The Commonwealth Games are done and dusted. India celebrated the event as ONE and the athletes from all nations went home with a smile on their face. Isn''t this what the magic of sport all about?', '
The negative publicity surrounding the Games may have made many contingents wary of India, but at the end of it all, each and every one of them only had heaps of praise for us as a nation. Minor glitches are a part of any organisational setup, but the professionalism which we put up during the times of adversity needs to be lauded. Everything about the games starting with the grand opening ceremony to the colourful closing ceremony was a well managed affair.
The fact that the Indian media went overboard in criticism prior to the Games definitely hit Brand India. Many of the stories surrounding the Games Village were TRP driven, with each channel coming out with new claims. Media playing a positive role prior to the Games would have certainly shrugged off any nervy feeling, but the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dixit, stoop up at the time of adversity and demonstrated true leadership qualities in ensuring that the mess was sorted out.
There are patches where we could have done things better. The media would have done well to expose the dark belly of corruption when the tenders were awarded, rather than take potshots just before the high-profile event. To their credit, they patched up well to celebrate the performances of the Indian athletes once the Games started.
It was heartening to see India''s coming of age as a sporting nation, which definitely augers well ahead of London 2012. Watching Sandeep Singh''s drag flicks, Saina''s hunger to win, Sania''s passion, Bindra''s focus and Vijender''s killer instincts to name a few, was a wonderful sight.
Afterall, how common is it to see the TRPs, primarily driven by reality shows and cricket matches take a beating, to an event which was as delightful as this? It was also a common sight to see cricket take a backstage, something which would have just been a dream a few years back, this despite India upstaging Australia to retain their numero uno ranking in Test cricket. Newspapers and websites were talking about the Saina and Sania for a change. What broadened the smile for an average sport fan was that, for once we were actually sitting up and taking notice of other sports.
Some of the stories that came out of CWG were absolutely heart warming. North East India is a potential for many more medals for India in the future, unfortunately it is also ironic that sometimes we ourselves question people from this part the world, if they are one of our own. The Gandhis chosing to watch the game from the spectator gallery may not have exactly garnered the kind of publicity they intended, but it certainly motivated many players to give it their best. How many of us were reminded of the movie - ''Chak De India'' when India played Australia in the Men''s hockey final?
We may have lost out to the might of the Aussies for the gold medal, but we surely won a lot of heart with our performances. It was a step in the right direction.
Tennis was a sport in which we were assured of medals, but as they say sport can sometimes comeback to surprise you. Leander-Mahesh losing in the semi-finals wasn''t the best result, but Somdev Devvarman made up for that with a gold. Sania''s performances at the grandslams may have been insipid after her fair share of injuries, but her zest and enthusiasm to fight against adversity, despite being a set down and fighting till the end in the final gave us a lot of hope looking into the future of the sport in India.
It was also appaling to see P.T Usha not given VIP treatment by the sports ministry, but she would have surely forgotten all that when her wards did us proud by winning gold in the Athletics relay. It was the girl power which once again overshadowed the Men for India if you look at the overall medals tally, with due respect to each and every athlete. It just goes to show that the talent and resources harnessed at the right areas can be mould for greater things.
India is on its way to becoming a sporting nation, one which can rise above all obstacles to be the best. Replicating China''s success is still a long way off but if we keep progressing in the right path, we have the potential to rise to the top. CWG has given a big boost in terms of the sporting infrastructure in the capital. It is upto us to utilize this in the best possible way to churn out the best.
Who said champions are born only in classrooms? Sport is the new manta!
Shashank Kishore
Shashank is a die hard sports fan and an engineer by profession. He works for a leading sports website.
