Vijay

Britain is celebrating its best Olympic results in a century and for a nation of just 60 million people, its 3rd in the medal tally, just after the mighty China and USA. As the medals continue to pour in raising the sporting spirit of this nation, there is a sense of excitement rippling through the air. The papers scream out the medal success and the BBC is covering the events with impressive graphics and statistics. Somehow, numbers always seem more fun when put in the context of statistics. And while the triumph of Team GB is being celebrated with typical British restrain, there is the odd momentary lapse in the self control when they gleefully point out that the Aussies are lower down in the medal tally. London 2012.The arena for greater sporting glory for Team GB and ..India.
While the British Olympians cannot be denied their moment of glory, it must also be pointed out to outstanding facilities and infrastructure that’s available to not just promising athletes, but also each and every citizen in the UK. There is a system to nurture sporting talent at grassroots level and therefore , such sterling results are the logical conclusion. But the triumph of Sushil Kumar and Vijendra Singh, not forgetting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Abhinav Bindra, are different. While the teams of USA, China, Britain (among others) had the infrastructure, training programmes, equipments,etc, our Indian sportsmen had nothing but hope ; hope that stems from true Deewar style and you can almost hear our guys growl out like Vijay(Amitabh Bachchan) , ‘ Humare pass Ma hain’. They trained, struggled and worked hard, learning to fight not just the opponents, but also the system. Theirs was a lonely campaign for glory and their success was scripted by the unflinching support from families, coach or random benefactors. The success of our Indian Olympians is the triumph of the human spirit, in the true tradition of the Olympics.
India is on the threshold of becoming an economic superpower, competing to face the might of USA and China. And the day has come when we are testing the sporting waters and starting to write success stories in the small towns and villages of the country. Is this the start of a new revolution? I certainly hope so. We have it in us to make it big – so, why not ?
For now, let us enjoy the fruits of success and shower our praise on those among us who made us proud. Abhinav Bindra must surely be happy with the free lifetime airconditioned train pass rewarded to him…..