Sourav SinhaIndia's tryst with Olympics Glory

11August

India’s tryst with Olympics Glory

When I previewed the Indian contingent for Tokyo Olympics 2020, a few weeks back, I had a distinct hope that it would be India’s best Olympics performance to date. I expected India to win 11 medals and though India fell 4 short of that, what we gained has been tremendous over the last couple of weeks.

From being glued to TV sets, cheering Mirabai Chanu as she picked up Silver in weightlifting, to being tensed till the dying seconds of the bronze medal match in Hockey, it has been one heck of a ride. And let’s not forget that we had many glass ceilings broken with India doing particularly well in certain disciplines where India qualified for the first time or was not expected to do well – be it Equestrian or Golf.

In all 127 athletes qualified from India but some athletes left an indelible mark in our hearts. Some won (nothing bigger than what Neeraj Chopra achieved) and some lost by a whisker. But the bottom line is that we competed to win and not to participate and that for me is a big plus from this Olympics.

Some names that readily come to mind who punched their weight above others are given below:

Mirabai Chanu (Won silver in weightlifting to become the first Indian weightlifter to win a silver medal)
Bhavani Devi in Fencing (India qualified for this event for the first time and Bhavani Devi won the first round but got beaten in the second round)
P.V. Sindhu (Became the first Indian woman to win two medals in Olympics)
Lovlina Borgohain (Became only the second female boxer after Mary Kom to win a medal in Olympics)
Hockey teams (The men won a medal for the first time in 41 years while the women qualified for the semifinals for the first time)
Kamalpreet Kaur (Qualified to the finals with the second-best throw amongst all the athletes but couldn’t replicate that form in the finals – for the records if she had hit her season’s personal best, she could have won a bronze medal)
Deepak Punia, Ravi Dahiya, and Bajrang Punia (While Ravi Dahiya and Bajrang Punia carried on with our recent tradition of winning medals in wrestling, Deepak Punia fell agonisingly short in the bronze medal bout)
Neeraj Chopra (Came into the Olympics as a serious medal hopeful for India and surpassed that expectation by winning Gold. History was created in Tokyo as he became the first Indian to win an Olympic Medal in track & field)
Aditi Ashok (Broke all ceilings and made Indians wake up at 4.30 AM to follow her match on TV. A 200 ranked player ended up finishing 4th. If Milkha Singh, PT Usha, and Dipa Karmakar fell agonisingly short of winning Olympic medals, then Aditi Ashok should be added to the list because she too fell agonisingly short of the coveted medal).
Relay team Asian record (The men’s 4*100 M relay team did amazingly well by breaking the Asian record but it’s so competitive in Olympics that even that record time was not enough for them to qualify for the finals).
Women 20 km walk (Priyanka Goswami came 17th in this event but the performance is not to be brushed aside because for one she was leading the pack at the halfway stage and to be fair if Priyanka would have been close to her personal best, she would have been in Medal contention.)
Manika Batra (For the first time we had a table tennis player from India who won two rounds in the Olympics. Previously India never crossed the first round)
Fouaad Mirza (For the first time we saw an Indian in equestrian finals).

There are so many Indian stories about this Olympics! The first day got us a medal. And we competed for medal rounds till the penultimate day – In fact we received 3 medals on the 14th day of the games. It shows that our process is bearing fruits.

Rather than sulking on why we didn’t get more medals think of this:

I started watching the Olympics in 1984. My whole school life went through with India never winning a medal. During my college days in 1996, I finally saw an Indian on the podium (Leander Paes winning Bronze). India has been winning medals after that but it has always been more about individual brilliance – it was never about the system throwing up champions. Hence this Olympics is different! Across multiple disciplines, we have been highly competitive. And to be fair, if our boxers, shooters, and a couple of high-profile wrestlers didn’t have a meltdown on the important days, India might have had around 15 medals.

In boxing, Amit Panghal was world number 1. In archery, Deepika Kumari was world number 1. In shooting three of our shooters were top-ranked coming into the Olympics. In wrestling, Vinesh Poghat was world number 1. All of these players failed to deliver on the big stage. It happens. We saw in tennis both Naomi Osaka and Novak Djokovic losing and didn’t win a medal. But my point is, if our top-ranked players would have performed to the expectations then we would have had the nation rejoicing like no other.

