A humble soul with exceptional driving abilities who is flying the Indian flag really high in the international motorsports scene.
Narain Kathikeyan is better known for being the first Indian to race in an F1 car. I vividly remember two Indian sportspersons, Narain Karthikeyan and Sania Mirza (Indian tennis player), caught the fancy of the great Indian media at almost the same time. And I strongly believe that Narain was grossly ignored by the media during those days. Those who probably did not even know the full-form of F1 were writing reports and columns about his 'poor' performance. Real F1 fanatics know how difficult it was for a rookie driver like Narain to drive well with the backup of a not-so-good team (Team Jordan).
Ironically, the same media was going ga-ga when Ms. Mirza managed to enter the second round of a championship. I guess you are feeling what the Sania Mirza angle has got to do with all this. Well, motorsports, like all other sports, have been grossly ignored by the Indian media. While Sania Mirza was made a star overnight, everybody conveniently ignored Karthikeyan. Maybe because, the guy is too non-controversial to write any masala and gossip articles on him. I have no grudge against the tennis sensation(?) but the unfair treatment given to NK really irritates me.
Fast forward to 2008 and look who is doing better. Narain has secured 10th position for an ailing Indian team in the A1 GP Championship. (These silly 'journalists' often confuse A1 with F1. So much for journalism). He has done well as a test driver with Team Williams and can soon be seen racing again in F1. He is still in the news for his exploits on the track and NOT for other unnecessary non-sporting issues. And he is the still humble and soft-spoken Narain Karthikeyan we all know.
I guess that says it all.
To be continued ...
Narain Kathikeyan is better known for being the first Indian to race in an F1 car. I vividly remember two Indian sportspersons, Narain Karthikeyan and Sania Mirza (Indian tennis player), caught the fancy of the great Indian media at almost the same time. And I strongly believe that Narain was grossly ignored by the media during those days. Those who probably did not even know the full-form of F1 were writing reports and columns about his 'poor' performance. Real F1 fanatics know how difficult it was for a rookie driver like Narain to drive well with the backup of a not-so-good team (Team Jordan).
Ironically, the same media was going ga-ga when Ms. Mirza managed to enter the second round of a championship. I guess you are feeling what the Sania Mirza angle has got to do with all this. Well, motorsports, like all other sports, have been grossly ignored by the Indian media. While Sania Mirza was made a star overnight, everybody conveniently ignored Karthikeyan. Maybe because, the guy is too non-controversial to write any masala and gossip articles on him. I have no grudge against the tennis sensation(?) but the unfair treatment given to NK really irritates me.
Fast forward to 2008 and look who is doing better. Narain has secured 10th position for an ailing Indian team in the A1 GP Championship. (These silly 'journalists' often confuse A1 with F1. So much for journalism). He has done well as a test driver with Team Williams and can soon be seen racing again in F1. He is still in the news for his exploits on the track and NOT for other unnecessary non-sporting issues. And he is the still humble and soft-spoken Narain Karthikeyan we all know.
I guess that says it all.
To be continued ...
1 comment:
Nicely written blog there man, I have to say that I'm impressed that your interest in cars continues, while mine falters. Interesting stuff! Keep writing.
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