How often you would have thought that events unfurling in distance gives you that the chance to put things in perspective. A medal or two or perhaps three and yeah .... that included one solitary gold in the Olympics puts the entire nation into that discursive mode. How often does a sport other than Cricket evoke debates? How many times in not so distant past did you remember of keenly following a sport over the net, the newspapers and with Sports Gal in the 24*7 news channels? I am sure you must have done but guess it would not be that frequent. Thrice in the last couple of days young Indians have brought me to my feet and caused emotions to leap up in joy. Indian sport rarely does that and so this was an awakening.
Abhinav Bindra fulfilled the sports lover’s ultimate fantasy. The tricolor went up and the national anthem played and if your eyes weren’t moist at what he had achieved you weren’t Indian and you didn’t know what heartbreak meant. A young man with still chubby cheeks and a distant look has joined the ranks of India’s greatest. And how can I ever forget Sushil Kumar and Vijender the two unknown yet so magical guys who brought the world to their feat by their splendid achievements.
There is, however, a bigger cause for celebration, a good news story not entirely told by this medal tally. It’s the story of a phenomenal, across-the-board improvement in India’s sporting standards. It’s a story to be found way below the stratospheric level of the Olympic podium. It’s one that we can appreciate only when we free ourselves from the tyranny of expectations of an Olympic medal.
Let’s look at the Olympics first. Besides the three medal winners, when was the last time you saw so many Indians break into the quarter-finals, even to the last 16? Paes and Bhupathi in the quarters along with three boxers and a wrestler. India’s shooters have begun charting the path that India’s chess players did ten years ago. But the chess players were luckier for all they needed was a cardboard box, some chess pieces and a handy laptop. Even that was beyond India at times. But the shooters have overcome more and now we must give them, Rajyavardhan Rathore and Anjali Bhagwat and Gagan Narang and Avneet Kaur and everyone else, a standing ovation for they have won at different places on the world stage. As we must for young Saina Nehwal. Just 18 and looking it, which is rare in many sports, she showed the kind of determination that tugged at the heart and made you want to reach out to her. She has gone where no Indian girl has gone before in her sport.
Today, two shooters are in the top 10 and at least six in the top 20. Saina entered world badminton’s top 15 at the age of 18 and should at some point enter the top 10. Anup Sridhar and Chetan Anand are already in the men’s top 50. Wrestling, weight lifting, boxing, all have, between themselves, several Indians who are leading contenders in their own respective categories. Our golfers have made a phenomenal improvement and now three are at least prominent regulars on the international circuit. Chess today boasts 18 grandmasters, many more than ever, underlining the fact that Anand wasn’t just an odd-ball prodigy, but an inspiration for so much hidden talent waiting for opportunity and a role model. And how can we ever forget Narain Kartikeyan ... a man who has single handedly changed the way 1 Billion People look at Formula 1.
Even in cricket, with our ongoing trouble with Mendis and Murali, our international rankings have never been higher. Our Test team has stacked out the Number Two spot in the ICC rankings as its own for a couple of years now (though slipping narrowly to No. 3 right now). Never in our history, not in the days of Gavaskar, Kapil and the great spin trio, have we been ranked at No. 2. Playing overseas in the past decade, we have won Tests and sometimes even the series. And surprise of surprises, our one-day performance entered the 50% zone for the first time in our history in recent weeks. What this means is that now we have won as many matches as we have lost, a Rubicon never crossed in the game’s four- decade history, not even in 1983, the year of the World Cup win.
And then I saw men full of spirit play their heart out for India on a football field. Rugged Manipuris played alongside a Kashmiri and a Sikkimese. Goans stood tall alongside Bengalis. This was Indian Foot Ball finding its feet and only just becoming aware of what it could do.
This is perhaps one of the very best phases of Indian Sports for quite some time...
Let's Enjoy.
No comments:
Post a Comment