Nothing is lost though because Olympic sports are now firmly in our imaginations. The thrill that our hockey team gave over the last week is difficult to describe! It shows that if we provide better infrastructure and better systems and more sponsorships, things can look up for India!

If Mr. Naveen Patnaik can sponsor the hockey team, what’s stopping the other state governments to pick up one sport and sponsor? What’s stopping some of the corporate honchos to sponsor some of these players and teams? Things can only look up when you take care of the economic struggles of many of these players! At the grassroots level we have serious talent but most fizzle out because after a while what’s important is to get the physiological needs to be taken care of!

The lead-up to Lovlina’s house in Assam didn’t have a motorable road till she confirmed a medal! Suddenly the government woke up and got the road done in less than a week! So if you want, you can do it. What’s required is the intention. The process of TOPS (Target Olympics Podium Scheme) started by Rajvardhan Singh Rathore in 2014, can be seen to bear fruits now but all will be lost if we do not build on it from here. It’s not the destination that matters – it’s the journey that counts.

India’s performance in Asiad 2022 and CWG 2022 will be closely watched! If in the next 15 months we come back home with a big haul of medals, you can rest assured that Paris 2024 will be the year when India crosses the 10 medal count in Olympics. Of course, what we need to see is from where we are getting the medals in Asiad and Commonwealth Games! In CWG we are traditionally strong in shooting, archery, wrestling, weightlifting, and boxing. But many of these disciplines are not happening in 2022. Can India do well in traditional events, like athletics? Can India get a bagful of medals in Asiad other than athletics, kabaddi, and hockey? These will be closely watched!

One thing that I surely suggest is to have mental conditioning coaches to be sent with these teams! We need to invest in this department. Because you need to be cool under pressure! To win gold you need to control your brain and not make mistakes at important junctures! Few of our losses this year have been due to the barest of margins! These can be overcome when you have mental conditioning coaches travelling with you!

We truly become a global superpower when we start performing excellently in the Olympics! The economic performance of India should be reflected in the medals tally too! And frankly, when you invest in the system you will get results! Talent was always there but our politicians never thought beyond votes! It’s the right time that we understand, to be highly respected all over, we need to be respected and taken seriously across all domains, be it start-up culture or sports culture! We truly become a developed and economically top nation when we excel in business and Olympics sports!

So much money has been spent by corporates in football and cricket! What’s stopping them from investing some of those funds in Olympics sports too? We should start the HPL (Hockey premier league) and keep working on creating professional leagues across most of these Olympic sports be it basketball, volleyball, athletics, etc. Only when sponsors come in, we will have these events televised. And when they get televised, you will get more eyeballs. And when you get more eyeballs these players will learn to thrive under pressure!

I think our process is working. I am not disappointed with these results (individually I am with shooting) but we should build on this!

And to sign off, we should get rid of this mindset of casteism and focus on equality. More ladies have won medals in the last couple of Olympics than men hence we should believe that our girls are no way less than men. Start treating both your kids equally at home. When the kids from a small age see that there is no difference between the brother and sister, you will find them growing up into individuals who are independent and self-reliant who are ready to take on the world alone!

Create more Ranis (my daughter’s name is Rani too), and Bhawanis and Sindhus in your homes! Don’t buy them only dollhouses and doctor kits; buy them volleyballs, cricket bats, badminton racquets, hockey sticks, etc. I personally watched most of the games with my daughter and son in tow! Quite expectedly both enjoyed the fortnight with the defining moment being all of us watching together when India beat Australia to reach the semifinal in women’s hockey. Nothing was more pleasurable though than seeing my daughter jumping with joy when she saw Rani Rampal scoring India’s first goal in Tokyo 2020.

Didn’t think we will have another high after hockey but Neeraj Chopra made it happen as Saturday evening became a golden evening as all three of us jumped in joy as Neeraj Chopra won the Gold medal in javelin.

We can make this happen friends. We can truly become a sports superpower by 2032. Let’s believe. Let’s back them. Let’s create a great future for our nation, together!

What have been your top 3 moments for India in Tokyo 2020?

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