Why such a pessimistic article like this on the eve of the greatest event in the world? I agree, our situation is terrible compared to the rest of the world, but surely its not worth deriding our entire olympic contingent on the eve of their departure!
I think its very pessimistic to predict at best 1 bronze medal. Rajyavardhan Rathore got a silver last time-no reason he cant equal or better that! Also our shooting squad is amongst the best in the world in almost all the shooting disciplines and I think its fair to atleast be optimistic about 2-3 medals from shooting alone.
In archery too we are supposed to have one of the strongest teams and our archers came very close to a medal last time around - again at the very least its worth being optimistic about.
In table tennis Sharath Kamal is up there amongst the best in the world and he has every chance of bringing home a medal - on his day atleast.
In boxing too I heard we have a great boxer from Jharkhand - again perhaps an outside chance at a medal.
On the whole I, being an eternal optimist, believe that we have a chance at squeezing out bronzes at a fair number of events. We have had 1 medal each in the last 3 olympics, and I am quite sure we will atleast better that - anywhere between 2-5 would be my guess.
I think the problems are aplenty. In weightlifting we used to be one of the powerhouses but now the sport itself is in tatters. Our national sport of hockey - shame that we did not qualify. The blame for both of
RE:Why so pessimistic?
by ABC on Aug 04, 2008 08:34 PM Permalink
these lie with the bureuacracy and administration.
I think the biggest problem Indian sportsmen face in the lack of killer instinct like was mentioned - basically choking when the stakes our high. Our cricket team ofcourse is a case in point. We are serious medal contenders in atleast 10 events and yet we predict 1 medal since we have no confidence in our athletes' abilities to shine when in the spotlight.
The biggest embarrasment is however athletics. There are so many medals to be won and we don't have a single athlete with a real chance at a medal. I was however outraged at your not-so-oblique reference to Anju Bobby George. Remember that being 7th best out of 7 billion people means your pretty damn good and respect her for that. She is the only athelete who can possibly make it to the finals and the only one who has a chance, bleak perhaps but a chance none the less in athletics. I think she deserves better.
My biggest disappointment however is in Tennis. We should have easily won or atleast placed in the mens doubles in the last 2 olympics (we were sadly 4th last time). Thanks to the personal ego issues in the great lee-hesh combine, even an eternal optimist like me has to predict an early exit. We actually have fairly good tennis talent but due to these side issues, the talent is wasted.
On the whole, I don't think its worth taking such an overly pessimistic view - think happy thoughts, the greatest event in the world is here! We do have athletes who on their day ar
RE:RE:Why so pessimistic?
by ABC on Aug 04, 2008 08:35 PM Permalink
e capable of pulling off a medal so lets cheer up and pray for them. And the situation is getting better, corporates too are feeling the pinch of their country not performing at any sport at all in the world and are chipping in, many new initiatives have come up...and hopefully will bear fruit atleast by the next olympics or the one after that.
RE:RE:RE:Why so pessimistic?
by ABC on Aug 04, 2008 08:36 PM Permalink
e capable of pulling off a medal so lets cheer up and pray for them. And the situation is getting better, corporates too are feeling the pinch of their country not performing at any sport at all in the world and are chipping in, many new initiatives have come up...and hopefully will bear fruit atleast by the next olympics or the one after that.
RE:Why so pessimistic?
by Siva Balan on Aug 05, 2008 11:11 AM Permalink
Optimism & Pessimism lies in prespective. If I compare India with world & I feel pessimistic. If I compare India with with India-1850 I may feel optimistic.
