Raj Hundal quote

[Fuji-whopper]

Read this on the homepage and it kind of made me mad, if I was his opponent I would be furious.


"If I ever play like that again, I quit!" he said after the match.

"It was hard to control the white ball out there and my confidence started to drop. If it was any other player out there, I'd be on my way home."


Do these statements irk anyone else?

 

[pharaoh68]

Read this on the homepage and it kind of made me mad, if I was his opponent I would be furious.


"If I ever play like that again, I quit!" he said after the match.

"It was hard to control the white ball out there and my confidence started to drop. If it was any other player out there, I'd be on my way home."


Do these statements irk anyone else?

Yeah. This one isn't the nicest thing in the world to say about your opponent. But it doesn't matter. He'll be going home soon enough. He's not going to win.

 

[pete-biker]

When reading comments like that my first impression is that someone is trying to get ahead on psychological warfare just for the future matches. So i don't take that so serious, talk is cheap anyways comparing to actions.

 

[prolecat]

Hmmm, seems like it was something he said and didnt think of the impact of those exact words, i dont think he meant any harm by it, he was just trying to get his point across, and didnt really think much before he said that.

 

[Timberly]

I spent some time talking to Raj in VF and he is definitely a guy that is confident in his game (and he should be). There is a fine line between confidence & cockiness... even the nicest guys can cross that line... no one is immune. That being said... Raj isn't a bad guy... he's just a little less tactful than others. The truth is.... it's really no different than some of the Football/Basketball/Baseball/Race car Drivers/name any sports pro/ talking smack(lol, ever watch (fake) wrestling?? People eat that sh!t up!!). Some athletes do it & some don't.... some people are ok with it and some are not. In todays "Let's all be PC and not hurt anyone's feelings" world, I can see how people can be turned off by these comments.

Would I have said it? No. Is what he said true? Quite possibly...at least it was for that day because he did win.

It's simply a matter of personality traits.

 

[Nostroke]

Hmmm, seems like it was something he said and didnt think of the impact of those exact words, i dont think he meant any harm by it, he was just trying to get his point across, and didnt really think much before he said that.

My thoughts exactly and even if he had meant it differently, it really isnt all that bad. If Earl had said it, it wouldnt even be in his worst ever top 100.

 

[alinco]

Maybe Raj just meant that Takenaka played poorly in that match, not a poor player. Benefit of the doubt...

Takenaka is a true gentleman and a fine player. He played in on of our Planet Pool events a couple years ago. He lost his first match to Keith McCready and then one the whole event from there including the final 9-7 and 9-8! His travelling companion Miyuki Sakai won the ladies event for a clean sweep.

Take a look:
http://www.planet-pool.com/results.aspx?EventID=9&Year=2004&Game=9_Ball and click on the "Open chart"
and
http://www.planet-pool.com/archives2.aspx and scroll down a little

 

[JAM]

Maybe Raj just meant that Takenaka played poorly in that match, not a poor player. Benefit of the doubt...

Takenaka is a true gentleman and a fine player. He played in on of our Planet Pool events a couple years ago. He lost his first match to Keith McCready and then one the whole event from there including the final 9-7 and 9-8! His travelling companion Miyuki Sakai won the ladies event for a clean sweep.

Take a look:
http://www.planet-pool.com/results.aspx?EventID=9&Year=2004&Game=9_Ball and click on the "Open chart"
and
http://www.planet-pool.com/archives2.aspx and scroll down a little

Richmond welcomed these Japanese players with open arms, and everybody enjoyed seeing them win. After the Open event concluded, the locals and Takenaka were enjoying themselves to the fullest playing darts. Takenaka was the life of the party, even though he couldn't speak more than several words in English. They were laughing, giving each other the high-fives, and having a blast. This truly was a great tournament!

Miyuki Sakai on the left and Takenaka Hiroshi on the right. When they attended this PP 9-Ball tournament, Richmond was their first stop when they arrived in the States.

