India's First Individual Gold Medal - Jai Hind

As I logged into my pc today in office and opened the customary timesofindia.com for my daily dose of desh ka news, the headline caught my eye - India's pride: Bindra's tryst with destiny . Wow...what a way to start my day. As I read through the article, I could feel myself filled with pride. It didn't matter who Abhinav Bindra was, but he had made India proud, won us a gold medal and this was no doubt a historical feat. But when I came to the part where the article said " Hockey's eight gold medals notwithstanding, the last coming 28 years ago, this is the first time that an Indian has won an individual gold since modern Olympics started in 1896. "..I said, WTF. Not one Indian has ever won the gold medal...not one? Shit. Wish Kho-kho was an Olympic game ...

I know that India doesn't have the resources - money and facilities - to compete in sports which requires the latest equipment,resource and training that other countries take for granted. But...Wait and watch World, with all the FII's pouring money into India's booming economy, with US corporations sponsoring Kolkatta's local Durga Puja - where do you think the money will go? No no.. the middle class won't eat even more (causing further global food shortage .... c'mon how much can we eat)..the extra money will eventually reach the masses ( after the corporations and politicians have had their share) ..And we will be able to generate clones of Abhinav Bindra. And then we will take over the rest of the world ( the first half has already been taken by India's IT and BPO service ;) ) .. And while you are at the article take note of [quote]"Will this not change his life? "My life will go on. I hope it changes the face of Olympic sports in the country," he said. [/quote] Amen. Inshallah.

On a serious note, I recommend everyone to watch this video. Filled me with immense pride to hear our anthem.

Bindra, next time you win the gold medal, please do a victory dance and laugh a little and show a little emotion. We modest Indians do not like to create hulla bullah at everything - BUT ITS AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL AND THIS WAS THE FIRST FOR INDIA.

And while you (the reader) are watching the video, take pity on Zhu Qinan, sobbing like he won the last place. Zhu -C'mon. Its not like you came last, you WON the second place. I know there is a lot of difference in the gold and silver medal and I understand that you tried your best, but look at the brighter side : 1) you won the second place 2) You won the gold in Athens 2) you are only 24 years old. There is always next time.
And please, don't cry. Olympics is a show of sportsmanship. Show it, please.

The Video:



[Update on 12 August 08] Heard that Mittal had helped Bindra financially. This link