Justice to the game
My relationship with football goes back all the way to watching Chuni Goswami and Tulsidas Balaram in the dusty, sultry Kolkata stadiums in the early 1960’s (“Cruyff must be smiling in his grave”, Gulf News, June 25). Since then, I have fallen more deeply in love with football. Consequently I read a lot on football every day, pieces in publications like the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian, Harvard Case study material on leadership, and lots more. Gulf News writer Sanjib Das’s piece on the subject – is among the most engaging pieces I have read in recent years. It is an original cerebral view of the changes in the football philosophy over the last 30 years. It is an extraordinary take on the philosophy, changes and an intriguing analogy drawn to the 18th century Industrial Revolution fuelled changes – hand and eye coordination giving way to mass production, Keat’s verse giving way to prose and reason. This was a piece that stood out because it was crafted with intellect, amidst hundreds of mass produced identical pieces on coaches, tactics, player technical skills, and more. The author has set a very high standard.
From Mr Ravi Prasad
UAE
Winners and losers
There’s no doubt that you will have winners and losers in matches(“World Cup: France and Argentina serve up a classic”, Gulf News July 1). That day, luck was with the French football team. Argentina excellently played on defence. This should be appreciated. Congratulations to France for the marvellous victory!
From Mr Jabir Ak
UAE
Facebook Comment
Legends will be remembered
Leo Messi’s Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal are out of the World Cup (“The Big Question: Is the World Cup worse off without the Big Two?”, Gulf News, July 2).Fans of Ronaldo and Messi, like me are dejected. Ronaldo and Messi are global stars and deliver fantastic results for their respective clubs. However, they have faltered when playing for their own countries. This could be due to the fact that in the clubs their colleagues understand the way they play and their body language. When they return home to play for their countries, their colleagues need more time to understand them and provide them with better support. Ronaldo and Messi are both world class strikers for their teams. When they take custody of the ball, the opposite team galvanises two or three players to retrieve it. This is the time, the teams of the two strikers, also need to step up to protect their strikers. This has not been happening. Nevertheless, Ronaldo and Messi should not be disheartened. It is always very gloomy to return home emty handed from a tournament but being the players that they are, I am sure they will shine again. They should not lose heart.
From Mr Rajendra Aneja
India
Hockey and luck
It is a pity that India’s quest for its maiden Champions Trophy Hockey title remained unaccomplished as we lost 1-3 to defending champions, Australia, via a penalty shootout. No doubt, our team played valiantly as they matched Australia stick to stick in the entire duration of the match. In fact, our team was dominant for the better part of the game, but our strikers failed to cash in on the numerous chances in front of an agile Australian goalkeeper, Tyler Lovell. In fact, during the penalty shootout, he was the hero for the Australian team, as he checked out top class players like Sardara Singh, Harmarpreet Singh and Lalit Upadhyaya from scoring. At the same time, hats off to our goalkeeper, Sreejesh, who too stood like a rock at the post and managed to thwart their attempts to score. Probably luck was not on our side. Anyway well played India, keep up this tempo to win the Asian Games later this year.
From Mr N. Mahadevan
India
Lost and found
We visited a mall in Dubai with my family to avail the different offers in light of the Dubai Shopping Surprises. We were so busy shopping that it was only when we returned to the parking lot did we realise that the gold chain my wife was wearing was missing, along with a gold pendant. She went back to the washroom to check if she could find her gold pendant but she returned from the washroom very disturbed and distress. Not knowing what to do, we first approached a security officer, who immediately took our details and asked us to contact the front desk. We visited the front desk and we met a very helpful gentleman. He guided us and told us the complete procedure very professionally. He then advised us to visit the main security office, which has a lost and found department. We left our numbers at both the places and having no hope of getting the lost pendant, we left the mall and also decided to make a police complaint. As soon as we kept our shopping bags in our car, I first received a call from the security officer, who then told me to visit the lost and found section. On the basis of the information we provided, the officers and the well-equipped security system, efficiently found the missing pendant. My family and I would like to thank the excellent security team that helped us in such a desperate situation. The pendant was worth more than Dh2,000, but more importantly, it was one of the most precious gifts given to my wife. Once again, hats off to the security team of the mall.
From Mr Sohail Rashid
UAE
Ban America
The judiciary approving US President Donald Trump’s travel ban was a big mistake (“The consequences of upholding US travel ban”, Gulf News, July 2). It is unfair to many Muslims from all around the world. The fact that the US Supreme Court also agreed to it is simply ludicrous. I don’t know how Trump plans to make America great again, but this is certainly not the way.
From Ms Rhea Sudheer
UAE
Learn from others
There is too much mismanagement, a lot of corruption, and our money is being wasted in the country (“A year after GST: Indian Tweeps are unhappy,” Gulf News, July 2). Politicians are only creating a religious difference among people. No one is asking where our money is going. A lot of the money of the common man is being wasted with our government. There is no development in India. We need to try and learn more from other countries on how they are improving and growing their economy.
From Mr Shammi Baig
UAE
Facebook comment
The WhatsApp scam
Like many others, I had once received a message which claimed that I had won a big amount of money in a raffle draw at a hypermarket (“Here is how fraudsters gain access to WhatsApp accounts in UAE”, Gulf News, July 1). However, I instantly blocked the number and did not even bother to write a response since I knew that I had not been grocery shopping at the market in a long time. To click on a code or to send across copies of my identification, is out of question. People fall prey to such scams because they allow others to take advantage of them. They are not being wise enough to differentiate between real and fake. Also, people should first think whether or not they have participated in any such raffle draw or promotion. Clicking on such links give hackers access to their social media accounts and confidential data stored on the device. People should be vigilant and wary of such bogus advertisements and promotions that claim to offer cash prizes worth millions.
From Ms Fatima Suhail
Sharjah
Needs to be covered
Just imagine if someone is suffering from a mental illness like depression or anxiety and his or her insurance does not cover it (“Mental health problems: The silent killer amongst us”, Gulf News, July 1). What is that person going to do? We are aware of how expensive medical treatment here is without insurance. Mental health should be covered by insurance agencies, only then is it possible to help reduce the problem.
From Mr Malek Mohammad
UAE
More help hotlines
I appreciate Gulf News for this article. Honestly, its high time accessible and affordable mental health therapy options are made available here. There are amazing initiatives made by the Dubai Government like their hotlines and the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children, which help people in distress. I’m sure another initiative like a mental health hotline is not far off. It’s something we desperately need. We are all so far away from loved ones back home, and can sometimes get sucked into our daily grind and lose ourselves in it.
From Ms Tessa Ann John
UAE
Get people help
Unfortunately mental health is still a taboo but we need to speak openly about it. Doctors should be able to identify it in patients so that people can be given help they need.
From Ms Shirien Al Hazmi
UAE
Make treatment affordable
Mental health is a serious issue, however, people don’t take it seriously. Just because the problem is difficult to identify, people find it easier to ignore it. People who have depression or any other mental health problem find it difficult to go to people to seek help. Counselling sessions are very expensive and not many people can afford treatment. We have created an environment where instead of a person willingly seeking help, they now have to think about social stigma, as well as the cost. I hope in the future, getting help for mental disorders is easier.
From Ms Ruhani Metha
Dubai
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