The Olympic Games have, by and large, remained a battlefield of wishful conquests for Indians, barring, of course, a few glittering exceptions.
With their medal-winning feats at the Beijing Games, the trio of Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar has come to symbolise the new spirit that the Indian contingent carries to London.
The seeds of this sporting revolution were sown by Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Athens in 2004 when he won the silver in double trap shooting and four years later, a gold by marksman Bindra was the crowning moment for a nation starved of Olympic glory.
Tough task
For the majority of Indian sportspersons the task of qualifying for the Games itself is so tough that just getting the tag of an ‘Olympian’ is good enough.
So, what does it take to bring home an Olympic medal?
“You have to look at the background at that time. We Indians generally believed that we were no good at the Olympics.
“The negativity was in the atmosphere.
“I believed that I had rightfully earned to say, I own this place, the Olympics arena,” said Rathore of his Athens experience.
In Bindra’s opinion, it was all about “the ability to keep testing oneself and hanging in there a bit more.
“It depends on the individual’s ability to survive those critical moments to face the pressure.”
Winning a medal has remained just a dream for the majority of the Indians, but there are athletes who go out there to record their best, if not win a medal.
“That’s what P.T. Usha, Milkha, Sriram and I did,” says Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, an outstanding all-round athlete who finished fifth in the 110m hurdles in the Tokyo Olympics in a national record time of 14.0 seconds.
“When I went to Tokyo, a medal was not on my mind; I aimed for my life’s best,” he recalled.
“Now-a-days, athletes peak for qualification rather than achieve it during the Olympics,” Randhawa was candid as ever.
Zafar Iqbal, member of the gold winning hockey squad in 1980, was realistic.
“For most, Olympics used to be just a trip.
“But it meant a lot to be known as an Olympian. The gap between India and the rest has not narrowed. We do entertain hopes of individual medals now.”
As badminton star Aparna Popat put it: “It has everything to do with your preparation. During our time, overseas participation was limited.
Also, much depended on how big your dad’s purse was.
“So we had to pray for opportunities to collect enough ranking points to qualify for the Games.
“Qualification itself provided a sense of achievement.
“These days, the players are far better prepared.
“They believe they have a chance for an Olympic medal.”
Sure of a medal
Athletics legend Usha says she was sure of a medal at Los Angeles in 1984.
“I had trained very hard before the Olympics and my aim was to win a medal. I knew I could do it since I had this feeling after Moscow (1980), even while losing, that we can also aim for medals.”
One has to aspire, asserted Kamlesh Mehta, who went to the Olympics as a player in 1988 and 1992 and a coach in 2004. “You have to dream, have to have a vision.
“I’m glad that there has been a change in the Indian attitude since 2004. There is a sense of belief.”
Different thought
Usha thought differently. “People basically criticise in our country.
“There is not much change in their attitude.
“Even when I am engaged in training Tintu (Luka), people are trying to discourage us just as they did way back in 1984. I tell her whatever people may say you can still go for the medal (in London) since you have the ability to do that.”
You have to be obsessed to win at Olympics.
The slogan for Bindra during his training was: “It is not every four years. It is every day.”
As Usha emphasised, “We have to gain in confidence, only then we can achieve.”
Can London change the way Indians look at Olympics — not a forgettable ritual, but a sporting celebration! We shall know soon.
