve participants of the tournament will be divided into two pools of 6 teams each. In each pool, all of the six teams will play against each other once in a round robin league system. Winning team of each game will be awarded 3 points, while the losing team will not earn any point. For drawn matches, both teams will be given 1 point each. So, each of the 12 teams will play 5 matches in the preliminary stage of the tournament. Based on the points achieved through the matches played in the preliminary stage, top two teams from each pool will progress to the semi final. Winners of the two semi finals will meet in the final, while the loosing semi finalists will take on each other in the third and fourth place deciding match.

Teams who will fail to make it to the semi final will compete for the places starting from 5^th to 12^th through four more matches. Third placed teams from each pool will take on each other for the 5^th place. Winning team will win the 5^th place, while the losing side will finish 6^th in the tournament. In the same way, teams finished 4^th in each pool will play for the 7^th place and this match will determine the 7^th and 8^th places. Teams finishing 5^th in both pool will face each other in a playoff to determine the 9^th and 10^th places. Last two places (11^th and 12^th) will be decided through the playoff between the teams finishing 6^th in each pool in the preliminary round.

Teams in Pool A and Pool B are given below:

Pool A	Pool B
Argentina	Australia
Canada	England
Germany	India
Netherlands	Pakistan
New Zealand	South Africa
South Korea	Spain

Here, you can get the full schedule of Men’s Hockey World Cup 2010:

Schedule of Men’s Hockey World Cup 2010
Stage/ Match	Date	Competing Teams	Time (Local)	Venue
Preli-minary	28 Feb Sun	South Africa vs Spain	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Australia vs England	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		India vs Pakistan	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	1 Mar Mon	New Zealand vs Canada	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Germany vs South Korea	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Netherlands vs Argentina	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	2 Mar Tues	South Africa vs England	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Pakistan vs Spain	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		India vs Australia	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	3 Mar Wed	Canada vs Germany	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Argentina vs South Korea	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		New Zealand vs Netherlands	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	4 Mar Thurs	South Africa vs Australia	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		England vs Pakistan	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		India vs Spain	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	5 Mar Fri	South Korea vs New Zealand	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Netherlands vs Canada	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Germany vs Argentina	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	6 Mar Sat	Australia vs Spain	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		South Africa vs Pakistan	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		India vs England	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	7 Mar Sun	South Korea vs Canada	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		New Zealand vs Argentina	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Germany vs Netherlands	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	8 Mar Mon	Spain vs England	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Australia vs Pakistan	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		India vs South Africa	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
	9 Mar Tues	Germany vs New Zealand	16:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Netherlands vs South Korea	18:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
		Canada vs Argentina	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
11th-12th Place Play-off	11 Mar Thur	Pool A 6th vs Pool B 6th	15:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
First Semi- Final	11 Mar Thur	Pool A 1st vs Pool B 2nd	18:05	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
Second Semi- Final	11 Mar Thur	Pool A 2nd vs Pool B 1st	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
9th-10th Place Play-off	12 Mar Fri	Pool A 5th vs Pool B 5th	15:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
7th-8th Place Play-off	12 Mar Fri	Pool A 4th vs Pool B 4th	18:05	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
5th-6th Place Play-off	12 Mar Fri	Pool A 3rd vs Pool B 3rd	20:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
3rd Place Play-off	13 Mar Sat	Looser of 1st Semi-Final vs Looser of 2nd Semi-Final	15:35	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi
Final	13 Mar Sat	Winner of 1st Semi-Final vs Winner of 2nd Semi-Final	18:05	Dhyan Chand National Stadium, New Delhi