Sports have been the one podium to anchor the spirits of Indians. Sports not only promoted the country internationally, but also served as a pedestal to express and answer national rivalries. Who else can experience the joy and the pride which Indians feel for their achievements on the Oval Pitch! The ecstasy of triumph can only be felt with our very own dada flinging his shirt at Lord’s. To say that ‘sports have added vigour to the Indian aroma on the world stage’ should not be considered as an exaggeration. This youthful sportsman spirit has not reserved itself to the young guns of India; it has a spell over the entire nation irrespective of age, sex, religion and even the understanding of a game.
An Indo-Pak cricket match is not only a matter of concern for sport-literates – it elicits a sizzle which unites the whole family, the whole community, the whole city, the whole generation, the whole nation. Elderly grandfathers might not know what do the players on the field need to do to make India win but they know that India needs to win.
The enthusiasm of a child waits for the glitter in the eye of his father watching the game when a run is scored. Envisaging this zeal, India’s sports minister Uma Bharti could not resist herself on the occasion of Indian victory in the Champions Challenge hockey tournament held in Kuala Lumpur and announced it to the world by quoting, “This is the beginning of a distinguished and exciting chapter in Indian sports history.” Everybody knew that the chapter was opened in the previous year by Viswanathan Anand and Pullela Gopichand in their stirring deeds for chess and badminton respectively.
Such vivid descriptions of a nation with such diversified sports behaviours would leave a curiosity in any sane mind about the country’s own accomplishments. Therefore, I would like to bring to the fore the triumphs achieved by our spearheads of various sports. Hockey is officially the national sport of India in which she holds an impressive record boasting of 8 Olympic Golds. While bidding a good-bye, the year 2001 witnessed India joining the world’s ‘elite top six club’ in hockey. The feat was achieved by emerging as champions in Champions Challenge Trophy. At one point the team was almost down and out; however, once again the team did a phoenix and the paradigm resulted in the South African defeat.
While talking of individual performances, Leander Paes made sure that the presence of Indian tennis is felt by the world. In the year 1990, he became third Indian to lift Wimbledon Junior Championship. He managed to earn India a bronze in tennis singles of 1996 Olympics. The task is now overtaken by the young lady. Ever since she emerged on the global arena, Sania Mirza never looked back. Indian tennis was brought to the fore with Sania’s continuous success. Her consistent performance made her first ever Indian to thrust into the top 50 of WTA rankings. Year 2005 gifted her the Hyderabad Open Trophy in the month February to make her first Indian woman to win WTA Tourney.