The Indian Olympic Story

The first week of the 2012 London Olympics fortnight is over, and India has already equaled its best showing of 3 medals at the 2008 games. It was widely speculated that this would be the groundbreaking year for Indian sports, with predictions going up to as many as 10 medals. While that might look out of reach now, with medal hopes in archery, tennis and some shooting events dashed, India can still hope to look forward to adding to the tally of 3 with medal hopes still alive in boxing, wrestling, and shooting. A couple of heartbreaks in the boxing ring with unfair decision against Sumit Sangwan and Vikas krishan's win being reversed did mar the Indian party, so did the failure of some sure shot medal hopes in shooting. However, its been a fabulous outing already so far, with historic showing in badminton (Saina's bronze and Kashyap's quarterfinal showing), Irfan Thodi bettering the 20 Km walk national record by more than 2 minutes even as I write this piece and finishing 10th overall, a fantastic showing for Indian athletics.

It has been heartening to see athletes performing their best at the grandest stage a sportsman can hope for, as in the case of Kashyap, Thodi, the rowers, boxer Devender (who is looking good for a medal). Some of them might not be among the medals yet, but its a massive accomplishment if you are achieving your personal bests at the Olympics when faced with the best quality opposition from around the world. That is all one can really expect and hope to do. And especially if you are an Indian athlete, this achievement assumes epic proportions. The usual table toppers, USA, China, Australia have well established sporting infrastructure. Athletes are manufactured and trained in state-sponsored programs. All they do is train and achieve perfection. A Michael Phelps has more medals individually in 3 Olympics than India has to its name in its entire Olympic history. That is why even a qualification for the finals of an event, or finishing among the top 10 is a great achievement for an Indian sportsperson, and winning a medal is phenomenal. A Sania Mirza or Saina Nehwal, an Abhinav Bindra or Mary Kom, a Vijender or a Deepika Kumari do not receive the kind of state support a Chinese or American athlete does. They have to rely on their parents, who move from Haryana to Hyderabad, pour their lives' earnings in their training, take them for training on a scooter 25 km everyday, massage their sore limb and backs, sweat it out with them on the courts, fly them across the globe to participate in ITF tournaments and basically dedicate their lives for their wards' moment of glory.

Things are changing, billions of rupees were evidently invested in training for these Olympics by the government, sponsors are taking interest, infrastructure is improving thanks to events like the Delhi Commonwealth games. But these efforts have just polished the sheen for these athletes, and have just started. The foundations were laid by the dedication and unflinching commitment of these athletes who are now doing us proud. And possibly what makes it all worth it, is the fact that on a day when India clinched a ODI cricket series against arch-rivals Sri Lanka 4-1, the news channels and Indian population were reveling in Saina Olympic glory, and half hour specials were being watched on India's day at the Olympics, with not even a passing mention of the cricket series win, pother than the blinking blob at the bottom of the screen. Slowly, but surely we might be getting there, and as Krishna Poonia takes the field in the women's discus throw finals right now, India's sporting tradition may have also taken a flying start like her discus.