It's that time when the greatest sporting extravaganza, the Olympics gets underway, shifting the attention of the world away briefly from wars, conflicts, and economic upheavals to a much vaunted celebration of sport at the Games.
As the latest edition of the Games kicks off, MetroPlus checks out the reasons behind its popularity in India and the different avenues that the games are going to be broadcast in India.
What makes an essentially single sport country so excited ?“It is the relative success that India has enjoyed in recent editions that has helped build expectations and ensured increasing interest in the games. I think that the gold bagged by Abhinav Bindra went a long way in changing our attitudes. However, I watch the Olympics because I get to see the best athletes in the world in action. It helps that the likes of Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps give their best in the games,” says designer Sameer Sharma.
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For IT professional Avishek S., the games provide an opportunity to learn about sports and events that he did not even know existed. “I discovered fencing when I was watching a swimming event during the Athens Olympics in 2004. Since I do not watch much beyond team sports, it's a good time to get acquainted with individual sports as well. The history behind the Olympic movement and the fact that it offers many sports on a platter makes it interesting.”
Prateek Shukla is relived that Star Sports is telecasting the Games. “The 2008 games was one of first Olympics I followed. However, with the feed coming from DD sports, I could not watch the events of my liking. They would switch to obscure events featuring Indian athletes, just before a major athletic final. With live streams and apps now, I think I do not have to worry about that anymore.”