Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore breaks the Olympics medal jinx by winning a silver medal for shooting in Athens - honestly I came to know his name only now. And am sure it is true for most people reading this blog. All had only a vague idea about the people who left to participate from India. I asked one of our sport editors to confirm the number, and he said 61 err 72. 72 I think! I stick to 72 and presume Malleshwari, Anju George, Kunjarani, Paes-Bhupathi and Dhanraj Pillai are the famous participants from among the team. They aren?t famous because of their potential, but are famous because they had proved their presence in the past by winning accolades?or else even their name would be in the forgotten list.
It is very easy to blame the performances of Indian players just sitting opposite idiot box. We hardly care to know about the hardships these people go through. I am not talking about their practice sessions; I am talking about the process of getting their names in the list.
Basically we are hypocrites who love to call ourselves patriots just because we love seeing Indians winning cricket matches. It isn?t the love for Indians or for Indian sports. It is honestly a love towards the gambling-kick we get watching the game, which that satisfy our killer instincts. Hence even after all those match-fixing episodes, we haven?t lost any interest in this particular betting game. If it were love for the country, we would probably have supported the Olympiads with the same passion and love. Also advertisers would have got the Olympiads to endorse their products.
Olympics are held every 4 years, and who sponsors the people who participate? Who feeds them with proteins and nutrients during practice session? You think the government? Government had refused taking Malleshwari to the last Olympics, just because it could not afford her with a chicken everyday. She managed to get into the list only after she accepted that she will manage chicken at her own expense. And we want her to lift weight and bring home gold???
Dhanraj Pillai once told the media that, ?he will never allow his son to become a hockey player.? He was disappointed at the way they were received at the airport when they came back winning the Gold medal in one of the events. There was NONE at the airport.
And I myself have seen a killer example - a person who was Mr Madras, in 1998 delivers cooking cylinders today. That is the real picture of sports in India.
We have great dreams about Indian tennis players winning grand slam titles. Boris Beckar quit studies in 8th grade, just to become a tennis player. How many Indians would do that? And how many parents would want that to happen to their children? And will the government come to their rescue? The system even failed to take care of Premchand ? Mr Universe. He had to set up a pani puri stall for his survival.
If we want Indians to win at Olympics or in any other events, we need to start the process today. We need to change our perceptions, and we need to contribute for them. Blaming the government won?t help. Someone should take the initiative of collecting the money, and sponsoring these sportsmen. Everyone should at least shell out Rs 100 every month from his pocket towards Indian sports, and a HONEST trust should be formed.
Of course I am neither interested in collecting the money nor forming the trust. I have other works in life and I am sure it is true with you too. And as far as Rs 100 is concerned, I will better watch Vasool Raja MBBS one more time rather than donating the same to the people who ENTERTAIN me only once in 4 years.
Come on Indians - we want a Gold now!!