The last 48 hours have been phenomenal for Indian sport. Yesterday night Indian men's hockey team beat our former colonial masters, Great Britain to enter the semi-finals. The last time that happened 74% of the country had not been born, including yours truly. Then the unthinkable happened. Indian women's hockey team beat the mighty Aussies to reach the Semi-Finals. Unthinkable, coz this hasn't happened before; It wasn't meant to happen either.
As a six-year-old, I saw Leander Paes-led Indian tennis team beat a supposedly better french team in the Davis cup. I saw my dad wipe a tear of joy; The family friends in whose house the match was telecast erupted with joy. A young boy geared up to live the life of the sports fanatic! Not knowing that the path was full of heartbreaks.
We did have the rare joyous eruptions! When Sachin blitzed the desert storm, Paes and Bhupathi won those doubles grand slams, Karnam Malleswari weight lifted the nation to a bronze medal, Pullela Gopichand lifted the all England, and needless to say when Abhinav Bindra brought home the Olympic gold. The heart exploded with joy! We shared parties, spoke about that for long hours, and certainly, slept peacefully. But they were few and far between. For, we were and sadly are, an ordinary sporting nation. 'Ordinary' would actually be an understatement!
Let us face it, for all the noise we make across the world, we are a poor country! Most Indians struggle to put food on the table. Even for those who can afford food, every day is a struggle. Struggle against our own cultural arrogance, moral ineptitude, and systemic failures. So, every sportsman performing at the highest levels has to do it despite the environment and not coz of the environment. That explains the minuscule chances to celebrate for us, the sports buffs, who search for the biriyani and often end up getting the bread crumbs.
I'm reminded of that fateful evening in the year 2000! When Indian hockey was supposed to enter the Olympic semi-final after 20 years. Against a lowly ranked Poland. One minute and 46 seconds left! To protect the goal for a minute and 46 seconds is all that is needed. My heart could still hear the thud the polish goal made. I cried. It was a shocker. It has taken another 20 years for the Indian hockey team to make it to the Semifinals. That is how starved of great Indian sporting moments.
Heartbreaks and joys; Tears and happines; Fun, excitement and sadness; Sleepless nights and prolonged party nights. Sport, live sport, has the remarkable ability to tug the inner hearts like no other.
I gear up for another 120 minutes of heart-stopping hockey! Am I going to party tomorrow? Or is it going to be a painfully slow night? Ah! what would life be without sport?
