After a protracted dry spell of 56 years, India has ultimately controlled to break the jinx of being tagged as the sole medal at the Olympics. Vijender, 23-yr-vintage pugilist with the Greek- God chiseled seems from the sleepy city of Bhiwani, humbled his Ecuadorian rival Carlos Gongora nine-four. He got here, saw, and conquered the hearts of tens of millions of proud Indians.
The twinkle-eyed lad has become the primary Indian boxer to make it punch his way into the semifinal of the Olympics. Even though he lost the warfare to the Cuban champion within the semis, he took the ground head-on earlier than passing at the winning baton to his opponent. Knocking off their pessimistic garb for some time, Indians had all reasons to grin from ear to ear.
Till the previous day, Haryana becomes within the newspapers’ columns for all notorious reasons; however, the beau best dawn at Beijing has gained a reputation not just for the State but also for the Country. The new breed of sports activities, man or woman, from those lesser-regarded small wallets of India brings laurels to the Nation. Bhiwani, the ‘Mini Cuba’ because the locals refer it to, drove to the limelight overnight with 3 Kumars vying for the flavor of Victory. India had gained medals returned in 1952 at Helsinki, where Khashaba Jadhav earned bronze in wrestling and hockey chimed in with the Midas contact.
Jitender, who misplaced Quarterfinal bout within the 51Kg event, and Akhil Kumar, the alternative two ‘Lords of the Ring’ who kept the Indian parents glued to their TV units too, got here from a modest historical past struggling to make it large a few days. From the dusty streets of the village to the stormy honor within the Dragon country, and as they must have it, name and fame strode in alongside.
Their struggle story isn’t any much less than a fairy tale sincerely materialized. But at no point did their intestinal fortitude give way to depression. Financial impediments and handicaps of simple sports centers could not deter them from exchanging their uncertain and unrewarding vocations for a few beneficial ones. The underlying pressure binding the trio becomes the humbleness of the grassroots and an iron chip up their shoulders.
Apart from sharing the same backgrounds, they underwent emotional turbulence, complete with apprehensions and uncertainty about destiny. But the unshaken faith in their competencies and help from their friends reshaped their fate and fortune. The nondescript regions, together with Bhiwani, are the hottest hubs of a pool of expertise, and it comes as no marvel that metros with the modern-day sports infrastructure cannot ever fit up to the raw insanity strolling in the veins of those guys.
It is a checking-out time for the authorities that, as opposed to concentrating full time on Cricket, must encourage different sports activities. It would be unlucky should athletes in the making too have to go through the vicissitudes of fortune and be left within the lurch. Indians are properly conversant in the wayward attitude of the Government. The ratings of promises hog the headlines for an afternoon and later retreat into the genie’s bottle. It underestimates the kinds that the politicians and the media who once made a beeline to these champions’ domestic fade away with time only to permit every other set of desires to strangulate.
