Only we Indians can give utmost importance to losers. Nowhere else in the world would a loser be serenaded and given so much importance or even primetime coverage on national television. We Indians however are different! For us even Sania Mirza losing in the very first round of the Beijing Olympics is headline news and ends up with Sania “loser” Mirza being prominently featured all over. Now mind you Sania Mirza losing is nothing new. In fact from the time she burst on the scene all that she has managed to achieve is to advertise for every product that will fetch her any money and lose in every tournament she has participated in. Yet she makes millions and is adored and fantasized by millions of Indians. Yeah this is India and it can happen only in India that losers end up as winners despite not winning anything at all. In no other country would this be possible, but we Indians are a special category and hence it happens here all the time. I guess that is why with a population of over 1 billion we have won our first Olympic Gold Medal in 28 years and this also happens to be the first ever individual event gold medal that India has ever won. Thanks to Abhinav Bindra we can at least say we have won an individual gold medal at the Olympics. This brings up one more paradox peculiar to India i.e. of everyone claiming credit for Abhinav Bindra’s victory. State Governments who are in no way related to Abhinav Bindra or his victory like Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, etc. have declared cash awards to Abhinav Bindra. Mind you Abhinav Bindra is a businessman and a millionaire to boot and does not need any money or encouragement from the Government. In fact in his post-victory interview he only mentioned how he had won despite the system and the Indian Government and not because of them. Still it comes as no surprise that our Government wants to claim credit for his victory. What a nation we have become, idolizing losers like Sania Mirza and claiming credit for the winners’ gold too. Mind you this is not just in the area of sport. Be it any area and India is like this and we are mighty proud of it too. Strange isn’t it? At least the English say “God Save The Queen”, but what about India? Is there any hope at all for my country?
In fact, I don't really care if Sania Mirza lost! Of course, she had talent until a couple of years back and the media (esp tabloids like Times of India0 screwed up her career. She herself, assumed the role of a model or hip girl and started concentrating more on attire and accent!
I was, though, pretty sad today after Saina fought her way out. The Indonasian opponent was a little too much for her though a bit of hardwork and emotional support from coach Pullela Gopichand would have seen her through to semis.
Paes and Bhupathi are the only hope for us now!
Cheers,
Ajith
I am from indonesia, but I hope India can get success in this olympic games, my country too. We have to defeat non asia country.
Hi Gareng,
Thanks for stopping by. I too would love if our Asian countries did better than non-Asian countries, but not just at the Olympics but in every area. Still there is a good chance that China would lead the medals tally so let's hope they stay in the lead and finish first so that we will have them instead of the United States finish first in the Olympics this time around.
Hi Ajith,
I too felt bad about Saina losing. Really people like her should be encouraged more than the silly Sania Mirza's, but then again all the attention might end up corrupting Saina too. I feel if Saina had prepared on building her muscles more and working more on stamina then she would have pulled through, but at least she can learn from Beijing and become a better player for India. I am really happy and proud of what Abhinav Bindra has achieved.