Federer is closer than he has ever been in the last year of regaining his top spot in the Men’s Singles race. Two months ago this seemed impossible. Nadal had 5000 points ahead, was unbeatable on clay court and the Roland Garros was knocking at the door. Roger was very close in losing his 2nd spot in favor of Novak Djokovic.

Now, Nadal lost the Madrid Masters final, lost prematurely at the Roland Garros, couldn’t defend his title in Queen’s and is not able to play at Wimbledon. The Madrid Masters final was won by Federer, as a fatigued Nadal couldn’t provide the usual resistance. The Spaniard couldn’t delay his knee problems any longer and his decline started.

The 28-year-old Swiss needs the title at Wimbledon to get back to the top spot. He has a strong contender though. Local favorite, Andy Murray, is playing his best tennis so far and will become also World Number 1 in case of a Final win.

Watch live Wimbledon coverage on your computer and enjoy this Grand Slam even live online. Be one of the first to know if Federer will be back at the top!”

Let me know when links are live and I will send the money.

Launching the Hall of Fame in Sydney ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the initiative, in association with the Federation of International Cricketers Association (FICA), would provide a chance to recognize the gam’e greatest achievers. It will provide a means of recognizing the historical contribution of past players, officials and even institutions in making cricket what it is today - a great sport with a great spirit, he said. Former Australian wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh became the first Hall of Famer to receive his commemorative cap, from David Morgan.

Every year new inductees will be announced during the ICC awards ceremony. The intial inductees will be presented a commemorative ICC Cricket Hall of Fame cap with the members also having a chance to choose new inductees.

The list of those 55 legends who became the first batch of Cricket’s Hall of Fame are -

Sydney Barnes, Bishan Singh Bedi, Alec Bedser, Richie Benaud, Allan Border, Ian Botham, Geofrey Boycott, Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell, Ian Chappell, Denis Compton, Colin Cowdrey, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Lance Gibbs, Graham Gooch, David Gower, WG Grace, Tom Graveney, Gordon Greenidge, Richard Hadlee, Walter Hammond, Neil Harvey, Ron Headley, Jack Hobbs, Michael Holding, Leonard Hutton, Rohan Kanhai, Imran Khan, Alan Knott, Jim Laker, Harold Larwood, Dennis Lillee, Ray Lindwall, Clive Lloyd, Hanif Mohammad, Rodney Marsh, Malcolm Marshall, Peter May, Javed Miandad, Keith Miller, Bill O’Reilly, Graeme Pollock, Wilfred Rhodes, Barry Richards, Vivian Richards, Andy Roberts, Garfield Sobers, Brian Statham, Fred Trueman, Derek Underwood, Clyde Walcott, Everton Weeks, Frank Wolley and Frank Worrell.

In sport, wearing eyeglasses is inconvenient. Contact lenses may also be problematic, because they may:

• fall off
• irritate the eye
• dry out, and thus affect vision acuity

Athletes and LASIK - Laser Eye Vision Correction

LASIK seems to be ideal for athletes, but it still has some downsides:

• lowest age for LASIK is 18 or 21 years
• LASIK is a permanent vision correction, so eventual complications from LASIK, like glare and halos around lights, persistent dry eyes, and contrast sensitivity, may also be permanent

Eye Doctors Recommend Orthokeratology (Ortho-k or OK) for Athletes

In orthokeratology, special Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lenses are worn only at night (for at least 8 hours) and removed the next morning. Cornea temporarily reshapes and flattens in this time, what results in visual acuity during the day. For some people, it can take a few weeks of wearing the ortho-k lenses at night to reach stable vision acuity. If you’re from US, you might consider to find an eye doctor in Colorado, with several reputable eye-care centers.

Who is a Candidate for Orthokeratology?

Conditions for Orthokeratology are:

• up to -6.00 D (diopters) of nearsightedness (myopia), or up to -1.75 D of astigmatism (approved by FDA), (4);
• ther’re no specific age requirements (4);
• no eye disease or allergy;
• ability to take care about lenses independently.

Orthokeratology is Reversible

After stopping wearing ortho-k lenses, cornea returns to its original shape, and vision impairment returns to its original degree. Ortho-k may somewhat reduce the progression of nearsightedness in children (1). 

Cautions

Ortho-k lenses may have severe side effects, including infection and blindness, if not used and cleaned correctly (2,3). Only FDA-approved ortho-k lenses should be used (demand FDA approval from optometrist), and cheap lenses should be avoided.

The Cost of Ortho-k

Because of special design and fitting equipment, Orto-k lenses are more expensive than regular contact lenses. On the other hand, Ortho-k is about half the price of LASIK, the cost is between $1,500 to $3,000 for both eyes. 

References:

1. http://www.allaboutvision.com/sportsvision/orthokeratology-athletes.htm ORTHOKERATOLOGY
2. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/6245.php SIDE EFFECTS OF ORHO-K
3. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/medeff/bulletin/carn-bcei_v16n2-eng.php#4 INFECTION WITH ACANTHAMOEBA KERATITIS IN ORTHO-K LENSES USER
4. http://www.allaboutvision.com/contacts/orthok.htm  FDA REGULATIONS FOR ORTHOKERATOLOGY

In fact, Abhinav has been showing promise of Olympic medal since he burst onto the scene at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 where he won 2 gold medals in his pet event - the 10m Air Rifle. Before that he won some international competitions but none that big in magnitude and importance. After that he won 2 more gold medals at Melbourne Commonwealth Games and ISSF World Shooting Championship in Zagreb - both event being held in 2006. He also became world number one in his event. (more…)