Watershed year for Indian sports

India`s performance at the Beijing Olympics should inspire all those connected with Indian sport. Shooter Abhinav Bindra, boxer Vijender Singh and wrester Sushil Kumar exemplified what self-belief can do to sport in India. They all and a few other boxers and shuttler Saina Nehwal, who even if they have not been able to win medals, made the country proud.

Bindra`s shooting gold and the bronze each that Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar claimed triggered celebrations across the country. If a poised Bindra became India`s new youth icon, then Vijender and Sushil gave hope to millions like them who nurture the dream of making it big.

Young Saina reached the quarter-final in her debut Olympics, the first Indian woman to do so. Boxers Akhil Kumar and Jitender might have missed a medal by a whisker but their gutsy performance gave the sport a big boost to bloom in rural India. Most of the Olympic boxers hail from the nondescript Haryana town of Bhiwani.

Text: Pragya Tiwari

Image: Getty (Unauthorised reproduction prohibited)