The trend has been brilliant, and the buoyant hope is to ride on the momentum and live up to the growing faith of a billion-plus populace.
With a dozen medals in the last five Olympics — a record haul of six in the previous edition in London — there is a respectability to India in the global sporting arena, after it had thrived on the memories of eight hockey gold medals in the bygone era.
It is to the credit of Leander Paes who changed the fortunes with the most improbable Olympic medal in tennis in Atlanta in 1996 when he was a mere Davis Cup hero. He is out there this time too, ready to fight it out in his seventh successive Olympics. No Indian has accomplished that.
Many things that Paes has achieved in his illustrious career are beyond the realms of even some of the finest sports persons the country has produced. Whether the 43-year old signs off with a medal or not, there is a guarantee that there will be medals for India. Except for 1992, on his debut in Barcelona, Paes has always been part of squads that won Olympic medals.
The tremendous support from every quarter, especially, the government, has possibly reflected in the enhanced medal haul. Yet, for people who have already started counting a double-digit medals tally, there has to be a reminder that India has won only 26 in all from the 1896 Olympics.
Powered by bulletsTo a great extent, the higher level of expectations has been powered by the bullets fired by shooters. As Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore — Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, and the silver medallist in Athens in 2004 — put it so beautifully the other day, Indian athletes need to give off their best and allow destiny to reveal itself!
Even as someone like Abhinav Bindra — who took the baton forward from Rathore to clinch the gold in Beijing in 2008 — conceded recently, that the results are bound to crop up in the mind and it was important to accept it and deal with it so as to focus better on the process. The 33-year-old Bindra is looking for a golden sun set. Nobody in Indian sport has been a World and Olympic champion, let alone hold the titles at the same time.
There was hope that Sushil Kumar, former World champion with a silver and bronze medal in the Olympics could join Bindra. However, he is not in the race for gold in Rio.
It is a relief that Narsingh Yadav will, after all fight, on the mat, after being caught in a doping controversy that should soon be on the silver screen, irrespective of what the wrestler achieves! The focus though, has shifted to Yogeshwar Dutt, the bronze medallist of the London Games who is eyeing the gold and has no inhibitions about saying so.
The woman power had accounted for two bronze medals in London through Mary Kom and Saina Nehwal. While Mary Kom, a five-time World Champion, missed the bus to Rio, the badminton star who had attained World No. 1 status apart from clinching silver medals in the World Championship and All England Championship, Saina could make a logical progression from quarterfinals in Beijing, semifinals in London, to possibly the final.
Golden streakSania Mirza, the women’s No.1 doubles player, has been on a golden streak and holds the maximum number of tennis medals by an Indian in the Asian Games. Will better credentials and a trusted partner power Sania to realise her dreams? Only time will tell!
Similarly, Rohan Bopanna would do well to remember that Paes won all his 18 Grand Slam titles after winning the Olympic medal. Maybe, Bopanna can reach a Grand Slam trophy through the same path! It’s good that the 36-year-old Bopanna will get two chances at a medal.
There is still a lot of hope pinned on the boxers, even though only three have made it this time. The wrestlers, especially the women, carry a lot of expectations. There is a Saina impact on Indian badminton, and P.V. Sindhu could shoulder some of the burden.
Deepika Kumari, 22, is a world class archer she could shine if she sums up courage to be at her best. The same holds good for the women’s archery team as well.
The return of golf has triggered hopes of medals from Anirban Lahiri and S.S.P. Chawrasia, particularly in the light of the big stars backing out. The track and field stars like Tintu Luka or Vikas Gowda are realistic in hoping to reach the semifinals and finals, even though the recent spurt in performances by many have triggered sensational talk of medals.
That Dipa Karmakar has given us the hopes of an Olympic medal in gymnastics aptly sums up the trend in Indian sports. It is for the athletes to convert part of the dreams into reality.
