Golden dreams of 1.3B

Tokyo, 7th August 2021. India wins its first ever athletics medal at the Olympics – and a GOLD at that! Narrow bronze medal misses by Milkha Singh and PT Usha were the best we’d seen before this.

Congratulations to NEERAJ CHOPRA, the boy who dreamt big! Talent along with hard work, sacrifices and incredible coaches. Just 23. Strong, calm and confident enough to carry through the expectations of a medal hungry nation.

Nothing is final till it’s final, but those who watched the javelin event would pretty much say that Neeraj had it wrapped up from the qualifying stage. In his very first Olympics, and without the pressure of being the first ranked or the favourite, he topped in the qualifying and he stayed on top right through the final.

Can’t imagine the reception that awaits the golden boy and everything else that is in store for him. Not to mention the hundreds of Neerajs at roll calls in a few years from now!

Hockey medal!

Tokyo Olympics 2020, 5th Aug 2021.

The last few seconds of the bronze-medal match was not for the faint-hearted. Just as well that I wasn’t seeing it live. Carrying 1.3 billion dreams, and making them come true!

Pic: @Naveen_Odisha

When people say that winning and losing doesn’t matter, it’s not quite real. Of course playing the game in the right spirit is important, but not making it to the podium is heart-breaking, especially when it is by a whisker. (Germany, I know how it feels!) Every athlete has the dream of getting a medal around the neck, and when achieved it is so fulfilling!