New Delhi: Eighty-one athletes in London will form the largest Indian contingent ever to march at the Olympic Games. But if numbers could turn into Olympic success, a country of 1.2 billion should have grabbed at least 1000 qualifications and maybe 100 medals. If not that, then whats the reason for India hoping to come home with a medals kitty heavier than ever before?
Sixteen years ago in Atlanta, which was 16 years after Indias last Olympic medal and 44 years after the last individual medal, Leander Paes changed Indias participation-matters outlook. An athlete has to soak in the pride, the honour to represent the country before he could mount the podium with the five rings and the national anthem sends a tear rolling down the cheek. Thats how Leander won that bronze and made every Indian believe: Its not beyond us.
Indians were competition now, no more looked down upon. And those still committing that mistake stood corrected by Karnam Malleswaris weightlifting bronze in 2000 and Rajyavardhan Singh Rathores shooting silver four years later in Athens.
Beijing was next in 2008, where while Indian hockey mourned its first ever absence from the Games, a shooter, a boxer and a wrestler were busy re-writing history books. Abhinav Bindra wore gold on his chest " Indias first individual yellow metal - while Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar punched and wrestled their way to a bronze. Not only the medal winners but the medal-winning disciplines were swelling
09:05 AM, Jul 27, 2012
New Delhi: The Sports Ministry on Thursday approved a 142-member Indian contingent, comprising 81 athletes and 36 coaches, for the London Olympics. While approving the Indian contingent, the ministry said the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the national sports federations (NSFs) would have included the support staff such as coaches, doctors, managers and officials keeping in mind the best of national interests. The contingent includes 81 athletes who will participate...
09:03 AM, Jul 20, 2012
