When twenty three year old the tall & HANDSOME Neeraj CHOPRA of Panipat,Haryana, the Asian Games and Commonwealth Javelin Gold medalist was Inching confidently towards Victory , at 5.09 pm on 7th August, hearts of Indians rightly stopped Beating for a few minutes.
Not having seen but on the basis of ” hearing” I was too tempted to utter ” ITS GOING TO BE NEERAJ ,NEERAJ And Neeraj ALL THE WAY”
After first two or three tounds, his fellow competitors began trailing badly which improved our hope quotient. One further felt in mind
” If he manages GOLD ,it will be After 13 years. In 2008 OLYMPICS Abhinav Bindra had won it In SHOOTING.”
Praiseworthy & Deserving Neeraj Chopra
NOW extremely capable & once badly injured but ultimately well deserving Young INDIAN has done all of us
immensely PROUD.
A few words won’t suffice.
It is to be felt deep within present tough Covid times.
IT WAS BEST EVER PERFORMANCE BY INDIA IN OLYMPICS.
Last Best was win of six Medals at 2012 London Olympics.
Unfortunate Indians
By whiskers, Mary Kom,Indian Women’s Hockey Team , Golfer Aditi and Archers Deepika & Tarun
narrowly missed grabbing medals ,
Otherwise overall tally would have been atleast 10(Ten).
Swift Jump In Medals Tally
Neeraj’s win gave India a remarkable jump from 66th position to 45th.
In 121 year old history of games ,India could never manage to win even a Bronze in Athletics .
When Account was finally opened,it was with a solid bang which may have shocked and silenced many critics for a moment.
YES IT WAS A GOLDEN “Start”.
Thus far ,best performances by Indian athletes were : Great Flying Sikh,Late Milkha Singh,4th place,P.T.Usha-again, 4th place ,while international High Jump record holder Anjali Baby George had slipped to 5th place,unfortunately.
Is it not an unbelievable rather Incedible performance to date by Indian sportspersons ?
Could Performance Have Been Better ?
HOWEVER, despite improved and many a time, record breaking performances in the recent past, expensive foreign training opportunities,relative calm & quiet atmosphere of two Covid waves and additional one year preparation time by postponement of current Games , overall Indian tally of medals could have been still better.
One is hearing from childhood that smaller and relatively less developed countries, such as,Serbia,Jamaica,Kenya,Netherland,Italy etc manage to get more medals than us.It would need deep study.
Considerate & Understanding P.M. At Last
In retrospect, extra Filip was definitely given by Sri Narendra Modi, the extra dynamic PM who wished, inspired and motivated Sportspersons both in victory as also when they lost. One has no hesitation in admitting that such a sporting and encouraging P.M. we never had.
Such a positive and determined boost goes a long way.
SHALL We hope to increase our medals tally at most of International events in Future.?
Viewpoint of Viewers/Watchers
From the viewer’s perspective, there is no harm in concluding that by nature we become too emotional on such occasions.
We also tend to misbehave with losers .
A balanced & rational behavior should be always displayed by feeling “Indian ness” within us.
When are we going a Have a National Chracter ?
Lower Middle Class ,Clearly Scored
Last but not the least,the majority,may be with the exception of Neeraj,Shooters and the lone woman Golfer BELONGED to lower or lower middle classes who have to mostly struggle for good balanced and nutritious diet, potable water,coaching facility at the ” cutting edge”, amiable peer group company etc.
Besdes many had to walk a few kms prior to getting lift from truckers or crowded buses or taxis.
Chanu,Dahia,Punia,a few Archers and Hockey players belong to such a category.
It is not only “Taking “which should find mention.
Chanu did not forget the gratitude of sand truckers of Mizoram.She not only hosted 150 of them but also Felicited them with her meagre resources at her ordinary house in presence of her Tea Seller Mother..But these can happen only in the North East with due Regards to other fellow Indians.
Hats off to Chanu and Loveina, similarly inclined Sportspersons,Our country MAY see STILL brighter days in Future.
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SEVEN MEDAL WINNERS & ALSO OTHER MEMBERS WHO TRIED THEIR BEST,
Deserve to Be Felicitated By The PM at Red Fort on 15th August,2021
Long Live India !
About the Author : Dr. Aaloc Srivastav, Ex CS , Sikkim is a Senior Retd Bureaucrat and passionate about writing on his favourite subjects . The views shared by the author are his personal.
