Medal mix points to a tectonic shift for India
FASTER, WIDER, YOUNGER New champions in diverse sports change narrative
NEW DELHI: On Friday, Sawarn Singh, Sukhmeet Singh, Dattu Bhokanal, Om Prakash and — none of them household names in India — triumphantly raised their oars, and their hands, as a nation cheered.
The joy of the gold-medal-winning men’s rowing team in the quadruple sculls event pointed to an Asian Games in which Indian sport is breaking new barriers — the daily ‘hit rate’ of medals is surging, the range of medal disciplines is widening, and the medalwinner is becoming younger, leading experts to describe Jakarta 2018 as a watershed moment in the country’s sporting journey.
This week, India’s champions have struck gold at a faster pace, won medals in sports as diverse as sepak takraw and wushu, and two of them, gold-medallist Saurabh Chaudhary and silvermedallist Shardul Vihan, are 15
years old.
“We, as a nation, have arrived in the sporting field. I’m very hopeful and confident we’ll keep getting better. In the Rio Olympics, we won only two medals but there were about 15 athletes who went there to win a medal as compared to earlier when there were only three or four. The numbers are increasing. The whole equation has changed. We have to look
forward,” said Geet Sethi, multiple world billiards champion and director of Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ), which supports 67 of India’s elite athletes with funding and training.
“This is the culmination of the entire eco-system coming together which consists of the government, federations, NGOs, private enterprises, athletes themselves and coaches. Every- thing is getting professional,” Sethi added.
Sawarn Singh, Bhokanal, Prakash and Sukhmeet Singh’s victory gave India only its second gold from rowing in Asian Games history after Bajrang Lal Takhar clinched the men’s single sculls at Guangzhou 2010.
In martial art wushu, India stunned the continent by winning four bronze medals, the men’s regu team won a bronze in sepak takraw (like volleyball, but with the foot).
“It is heartening to see sportspersons from different disciplines winning medals and bringing glory to the nation. It is clearly an indication of how much depth we have. Now that we know what else we are good at, we need to give them a lot of encouragement,” said Pankaj Advani, also a former world champion billiards and snooker player who won two Asian Games golds in 2006 and 2010.
SAWARN SINGH AND SUKHMEET SINGH, WHO WERE PART OF GOLDMEDALWINNING MEN’S ROWING TEAM, BELONG TO MANSA IN PUNJAB
PALEMBANG: When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. On Friday, with a Sikh Regiment slogan ringing in their ears, the tough got rowing. “Karenge yah marenge,” they said and then walked the do-or-die talk all the way to a gold and two bronze medals.
Indian rowers, all but one of the 34 at the Asian Games are also soldiers, were willing to give it their all, stretch every sinew to win a medal at the Jakabaring Lake here. Dushyant Chauhan set the tone in the morning. He gave his best on way to bronze in lightweight men’s singles sculls and later collapsed at the medal ceremony, exhausted and dehydrated after his desperate attempt. He had to be stretchered to the medical room.
As the Haryana boy recuperated, barely a few meters away, the men’s quadruple sculls team celebrated its win, clinching India’s maiden gold in the event and making history after warding off Indonesia’s challenge .
Sawarn Singh, Dattu Bhokanal, Om Prakash and Sukhmeet Singh pushed themselves to the limit to ensure India its second gold in Asian Games rowing history. Bajrang Lal Takhar was the first, in the single sculls at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. The second bronze was won by Bhagwan Singh and Rohit Kumar in men’s lightweight double sculls.
On Thursday, the team’s morale was down and the atmosphere in the Indian camp depressing after none of the rowers could make it to the podium, despite huge expectations. But they had come charged up on Friday.
The 2000m race was a challenge — a punishment, actually in extreme humidity. On Friday, they were drunk on patriotism and that can often make sportspersons do wonders. “Bharat mata ke liye karna tha (Had to do it for Mother India)”, said Sawarn. Soon after the quadruple team crossed the ‘imaginary’ finishing line, chants of ‘Bharat mata ki jai’ and‘ karenge ya marenge’ rent the air.
It wasn’t any ordinary day for the quartet; it was the fruition of the dreams their near and dear ones had seen. Dattu Bhokanal , who finished last in lightweight single sculls on Thursday, had promised his mother Asha a medal before she passed away. “I had a promise to keep. I was confident of gold in quadruple sculls as we had a very strong team,” said the rower from Nashik district.
Sawarn too had dreamt of gold but a back problem laid him low after the 2014 Incheon Games.
The race was dramatic. The Indians were trailing the home favourites till the 1000m metre mark. With the Indonesians not letting up, it came down to the wire and India won gold with a timing of 6:17.13 min, just 3.45 seconds ahead of the home team.