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Hail our heroes!
After their performance in Beijing, gold medalist shooter Abhinav Bindra, bronze winners Vijender Kumar (boxing) and Sushil Kumar (wrestling) became heroes overnight. Their heroics in Beijing have fetched them everything - accolades, awards, fame and fortune. But after all the hype and hoopla, what's next? What lies ahead?
Hopefully, the future doesn't refer to the success stories of Abhinav, Vijender and Sushil merely as fond memories but as a permanent backdrop that, in the coming years, might enable India to shine more brightly on the international stage.
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Done the banners, done the garlands - what's next?
At the end of the Games, India have three medals - nothing earth-shattering, yet it's our best haul ever. The heroics of Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar would not only inspire a generation to play sport, it would also bring financial relief to cash-strapped athletes.
But would Beijing 2008 be a flash in the pan? Was it the best we can do? Or was it just the yawn of a sleeping giant waking up?
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Exclusive
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'We can't win more than 3 medals in 2012'
"Ideally, we should look at the 2016 Games and start working towards it," says India's first individual Olympic gold medallist.
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'Aim to put boxing on par with cricket'
"I want to take boxing to a height where cricket is placed today," says Vijender, the first Indian boxer to win an Olympic medal.
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'We are capable of taking on the best'
"Our boys are extremely talented, capable of taking on the best," says Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar.
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Media has a bigger role to play: Saina
"I saw a news channel covering a b'day party of a young cricketer. Have you ever heard of such a thing for any other sportsperson?"
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The system is slow and lethargic: Anjali
"Everything takes a lot of time to materialize. It requires a lot of effort to get anything done," says the former World No. 1 shooter. |
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Points to ponder
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Is cricket the culprit?
If other sports have been struggling to make their mark, why blame cricket for it?
Melody Queen in aid of the willow»
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Hockey: Down but not out
India will host the 2010 World Cup in Delhi. Perhaps, that could turn things around.
Olympians debate hockey's status»
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'We lack quality coaches in India'
"Our coaches are just good enough for the beginners," says shooter Manavjit Singh.
'Politicians need to change their attitude'»
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| Surfers Say |
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R CHANDRAMOULI, New Delhi :
We have to start at grassroots level. Sports should be made compulsory at school levels and sports persons should be encouraged and provide relaxation for their academics. Colleges should provide degrees in sports. Sportsmen should be assured of income for their future. Media should project other games like hockey, athletics, wrestling, archery, shooting, gymnastics in equal measure like cricket. Exclusive sports channel for these games, other than cricket is a must.
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Sam Skariah, Dubai :
We tend to live in the present and bask in that glory and very soon it's forgotten and goes into oblivion. This performance should be an inspiration to lay the foundations for a stronger sports setup in India. Involvement of corporates with the latest infrastructure is a must to compete at international level. In addition talents need to be identified at an early stage for nurturing them into international standard sportsmen. Kudos to the three who performed despite the bottlenecks.
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Satish, Hyd :
Congratulations to Bindra, Vijendra, Sushil, Saina, Akhil and others who brought Indian sports and India to a new height. Of course I see a great future of Indian sports in Olympics. However, Govt and media should play honest role as they have been with cricket so far. All my best wishes to all sports lovers.
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MA Mughni Shareef, Hyderabad :
Definitely we are going to perform better in the next coming Olympics if our sports authorities across the country work collectively with an aim. More than eyeing the next Olympics it's time to sit and plan on a strategy that fetches us medals in the future Olympics in the long run so that we can boast of a good sporting spirit in a country which is the second largest populated in the world.
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Ramji, Bangalore :
Yes, India will be able to put up a better show in the 2012 London Olympics. The Olympics heroes Abhinav, Vijender and Sushil... they have set a benchmark and also every Indian is proud of this fact. So every parent is going to encourage his/her kids to participate in various sports activities. They are also aware of the monetary benefits of winning a medal, also a driving factor for every Indian parent to encourage their kids to work towards the ultimate glory called "The Olympics". Also every Indian who are true patriots also realises their only way of making the country proud is by participating in Olympics which every determined/disciplined child would be able to do for his motherland.
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Naresh Kumar M.P., Ongole, Prakasam district, AP :
We should stop basking in the present and past glory. What we have achieved in Beijing is not even a peanut. We are very good at overreacting. We should set goals. Tough goals to show real results. We should set a target of 10 gold medals for 2012. Nothing less. No doubt, the present performance has given us an opening. We must capitalise on it.
Let us take a small leaf out of China's book.
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Madhavi, Hyderabad :
Indian goverment should take all sports under it so that it can take the funds from cricket and can sponsor other games to encourage people and train them with good trainers and facilities.
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K Prabhakaran, Chennai :
The crores of rupees that we have planned to spend on the voyage to the moon should be used for the development of sports in INDIA.
Sports to be seeded from the childhood, sports should be the compulsory subject in schools.
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Himanshu, Faridabad :
I absolutely agree that the heroics of our Olympic medallists will not go in vain. But the desired stupendous medal tally in 2012 Olympics, inevitably requires improved sporting facilities. The corporates and business houses along with government need to invest in developing Indian sporting arena at par with global standards. It's not time to sit back and revel about the laurels brought to us, but it's the time when we should pick up the gauntlet and embrace ourselves for the next big thing. Lot has been said and written but what still evades us Indians, is giving equal status to other sports as cricket. Many big names are attached to this sport, but not many are still ready to grant some funds to sports like boxing. If a fraction of money paid as awards to medallists is diverted for betterment of games it can do wonders. Needless to say media should also shift the limelight from cricket to other sporting arenas. Funds should be diverted to bring world class coaches and equipment to Indian soil to enrich it with stars of Olympics!
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Shivani Bedi, Mumbai :
Not all sportsmen are as lucky as Abhinav Bindra to have an encouraging family who took it upon themselves to provide him the facilites to practice his skills. There is immense talent in this country that no one is aware of or cares for. Sadly, no sport other than cricket gets any kind of weightage. The talent needs to be tapped at the school level, where competition, passion lives and dies as very few Indian colleges give importance to sports. Till there are passionate ex-Olympians/sportspersons in the minisrty who understand the facilities required and the hard work that goes into making a medal winning athlete, we're always going to come back from the Olympics with 0-3 medals be it 2012, 2016 or 2020...
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