Big Performance in a big event is considered a big achievement. India’s 1983 World Cup win was well remembered as the Kapil Devils did the trick for India with memorable performance against the then World Champions West Indies. Again the T-20 World Cup win by Dhoni and his men in South Africa brought the old memories back. The best of the best came in the Beijing Olympics when Abhinav Bindra got the Gold in the Shooting event on August 11, 2008. That was once a century performance and the country celebrated the Individual gold by an Indian in the best way possible. Previous Olympics saw India winning 8 Gold in Field Hockey which brought glory to our country. Vishwanath Anand’s World Chess Championship gave necessary impetus for youngsters to take up Chess as a professional game. Geet Sethi did the world of good by winning the World Billiards Championship. But as far as sporting fraternity is concerned, Prakash Padukone’s All England Championship win was the prime victory of all our best victories.
It is time to honour the sports personalities even after they leave the game and retire from the field of sports. It is generally considered once the sportsman leaves the sporting field he is not properly treated except for some greats. As a matter of fact, the achievements made on the field of play after putting up hard work and after undergoing lot of injury problems and pains in really worth considering for a recognition. The pain in the body will not subside for an outstanding sportsman even and at a ripe age Instead of encouraging we discourage them. The hard work put in rain and shine is not considered good. The exemplary behaviour by the sportsman is a certificate for his attitude and behaviour. There are very few to achieve world standards and it is time to recognise the achievements of all the time greats with an open heart and mind. That’s my clarion call.
Nickhil Mani
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
