Click to play videoNew Delhi: Having conquered the all-elusive medals at the Beijing Olympics, the Indian contingent of wrestlers and boxers returned to their home soil in the early hours of Tuesday.
What awaited them was a welcome of sorts.
People from all walks of life assembled before the arrivals gate at the Indira Gandhi International airport in Delhi and as soon as the players walked out, they were hauled on to the shoulders of waiting fans.
The frenzy was so intense that the police had a tough time maintaining the cordon around the players. It was tough keeping well-wishers and fans at bay and the heroes were not complaining.
Wrestler Sushil Kumar, heavily garlanded and smiling tried fielding as many questions as he could.
After all, ever since Kashaba Jadhav from Karad in Maharashtra brought the Olympic medal home from the Helsinki Olympics in 1952, the starved nation has been gifted another, courtesy our young wrestler Sushil Kumar from Najafgarh.
“I worked hard. My coach, Padmashree award winner Satpalji and my coach as well as seviour pehelwan (wrestler) guided me well and therefore this victory is to their credit,” said Sushil Kumar.
“I am now targeting the gold at 2012 London Olympics. I am preparing for the Commonwealth games too. My coach is already charting out my training schedule and hopefully I will win the gold for my country,” he added.
The frantic police then pushed people away and since they had no idea about who’s who, they even ended up manhandling the father and elder brother of the bronze medalist boxer Vijender.
“I am Vijender's father…this is how they have treated me...the police have even torn my shirt,” complained Mahipal Singh Beniwal, Vijender’s father.
Vijender felt overwhelmed by the recent victory, the mass euphoria and the reception.
All he could say was, “It wasn’t me who won out there. The entire nation won and the medal at the Olympics is not mine alone. It belongs to the hundred crore Indians.”
“If the nation continues to shower such love on us, we are bound to win,” the Bhiwani lad added.
The airport reverberated with sounds of north Indian style drums and men broke into the bhangra and even into a local jig…anything to reflect their heartfelt joy. The banners said what ever was left to say.
Even boxers Jitender and Akhil Kumar from Bhiwani who reached the quarterfinals before being ousted were heroes to the Indians. So what if they brought no medals home, they set alight a desire to win amongst fellow countrymen, say some.
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