Today is a great day for Indian sport. Two Olympic medals in a single day. And with Abhinav Bindra's Gold, history has been created. Never before in Olympic history has this nation of more than a billion people managed to get three Olympic gold medals. And that too in individual events. Not difficult to imagine given our obsession for the guys in white flannels . or increasingly today, the men in blue.
I got to watch the last couple of rounds of Vijendra's medal winning bout and to be honest, my eyes did glass over. As it had done when the national anthem was playing as the tricolour was lifted behind the podium with Abhinav waiting to be awarded the coveted Olympic Gold! It is truly an emotional moment for every sports loving Indian. Maybe it is time for people to realise that there are other sports in India besides the one played by ten odd nations (counting Kenya, Zimbabwe, et al) with a piece of willow and a five and a half ounce piece of leather. Maybe it is time we looked at, recognised and encouraged all the other millions of people who are trying, against all odds, to become champions of the world.
Just about five weeks away from today, three more Indians will attempt to become world champions. But the shouts of their success and their tears of joy and their overpowering emotion of success will not be shared by anyone, as they will be standing in the solitary wilderness of the high mountains. They will have only themselves to congratulate as their eyes well over and the moment of glory will only have the whispering winds and azure sky as mute witnesses. Three champions who are trying to defy all odds, are going against all known logic, countering good sense, and embarking on a journey to become the best in the whole wide world. Recognition will come to them from the world body that recognises incredible feats of human endeavour - Guinness World Records - but probably not from their own countrymen under whose flag the feat was achieved.
Certificate in hand, the triumphant trio will try and convince people to support their next adventure. Maybe they will succeed, maybe the struggle will continue. After all, adventure sports is not cricket. Neither is it an Olympic sport. There are no spectators to cheer the challengers. There is no television to take the triumph to the masses. But it is a sport nevertheless and these three Indians will be crowned champions of the world.
At the summit of achievement, the three will stand shoulder to shoulder, unfurl the Indian tricolour at 22,000 feet, look up at the sky and sing the national anthem. That is the recognition worth dying for, worth every effort, worth every pain, worth the time spent knocking on closed doors, worth every humiliation attracted in the journey of The Longest Mile for the three Cliff Riders.
Just before descending from the record beating altitude, the triumphant trio will join hands and shout out to the expanse of nothingness - Bharat Mata Ki Jai. And the surrounding mountains will echo the sentiment back to them. Only they will know that they represented the country and have carried the flag for India as world beaters!
I got to watch the last couple of rounds of Vijendra's medal winning bout and to be honest, my eyes did glass over. As it had done when the national anthem was playing as the tricolour was lifted behind the podium with Abhinav waiting to be awarded the coveted Olympic Gold! It is truly an emotional moment for every sports loving Indian. Maybe it is time for people to realise that there are other sports in India besides the one played by ten odd nations (counting Kenya, Zimbabwe, et al) with a piece of willow and a five and a half ounce piece of leather. Maybe it is time we looked at, recognised and encouraged all the other millions of people who are trying, against all odds, to become champions of the world.
Just about five weeks away from today, three more Indians will attempt to become world champions. But the shouts of their success and their tears of joy and their overpowering emotion of success will not be shared by anyone, as they will be standing in the solitary wilderness of the high mountains. They will have only themselves to congratulate as their eyes well over and the moment of glory will only have the whispering winds and azure sky as mute witnesses. Three champions who are trying to defy all odds, are going against all known logic, countering good sense, and embarking on a journey to become the best in the whole wide world. Recognition will come to them from the world body that recognises incredible feats of human endeavour - Guinness World Records - but probably not from their own countrymen under whose flag the feat was achieved.
Certificate in hand, the triumphant trio will try and convince people to support their next adventure. Maybe they will succeed, maybe the struggle will continue. After all, adventure sports is not cricket. Neither is it an Olympic sport. There are no spectators to cheer the challengers. There is no television to take the triumph to the masses. But it is a sport nevertheless and these three Indians will be crowned champions of the world.
At the summit of achievement, the three will stand shoulder to shoulder, unfurl the Indian tricolour at 22,000 feet, look up at the sky and sing the national anthem. That is the recognition worth dying for, worth every effort, worth every pain, worth the time spent knocking on closed doors, worth every humiliation attracted in the journey of The Longest Mile for the three Cliff Riders.
Just before descending from the record beating altitude, the triumphant trio will join hands and shout out to the expanse of nothingness - Bharat Mata Ki Jai. And the surrounding mountains will echo the sentiment back to them. Only they will know that they represented the country and have carried the flag for India as world beaters!
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