Tiger, Please Don’t Doze Off Again!
en-US
As China continues winning gold medals at the Olympics, her neighbor India, did not hope much until August 11, when the unexpected happened. The first individual gold medal ever for India was won on the fourth day of the Beijing Olympics.
Indians are one of the most devoted followers of Olympics, but had never been able to cheer for the success of fellow countrymen in the games. India’s economic success story is now a delicacy served to every individual with an appetite of intellectual discussion. However, on the topic of sports, India sighs away. The only sport, Indians can talk about with pride (most of the time) is cricket. But to utter dismay of Indians, cricket is not an Olympic game. Indians used to show promise in the field hockey but after not being able to qualify for the Beijing Olympics, the very distant hope of winning pinned on may be a single medal – perhaps, a bronze? India, the second most populous country in the world is content with only one medal. Expectations of people are so low?
Why it should not be low? India does not devote enough resources for sports. It does not have a set agenda to conquer Olympics like China. Those who really believed in themselves and came up on their own skills and determination, soon find themselves victims of corruption and nepotism. So, why would an average family want their children to spend time in sports – only for heartbreak?
However, there are still few who are fortunate enough to overcome all the hurdles and make it to the Olympic team. Over a billion people stare at them with hope. They pray for at least one medal and also hope that the sports personalities will forget their individual differences and play for the country’s sake.
As Indians watched the amazing Beijing Olympics opening ceremony on August 08, they also noticed the lack of solidarity of the Indian team. Indians could not even agree on a simple thing as a dress code. It is good to express individualism, but when it comes to represent the country, one need to show some solidarity. Few women athletes of the Indian team were happy marching in outfits not designed for the opening ceremony. How can this be allowed? Is it that those who do not want to abide with the dress code rule are so formidable that they threaten not to play for the country, and officials have to oblige to their demands? Adding to the woes, few unathletic members were seen in the march as part of the Indian contingent. I apologize for being biased, but everything these days is about image. India is a nation with relatively high proportion of young people. But when it comes to showcase India, it is always the opposite. Millions of Indians watched the ceremony and their hope was going down. They could only pray for the best.
Prayers by millions of Indians were answered by a surprise individual gold medal by a not-so-known, Abhinav Bindra. Abhinav won the individual gold medal in Men’s 10m Air Rifle event. India always showed promise in shooting but never succeeded in winning a gold. And that too in Men’s Air rifle? India had been blessed with some fine shooters in trap and skeet events and more recently, pistol. However, not so lucky in the Olympics, till Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore surprised everyone with a silver in the double trap event at Athens. Abhinav’s winning have made alive hopes of Indians again. Once more, India has reason to believe that Beijing might bring in more good news. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
Update: After criticism from different corners, the Indian Olympic Association clarified that the accused not-fit-enough team members in the opening ceremony march are office bearers and not athletes. What a relief!
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