ABSTRACT
The foundation for Indian Olympic success was created at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Delhi in October 2010.1 With 101 medals, 38 of which were gold, and coming second in the medals table, displacing England for the first time in history, Indian Olympic sports and sports persons had made a statement to the world. Critics, however, drew attention to the relatively lower level of competition at the CWG2 and suggested that the real test was the Asian Games at Guangzhou in November 2010 – and as India’s shooters achieved modest success at the Asian Games,3 this criticism was fast gathering strength. The CWG, the first week at Guangzhou was deemed to prove, was a false dawn. The national ritual celebrating failure was about to start and, coupled with the CWG scams, which were and still continue to be in focus, Indian sport was staring down the barrel. But, as with sport, conclusions shouldn’t be drawn till the last medal is actually won. India, which had one gold medal from Pankaj Advani in Snooker to show at the end of the first week of competition at the Asian Games, came alive on 21 November 2010, claiming a further three gold medals. Ranjan Sodhi was on target in the men’s Double Trap and Preeja Sreedharan and Sudha Singh gave millions of Indian sports fans reasons to celebrate as they raced to gold in the 10,000 m and 3,000 m Steeplechase. Suddenly the Doha 2006 haul of ten gold medals looked achievable, and with the boxers putting on a stunning show – their best ever at the Asian Games – the CWG success did not look so distant. Just as in the CWG, where Saina Nehwal’s gold in Badminton – India’s thirty-eighth and last – was more than a medal, at Guangzhou Vijender Singh’s gold – India’s fourteenth – shone brighter than the metal it was made of. Achieved with a broken thumb in the 75 kg class in boxing, it propelled India to an unprecedented sixth place in the medals table and summed up the story of India’s athletes – fighting on despite administrative apathy and bureaucratic red tape at every step. London 2012, it is hoped, will allow these athletes to occupy centre-stage and herald the start of a systemic overhaul in Indian sports that the nation is badly in need of and has been craving for years. If the Asian Games was any indication, India, for the first time ever, can realistically expect seven medals at London 2012,4 more than double what India won at Beijing 2008. For the first time the world media has been forced to publish headlines such as ‘China and India up, Japan down’, when summing up performances at the Asian Games in November 2010.
