Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth have made India proud. Beating Japan’s Olympic Gold awardee Akane Yamaguchi, Nehwal became the first non-Chinese to win China Open in a decade. Then Srikanth beat Lin Dan, the best Chinese player in a Super Series in China itself. I wish our sportspersons gave us more such opportunities to rejoice.
Kaga Bhushundi SpeakEth
Suman K Sharma
‘It seems you are interested only in cheering others and bask in the borrowed glory,’ said Kaga Bhushundi Ji . Then, in a taunting voice, he asked me, ‘what games do you play yourself, son?’
‘I am too busy for that, Kaga Ji; though sometimes I do watch sports on TV.’
Kaga Ji stared rudely at my bulging middle and remarked, ‘I can see that! It is the likes of you that have made Bharat such an unsporting nation. In my times people loved sports so much that they thought life itself was Bhagwan’s ‘kreeda’- a sport of the Almighty. Our gods took pride in carrying their sports gear everywhere they went. Bhagwan Ram, an ace archer, wore his Dhanusha-ban-tarkas – bow and a quiver full of arrows, as necessary accessories to his dress. Krishan Bhagwan liked to be seen as much with his sudarshan chakra – pleasing to the eye quoit, as with his flute….’
‘Gods could well afford to play games as much as they wanted. We mortals can’t afford such luxury. ‘
‘Son, don’t give me false excuses for your lethargy. There are people like you who spend their lives Kumbhkarna-like; yet there are Sainas and Srikanths who set an example before the world with their resolve and diligence.’
‘They are the exceptions, Kaga Ji, everybody can’t be like them.’
‘Exceptions they are, but in their own way. Saina, born in 1999 to a middle-class Haryana Jat family settled in Hyderabad, took up badminton seriously when she was barely eight years old. She had to travel nearly 50 kilometers everyday to undergo a grueling training schedule under ablest Gurus of the game. By the time she was fifteen, she had twice won the Juniors’ Championship. A year later, Saina became the first player to have won the prestigious Asian Satellite Badminton tournament (Indian Chapter), again, that too not once, but twice. In 2009, she added another first to her name as an Indian woman, winning the world’s most prominent badminton series, the BWF Super Series title. A bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics of 2008 and a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi, acclaim her as one of the best Badminton players in the world. At the age of twenty-four years, Saina has vanquished top players including Huaiwen XU, Julia Xian Pei of Malaysia, and the World No. 6 Wang Chen of Hong Kong.
‘Srikanth’s is a different story. Twenty-one year old, he is the younger son of a farmer from Andhra Pradesh. Srikanth did not evince any particular fondness for the sport as a child. He was Introvert, a picky eater and easy going. But his parents made a brave decision that both their children should pursue sports as a career. Elder brother Nanda Gopal gave Srikanth a sibling’s company and the necessary push to exert himself. In 2011, coach Pullela Gopichand spotted the boy’s talent and took him under his wing. He made him eat well and work hard for fitness. Improvement in health bolstered Srikanth’s confidence. His superb performance at the Thailand Open in 2013, a Grand Prix Gold event, presaged his recent achievement in bettering – in China itself – China’s Lin Din, said to be the greatest living badminton player ….’
‘Kaga Ji, Saina and Srikanth are great players, all right; India is proud of them, they may well be rewarded for their superb performance, but what have I to do with them?’
‘Learn from their example, that’s what you should do. What your country needs today is an unflinching pursuit of excellence. Your children are the true heroes of future. Look for possibilities in them. Nurture them in every possible manner you can to enable them to attain their potential to the fullest. Only then will you people realize the Bharat of your dreams.
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