In a country where cricket eclipses every other sport, the recently concluded Asian Games offered a much-needed reminder of India’s breadth of sporting talent. In this edition of the games, in Japan, India won 85 medals: 21 golds, 27 silver and 37 bronze medals. I admit I did not know many of the players competing, or even some of the sports they play before putting this piece together.
Learning about the stories, I wonder why not. There were individual breakthroughs, records broken and history made. There were also hard-fought team victories, including the Indian women’s hockey team gold medal after a 44-year wait.
Sports broadcaster Siddharth Pandey cited an old saying in the world of sport: “You cannot be what you cannot see.” For Pandey, one of the most heartening sights was families and communities rallying around the four female players from the north-eastern states. (The region has endured decades of conflict and is often overlooked in the national conversation.) “We simply cannot underestimate the impact these games and medals have on future generations taking up non-cricketing sport and wanting to excel in it,” he told me. Recognition is also important. Vidya Pillai, the first Indian woman to win a snooker world championship has spoken about her sport not getting the attention or respect it deserves.
She felt unacknowledged following her 2023 feat, despite the fact that it came after six unsuccessful world finals and she beat two former world champions along the way. Behind India’s medal glory are dozens of athletes and families who have struggled financially, trained with limited facilities, and often without much institutional support. So this week, I am sharing a sample of the many extraordinary stories from different parts of the country.
These are only a fraction of the champions to emerge from the games, yet they provide a glimpse of the possibilities that can open up when a country sees and celebrates sporting talent across the spectrum. Neeru Dhanda (gold in trap shooting): Dhanda’s family in Haryana’s Jind relies on the government’s food subsidy programme and she began her sporting journey using a borrowed shotgun with tin cans as targets. Right before the games began, the 26-year-old spent a few days in a hospital recovering from an illness instead of training.
But last week, as rain lashed the shooting range in Urenocho, she became the first Indian woman to win an individual gold in trap shooting at Asian games. She won a second gold in mixed team trap event as well as a silver in the women’s team trap event. Vithya Ramraj (gold in 4x400m): Ramraj was one of the breakout stars of the event with a three-medal haul.
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