The country managed to break the jinx by winning an individual gold, a feat that has changed our attitude towards Olympic sports.
It took just a fraction of a second for a man to change the face of Indian sports. Abhinav Bindra pulled the trigger for the final time inside the Beijing Shooting Range Complex, the result of which, none of us will forget in our lifetime.
It was gold for Bindra, but more importantly, it was redemption for India. We won our first individual gold, a shot in the arm for Olympic sports in India. Suddenly, a billion people noticed the Olympics.
A week later, the joy was tripled as the medals tally read: India - Gold: 1; Silver: 0; Bronze: 2. India had put up its best performance ever in the Olympics and the pictures of Bindra, Vijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar were imprinted on our minds and hearts forever.
However, it was not only about India’s medal winning performance that made this Olympics special. There was Akhil Kumar, who stunned Russian world champion Sergey Vodapoyanov en route to quarterfinals where he lost, and a gutsy Saina Nehwal, whose career has skyrocketed after her performance at Beijing.
Shooters misfire… While there was glory on one hand, there were disappointments on the other. Athens silver medallist Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore crashed out of the double trap event after finishing 15th. Others like Samresh Jung, Gagan Narang and Anjali Bhagwat bowed out rather cheaply in their events.
Athletes disappoint…
India had a disappointing story to tell in athletics. Long jumper Anju Bobby George, who was expected to perform well, failed to register a single legal jump.
Tennis players flop...The biggest upset, however, was in tennis after India’s ace pair of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi crashed out in the quarterfinals. Sania Mirza pulled out of her first round match against Czech Republic’s Iveta Benesova.
Only one way up…There is no doubt that India, the perennial strugglers, have finally found a reason to smile. From the mentality of winning at least ‘one’ medal at Beijing, we are now aiming to win‘10’ in London. That is what Beijing Games have done to us — it has given us a hope, that we can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with world’s best.
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