India @ London Olympics 2012: 7-8 medals appear a reasonable estimate
Indian sport has never had it as good. So much so that 7-8 medals in London 2012 appear a reasonable estimate with just a month left for the start of the world's greatest sports spectacle.
Importantly, the medal prospects are spread across disciplines and have all proved their mettle at the international stage for some time now.
With sophisticated training and adequate international exposure coming their way, chances are they will not be overawed at the Olympic stage and will be the harbingers of what can be labeled as a 'national sports culture' in India in the months to come.
WELL BEGUN AT BEIJING
For Indian Olympic sport, Beijing and the years that followed have proved to be a watershed. Abhinav Bindra was not an aberration. His performance was followed by near-podium finishes in badminton, tennis and archery, and the gains have been consolidated since.
If the media catharsis that followed was any indication, for the first time, Olympic sports, apart from hockey, was at the centre stage of what could be termed as the national consciousness.
Three major themes emerged in the aftermath of Beijing: renewed media focus on Olympism as a nationalist playing field, the promise of an Indian Olympic culture and the fear that without systemic change in Indian sporting structures, Beijing would be yet another false dawn.
The success of the three Beijing winners was as much a testament to their own skills as it was a metaphor for the larger story of India.
They had arguably shattered the grand narrative of failure that has characterised Indian Olympic sport for 88-long years.
The three medals won in Beijing had a catalytic effect to help correct years of frustration at India's poor sporting performances.
With state governments and leading corporates setting up academies to promote boxing, wrestling, archery etc.,
India looked poised to make a statement to the world at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the subsequent Asian Games at Guangzhou.
CWG'S SILVER LINING
And despite the multiple tales of corruption that had taken over the grand narrative of the Delhi Commonwealth Games, there is no denying the athletes their moment of glory.
For the first time in history, India finished second in the medal count with 101 medals, 38 of which were gold. England had been displaced from the second position in the medals' tally and Indian sport was at an all-time high.
Guangzhou was the perfect sequel: 14 gold medals and sixth in the medal standings, the Olympic dream was gradually starting to appear real.
The fact that the entire boxing team had emerged from the small north-Indian town of Bhiwani with few facilities, provided too irresistible a story of human triumph against all odds.
In a nation starved of sporting glory, the intense media focus on the Guangzhou battlers turned them into new nationalist heroes.
IT'S THE SYSTEM, STUPID!
In an atmosphere of relative optimism, a note of caution is necessary. India's sporting system needs an immediate overhaul and the years since Beijing have created a possibility for such a change to come about.
However, unless the government, sports administrators, the IOA, and, finally a lot many more corporates come forward to embrace Olympic sport, Guangzhou 2010 will remain an aberration.
Tough questions need to be asked. What happened, for instance, to the Indian Army's celebrated Mission Olympics and why couldn't it be integrated with the larger national effort?
While India celebrates Bhiwani for what it has done to place boxing on the national map, it is time to replicate such achievements across the country.
With boxing being a televisionfriendly sport and with 24-hour television channels multiplying almost daily, the media would surely embrace boxing if properly marketed and managed.
Mary Kom and Vijender Singh, for example, are already two of India's most loved and talked about athletes. With such a systemic overhaul, India can expect more qualifications in boxing in the 2016 Rio Games and Vijender's 2008 bronze will then have the significance of being more than an Olympic medal in the overall sporting context.
With incredible stories of human triumph powering on the Indian Olympic dream, Deepika Kumari, an auto driver's daughter, is a real medal hopeful as is Krishna Poonia and Mary Kom, a mother of two.
To finish off with an interesting story from my book, Olympics: The India Story, a senior journalist had asked Abhinav on his return to India after his Beijing gold: "Is this Abhinav's gold or India's gold?" Abhinav, epitome of political correctness, was quick to suggest that it was India's without question.
If India wins 7 or more medals at London, thanks to Abhinav and his colleagues, it will certainly be India's gold for all time.
However, if London 2012 doesn't go to plan, Abhinav's gold will forever remain his, a moment of individual brilliance lost amidst countless failures since Independence.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...ble-estimate/articleshow/14396291.cms?curpg=1
not ipl . Olympics is a big deal , Our govt is not dumb for keeping our team here itself if at all cricket is part of Olympics . Indian Democracy will kick BCCI if they dont send team for Olympics .
