India won its first Olympic gold medal yesterday. Yes, its first. Ever.
Well, it was the first gold medal in an individual sport. The national hockey team was even undefeated in the Olympics from 1928 to 1956 when it won 6 consecutive gold medals. India last won a gold medal in hockey in 1980. But even India's national sport has lost its luster, as both the men's and women's teams failed to qualify for the Beijing Olympics.
But back to the first individual gold medal. This is a bit surprising for a country of 1.1 billion people and counting. Did I mention that the gold medal was in 10m air rifle? Yes, 25-year old Abhinav Bindra claimed gold for India, which has convinced the rest of the country that it's the next China, the next Olympics powerhouse.
And what does Abhinav get in exchange for his gold medal? Aside from endless cheers and random dancing in the street from his fellow Indians, he's getting piles of money. So far he has amassed Rs 4 crore (~$1 million) thanks to several government agencies and a few mega-businessmen. Everyone wants a piece of the action.
But the best part...Abhinav has also received a lifetime railway pass. Personally, I would take all that money and buy myself some plane tickets, but then again, this is India.
2 comments:
Congrats to INDIA! That is somewhat surprising, though. Maybe this will spur more interest in sports in general and competing in the Olympics specifically.
As a follow up, today India won a bronze medal in wrestling and one of their top boxers made it to the semi-final round, almost assuring him of a medal.
And yes, this should change things for India athletics. There already lots of talk about how sports other than cricket need funding. Let's see what they actually do about it though.
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