A Nation's envy.....owner's pride

We are all going ga-ga over the first ever gold won by an Indian in an individual event at the Beijing Olympics 2008 at the same time there have been news articles about Abhinav Bindra's private shooting facility.

No doubt, it is a great achievement and it speaks volumes about the dedication and perseverance of this sportsman who had to earlier win a battle against a severe health problem and therefore 'ALL CREDIT GOES TO HIM' literally. Thats 'owners pride' for you.

Yes we did have the ceremonial statement by our esteemed PM, congratulating Abhinav on his remarkable achievement and hoping that his performance will inspire the youth to take up sports and bring laurels to India...blah blah blah.

And how can i forget that more than half the people in my gtalk list changed their status message to something like - 'Abhinav does India proud'...

But since this is my blog, you will have to read my opinion guys :).

I hope that his victory DOES NOT inspire Indians to take up sports, not with the current state of affairs atleast. I know you think that i am crazy....but i never promised that my words would represent sanity ;).

Why do i say so??

This guy was lucky to have had the money to pump in and ofcourse he himself put in as much hardwork as he possibly could, to achieve this feat. If Indians were to be inspired to take up sports, not many would have the money to finance their dreams and ambitions. Mind you, there is no lack of sincerity and talent in this country, but sports is not just about talent. Technology and training play an equally vital role in shaping a sportsman and edging out ones opponents.

Imagine if a not so rich sports enthusiast was to put at stake his career for something like this, and then realise that, all that the top corridors of the government and their leader are good at, is making statements to suit public mood, then how disgusted he would feel. And it is then that he would feel envious of the fact that had he been in Bindra's place he too might have won a medal. Thats 'nations envy'.

I read about the miserable state of the practice shooting range at Tughlakabad near Delhi and it makes me feel that it would be better if the government convinced the big business houses in India to push their children into sports, that way, the government need not do anything for improving the pathetic condition of Indian sports and we may also get some medals. And yes, in all this celebration we forgot the dirty politics that was played with Monica Devi and the fact that this year our Hockey team has not even managed to qualify for the Olympics.

Maybe we could take a cue from the Australians, who after their Olympics debacle and shameful performance in the 70's, decided to have a dedicated policy towards sports and sportsmen, that has today yielded startling results. Unfortunately we feel no shame and are happy with our own daily bickerings and quarells.

The only consolation point is that some business houses like Laxmi Arcelor Mittal, have launched their own initiatives to lend some support to an otherwise outcast arena called 'Indian Sports'.

I hope you understand the title of this blog, no doubt we are all happy for this 25 year old lad who did us proud, but what role has anyone in this country played to be a part of his achievement??