From what I can tell, India is starved for top-quality sports performers and every one who is even marginally successful is celebrated. Indian cricket is obviously seen as being right up there with the best and so is held in high esteem. Indian hockey, for example, will also enjoy greater affection if they win a world championship or two which they used to with ease in decades past. There is nothing wrong in using sports achievements to express national pride and generally feel good as long as it is done with a degree of perspective. For many people, it is a nice escape from the quiet despair of daily life.
