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Opinion
A Nation Not Interested in Sports
Piggybacks the Victors
by Chitra Padmanabhan
Abhinav Bindra, the well-heeled shooter who became the first sportsperson
from independent India to win an individual gold medal at the Beijing
Olympics, remained sober - no doubt helped by a natural reserve. But the
delirious orgy of official and officious cash award celebrations went on for
long.
Bronze medalist, wrestler Sushil Kumar, with his experience of grappling
with mind-numbing adversity and obscurity, remained humble. But his
achievement triggered another frenzied moment under the sun for politicians,
Delhi chief minister downwards.
When boxer, Vijender Kumar, having practiced his feints on official apathy,
assured the nation of at least a bronze after a quarter-final win, keeping
hopes alive for silver or gold, the nation's chest size swelled alarmingly.
India had never had such a large Olympic kitty ever before.
It was time for big-time official celebrations.
On second thoughts, why not?
What luck that Bindra won his gold days before Independence Day! The nation
got a new mascot, one better than the previous, Athens Olympian Rajyavardhan
Singh Rathore who was worth his weight only in silver and merely worth his
weight in Beijing. With Sushil Kumar and Vijender adding their might, the
nation's golden-bronzed physique was visible all right.
Pride is what sets a great nation apart from those that are also-rans.
Recognizing excellence too is the hallmark of a great nation. Moreover,
appreciate the grace of the Indian nation that it should recognize
excellence in individuals even when it has not had much to do with honing
it.
The nation knows it can't compete with Papa Bindra's Rs.2 billion gift of a
hotel to his son, or with the pure coach-protégé relationship that Sushil
and Vijender boast. A father-son/ guru-chela relationship is special.
But how dare anyone ask why the nation has directed a cash flood Bindra's
way when he "really" doesn't need it, and in the case of the other two not
soon enough?
A nation's bond with a victor is special - it is in fact sacred.
And if young Bindra has said that it is in their struggling phase that
sportspersons need support, put that down to Punjabi sentimentalism.
Enterprise - that's what is needed today. These boys did not trouble the
nation at all. They trained quietly to strike gold and bronze.
Ultimately, the victory tune played on the winner's podium was India's
national anthem. The shooter, wrestler and boxer are Indian citizens.
That means a total victory for the Indian nation that has the sovereign
right to piggyback on any Indian's achievement of any kind.
The plain truth is that the nation is busy with the business of economic
growth, and becoming an international heavyweight. Does it seem as if it has
the time to - what is that word - 'nurture' talent? Is the nation a nursery
to nurture human talent like plants?
The nation is not interested in sports, but as a stirring superpower it is
interested in the victory of glistening gold on the world stage. And it is
prepared to reward victors with goodies once they have done the nation
proud.
People still refuse to understand. Look at all those sportspersons, each
with a heartrending tale of how walking the jagged edge of poverty crushed
their talent.
Such troublemakers! If you don't have the capacity to support yourself, why
do you even enter sports? Why not just work in a BPO, earn a salary and
become that slight decimal shift in the destinies of big nations.
Or, show the grit of a Sushil - face privation; train one among 20 squeezed
in a room infested with rats and cockroaches; perform sans a physiotherapist
to beat all odds and win in the international arena. Then the nation will
give you a job, promotion and cash rewards.
Only, don't get dewy eyed, looking to the nation for systematic 'nurture' of
the sport. That softens the spirit.
The nation is moving in the right direction. When Chhattisgarh -- its vital
midday meal scheme at Rs.2.58 per primary school child in disarray due to
inflation and meager funds - gives Bindra a Rs.100,000 award; when
Maharashtra - facing the calamity of debt-ridden farmers' suicides - rewards
Bindra with Rs.1 million, it is to show sheer gratitude to an individual who
did not cry for the nation's support at every step, holding it back from
important matters.
There's a limit, you know. People must realize the nation is not a crutch
for individuals; it's a crown that only the deserving get to wear. Like
Bindra, Sushil and Vijender.
August 22, 2008
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