JAM

 

[Fuji-whopper]

Jose Garcia spent a lot of time with Jennifer Barretta and he said she never missed a beat. Handled all questions well, never said anything out of line and was pleasant to everyone. If you want respect I believe you have to give respect at all times, especially when you think you will be quoted.

You can be confident without being harsh to the opponent that you just beat, who is not exactly happy either after the match.

 

[Cameron Smith]

I just read the synopsis of the match. Both played REALLY bad.

I don't think Raj worded it quite right, but I am positive he just meant that he would not have won against some one else was playing better. But it is easy to take it the wrong way.

 

[Cameron Smith]

I just found this from the pre match article on Raj from the Official web site.


Hundal will be involved in the opening match as he is up against Japanese player Hiroshi Takenaka, who will be making his Masters debut. Despite winning the 2005 tournament, Hundal insists he will not under-estimate Takenaka.







“He is a great player and hard to beat,” said Hundal. “I know a lot about him and we have both got a tough game.

 

[Craig Fales]

When reading comments like that my first impression is that someone is trying to get ahead on psychological warfare just for the future matches. So i don't take that so serious, talk is cheap anyways comparing to actions.

Sounds to me that he was implying his opponent wasn't good enough ever to beat him...If it was me he said that to he'd be out with a goose egg the next time...
________

 

[vagabond]

The truth is.... it's really no different than some of the Football/Basketball/Baseball/Race car Drivers/name any sports pro/ talking smack(lol, ever watch (fake) wrestling?? People eat that sh!t up!!).

Well said Timberly

 

[cuetechasaurus]

Hiroshi Takenaka is a better pool player than Raj Hundal. They just both happened to play poorly at the same time. If they were both on their game, Hiroshi would be the favorite IMO.

 

[sjm]

Read this on the homepage and it kind of made me mad, if I was his opponent I would be furious.


"If I ever play like that again, I quit!" he said after the match.

"It was hard to control the white ball out there and my confidence started to drop. If it was any other player out there, I'd be on my way home."


Do these statements irk anyone else?

I don't care for these comments at all. The only possible interpretation would be "I played my worst and he still couldn't beat me, yet anybody else could have" and whether it's true or not, it's tactless to say it.

To communicate skillfully and tactfully, one must take into account the possible interpretations of what one says before speaking.

At least by my standards, Raj owes Takenaka an apology.

Not twenty minutes ago, I was watching Seinfeld and Kramer said congratulations to a woman on the street. She asked why, and Kramer said "You're pregnant, aren't you?" and, of course, she wasn't pregnant, just overweight. The illogic of his comment lies in the fact that Kramer needed to consider the possible outcomes of his comment before making it. He didn't and the result was an unintentional, but undeniable, insult.

Perhaps Raj was also guilty of an unintentional, but undeniable, insult to Takenaka, but the fact remains that he made an inappropriate remark.

 

[Leil gay]

I have made similar open mouth insert foot mistakes,he's 23? hopefully he can learn more tact, for now apologize and move on.

 

[9balllvr]

I think that he wasn't thinking about what was coming out of his mouth - all of us at some point have been unhappy about our performance - I know I have said it (not in the media), but there was never any harm meant to my opponent - he obviously thought he was the better player during that match.

9balllvr

 

[Fuji-whopper]

Ironically enough I was using the restroom and read a quote in the April 2006 Inside Pool magazine. They were doing a "what's in the case?" interview with Raj and his closing remarks were:

"I think that as professional athletes and sportsmen that the world actually looks up to, we should set an example."

Interesting.

 

[Voodoo Daddy]

Read this on the homepage and it kind of made me mad, if I was his opponent I would be furious.


"If I ever play like that again, I quit!" he said after the match.

"It was hard to control the white ball out there and my confidence started to drop. If it was any other player out there, I'd be on my way home."


Do these statements irk anyone else?

No doubt he didnt take the heat very well...his words prove same

 

[erikido]

My thoughts exactly and even if he had meant it differently, it really isnt all that bad. If Earl had said it, it wouldnt even be in his worst ever top 100.

He is on a good path then