By Pavitra Kumar:
And there went the London Olympics, in all its galore; and psst… there also did go the Indian contingency! We did march in glory, with the gate crasher budging right through, (does it always have to be us?) and our people dressed in a bright and joyous yellow. Now that is one hell of a thing to happen in an opening ceremony, in an event as spectacular as the Olympics. We managed our way through the headlines on Day 0. And while the quadrennial event came to an end, we made up a tally of 6 medals. Not going by the numbers, but by the individuals who have managed to break stereo types and cut across barriers such as cricket, corruption and gender (Yes, Mary it is), these 6 are to be hailed in all glory. These are the individuals who had to cross a couple of hurdles within their own nation, to which, Mary Kom apologises for not making it higher, and Sushil Kumar regrets for having missed the Gold. Humble backgrounds and even humbler individuals.
Considering the humble upbringing, and the nearly hand to mouth existence of most of them, apart from coming from economically less privileged back grounds, we should salute the fact that they have dared to dream. While many of us succumb to life’s pressures, and lose out on our relationships, and mange to be content with what we have, these winners are role models to the current generation. They have managed to put their lesser known Indian home towns on the global front. They are proof enough of the fact that the word impossible is a mere mental barrier. And yeah, they managed to steal the spot light away from our cricketers for a while.
Although the winners were from the individual sporting event categories, there was an entire team backing them up from right here- family, trainers, partners and friends. Moreover, they are courteous enough to apologize, and ambitious enough to regret their feats. A standing ovation or a rousing welcome is not enough. They say it takes two to tango, and it has taken six to stir us up, on what true sportsmanship encompasses, from mental grit, to courtesy, to courage, to humility. So, the next four years, instead of merely hoping to get back more medals home, let us, as a nation, look up to aspirants as these, overcome our mental self made barriers, and amaze ourselves with our human abilities.
Jai Ho!