Sitting in my London apartment, I feel overwhelmed with patriotism this fine evening. What a spectacular end to the Tokyo 2020 (held in 2021) Olympics! Not many people would've imagined this, and it has been a spectacular surprise. Unless you live under a rock, you would probably know by now that India has won a gold medal in athletics, and it was Neeraj Chopra from The Indian Army who achieved this feat by throwing a javelin at a distance of 87.58 meters. In doing so, he has shattered several glass ceilings - namely winning gold on debut and winning the first Indian athletic gold medal. India has waited 128 years for this victory, that's over four generations and today, the dream has become reality. I have no words, really!
Firstly, congratulations to Neeraj and his whole team for clinching the top spot. I'm sure it would've involved a great amount of sacrifice, dedication, and hard work. It's always nice if all of them pay off. I can only imagine the feelings and emotions his family is going through at Panipat in Haryana. My wishes to them as well and thank you for supporting Neeraj throughout his career. Despite the pandemic, Neeraj has found a way to train, perform and win - which is a remarkable achievement.
An individual gold medal has always been India's dream. That dream became reality in 2008 when Abhinav Bindra won the 10-meter air rifle shooting event in the Beijing Olympics. I clearly remember myself glued to the television where they telecasted India's flag being raised and the national anthem played. I watched it multiple times for the feeling to sink in. Today marks another great day for Indian sports.
Now, what does this mean for Indian sport?
This moment can be crucial for Indian sports. This gold medal victory nicely complements the bronze medal in Men's Hockey, after a gap of 41 years all the other medals India has won in wrestling, badminton, weight-lifting and boxing. All these wins prove that India is getting there, it's doing things right and it's now time to continue the efforts.
These are our champs this year:
I feel that the tide is turning. This achievement opens doors and opportunities to sportspersons like never before. I strongly believe that India has no dearth of talent, what it lacks is good sporting infrastructure, support for the athletes, and recognition irrespective of how they perform in global events. The future truly looks bright!
However, it was troubling to know that the Indian government has reduced this year's Sports budget by 8%. I hope this does not adversely affect the painstaking efforts of coaches and players.
Sadly, now that the Olympics is coming to a close, everyone is going to forget about all the other sports for the next four years and switch on the television only when a cricket match is happening.
So, I've made a small list of world events you can follow and support in the interim:
- World Athletic Championship: Fri, 15 Jul – Sun, 24 Jul 2022
- World Archery Championships: Sun, 19 Sept – Sun, 26 Sept 2021
- Badminton World Championships : Mon, 29 Nov – Sun, 5 Dec 2021
- Word Boxing Championship : 26 Oct 2021 – Sat, 6 Nov 2021
- World Rowing Championship: Sun, 17 Oct 2021 – Sun, 24 Oct 2021
- World Shooting Championship - sometime in 2022
- World Weightlifting Championships - November 2021
- World Wrestling Championships - 2 to 10 October 2021
Additionally, the next Asian Games and Commonwealth Games are in 2022.
I really hope this gold medal is the first of many more to come in the future and I'm doubly sure that this medal will inspire a whole generation of sportspersons in our country.
Jai Hind! 🇮🇳