India in Olympics – 2008
India has taken everyone including its own people by surprise by winning a gold medal at the recent Olympics games being held at Beijing.
Abhinav Bindra is the man in question who after scoring a gold medal in 100 meter rifle shooting event has won India a gold medal after almost 20 years and also the first ever individual medal. Following the lead of Bindra Indian boxers too have performed extremely well raising hopes for all Indians for winning medals in this Olympic.
It is a proud moment for all Indians. Except for cricket, we have not been particularly successful in accepting other games and promoting them with similar fervour on the international platform. As a result of which our performance in other games has been abysmal. The recent performance by our athletes in Beijing has paved way for sportsmen representing varied sporting events.
“Some very important moments have been created for Indians to reflect upon with
nostalgia in future.”
Akhil Kumar a boxer lit everybody’s eyes up when he beat the world champion Russian boxer. Bemusing was the scene wherein the defeated ex world champion could not control his emotions and burst to tears in the ring itself whereas at the same time Akhil kumar looked confident and ecstatic at the victory but very humble at the same time.
Sunil Kumar has won India a bronze medal in the wrestling, which takes the total tally of medals for India to two. Still there are hopes to win more medals from other boxers Virendra Singh and Jitendra Singh who are scheduled to fight on 20th this month. Some very important moments have been created for Indians to reflect upon with nostalgia in future.
Looking at the overall performance of India in Olympics one gets a mixed feeling of euphoria and discontent. The athletes like Sania Mirza, Mahesh Bhupati and Leander Paes, Rajyavardhan Rathore of whom India had high hopes, disappointed badly, whereas the day was won by the underdogs. It is hoped that this victory however small it may be leads to positive changes in the country resulting in to encouragement to other sportsmen. The events like wrestling, boxing and shooting which have won India acclaim worldwide pave way for development of more serious and dedicated sports infrastructure in the country. Not just that, more people are given encouragement by way of training and monetary assistance so better talent is nurtured. The need for professional coaching and trained coaches has become apparent, but above all the feeling that winning in Olympics is no more a utopia for us is necessary to be impregnated in the minds of the young athletes.
