Abhinav gets Gold!
Abhinav Bindra is the new poster boy for India. He has won the first gold medal ever in Olympics for India. A proud moment indeed. The newspapers are full of snippets about him. Rightly so. It`s not every day one wins a gold in Olympics.
But what caught my eye was this little feature written by another shooter Shimon Sharief from India. He has trained with Bindra and played against and along with him in the past. However at one point he says that Bindra went away abroad to train, while the rest of us would struggle with poor facilities and bad weather conditions. Bindra`s father has spent a close to one crore annually for his training. Abhinav also went for a week long training in confidence building in Germany to relieve mental stress .The newspaper says the trainer is the best and the most expensive in the world.
All this set me thinking. There is no doubt that Abhinav has the talent but talent coupled with a rich dad equals to gold medal! Now I wonder if Abhinav was just a Mamuli Indian with no Dad with deep pockets backing him ,where would he be? Slugging it out still with poor training facilities, pathetic shooting ranges where even basic amenities are a luxury.. What if Daddy dearest didn’t train Puttarji and put his foot firmly down. “What is all this betaji-shooting-phooting.Kirkit khelo ye sab kya faltu cheej hain?”.
The gold medal rightly belongs to Daddy Bindra for two reasons.1st for his unstinting support or should I say financial backing.2nd –for having the courage to go against the tide –i.e. cricket and betting his money and hopes on a not very popular sport -shooting. Now only if we had more such Daddies. India would be swarming with Abhinav`s..
9 comments:
Shimon Sharief has a point.
India is still way behind in these matters.
More than 92% of those olympic gold medallists would have undergone gruelling training with the latest training gear within their reach...which their countries wd have provided.
AB luckily had a father who believed in him & had the backing to give him the very best.
But all the training in the world would not have saved Abhinav if he had not held his nerve at that final stage.
Daddiji prepared the stage well but finally it was beta who performed.
Yes betaji performed-there is no doubt about that but without Daddyji`s support I wonder where would he be?
Me thinks its a combination of father and son, otherwise there is no dearth of rich fathers who can go to any length to support their sons, but there must be a son who has a spark and passion.
The thing of lament is for poor sons with spark.........now they have nothing to bank upon.Our govt. doesnt support the bright sportsman, it can do only reservation.
Hey can I blog roll u?
hehehe......point noted, ur Honour.
Every person in every sphere needs support - emotional support, financial support and technical support in the particular field. No one comes up working independently.
Each success is a combination of many things and it is very difficult to pin point on one and say this is the main reason. If beta ji did not have the right attitude, the right skillste, no amount of money would've helped him.
@Renu..Exactly ..only talent will get you nowhere..one needs strong support and backing..I am sure Shimon is talented too but due to paucity of fundsand support from govt has not achieved much..
@Deeplydip..I absolutely agree..We all need favourable conditions around us to blossom..the spark is there but without Daddyji it would have not been possible..
@Renu..yes thank you for blog rolling
Given the best and favourable conditions, most of the people..I am sayoing most not all...will rise, but the charm lies in knowing about people who have come up despite all the odds and adversities.
While you are right that it is a rich Dad's support that got him through as also Dad's daring move against the tide; it is also Abhinav's own dogged work towards a goal that did it.
That he had a supportive set of parents has added to his talent and I think all parents need to learn a lesson. spending money is Bindra's father's privilege, paying attention and spending time with children is what all parents can do and must do in order to make a stronger and healthier nation.
I am reminded of a remark his mother made who herself is a national level softball player, She said, "Abhinav has not won due to the system, he has won despite the system."
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