Everyone remembers the great comeback of Kim Clijsters to the Tennis court after her marriage and a baby. The whole world applauded her determination and love for the game. Did anyone in India even notice the comeback of Mary Kom? She has twins who are 5yrs old and still she managed to be the World Boxing Champion five-times out of the six she participated in! Add to that a bronze medal at the Olympics this year. And don't forget her words after winning the medal. She asked for forgiveness.. She asked it from people who never supported her. From people who called her a Chinese dressed in a saree. From people who never turned up for her match. Lack of crowd support was the main reason for her defeat. But still all that she wanted was forgiveness for not getting a Gold for her motherland! She comes from Manipur- a place which hardly has any facilities. A place whose people are called Chinese in their own country. She had to hide her skills from her parents until she won her first medal at the state level. Her coach was not given a place in the Olympics village because he didn't have some damn certification. For me hers is a more inspirational story that Micheal Phelps or Usain Bolt. And her bronze is much more valuable than all the medals won by Phelps. The hardwork, determination and struggle she went through is just not comparable to anyone else participating at the Olympics.
Lets take a look at Hockey. 6 Olympic Gold medals in a row. 8 Gold medals in total- the highest among any national teams. I am aware that we finished last this year. But for me they still are the best among all the players. No, I'm not being sarcastic. They play a sport which is supposed to be the National Game of the country. Well, officially we don't have any record to certify this. Even though every one is told this at school how many of us actually play it? I have never held a hockey stick in my hand. Its a shame! These people seldom have the infrastructure required to perform well. No good sponsors, no media coverage, no support. Imagine that a country with more than 1.2 billion people doesn't manage to support its national game! Its a shame for all of us. All that we end up doing is criticizing the team- the only thing we are best at. I'm sure that everyone on that team has been told to give up the game all their lives. A game which is already being declared dead.. But still they decided to try their best. Go in with the hope to create a miracle their fellow citizens had done few decades ago. I know they failed but they were fighting against a billion cricket frenzy fans who are ready to give up work for cricket. For me they return as winners. Their love for the game cannot match anyone else.
Santhi Soundarajan. Does anyone remember her? She currently works as a daily wager at a brick kiln and earns Rs 200 per day. Her past- she won a Silver medal at the Asian Championships in 2005. She failed a gender test after which she was stripped off her medal. None supported her. She started eating proper meals only in 2004 which is considered one of the reasons for her failing the test. Neither did anyone help her out and neither was she ever given a chance to represent India again. All that she asks today is a permanent job that can fetch her two meals a day. A quality player lost in the pages of history! Sad.Veerdhawal Khade, Sushil Kumar, Tintu Luka...
I can go on and on. I want to make a point here that our players need our support, our attention. They just need appreciation for their hard work. People reading this article are perhaps in a much better position to help them. Lets not forget that there are games other than cricket where we can be the best in the world. Our country has people who can indeed get more medals than USA or China. If we can manage to provide the facilities and training available to greats like Phelps I'm very sure that we will in future produce greater athletes. A thought worth spending time upon... I don't know how to help. But we can at least give some of our time to know about them. Spread the word about these great players. At some point we will definitely have people supporting our athletes in the Summer Olympics. And with our support they will get us the medals required to top the medal tally.
A salute to all the members of the Indian Contingent at the London Olympics. Each one of you is a winner. You have been through hardships like none other. Your love for the game and determination to pursue your dream is worth more than a medal at the Games. You give me hope, you give me inspiration, you give me the will to go after one's dreams, the strength to never stop. Kudos to each and everyone of you. You have made our country proud.
