A sea of change seems to be happening in the Indian sports scene in general. Not only are newer talents emerging with elan, but they are also ready to exhibit their abilities in a stunning way to make everyone believe that ‘India can also do it’ at the highest level of sports. Without a doubt, it was that javelin exponent Neeraj Chopra who set the tone with his imperious show at the international level, his world champion success and the Olympic champion tag being the priceless crowns that don his proud head. That has seemingly inspired Indian sportspersons in general across all sporting disciplines.
As always, it is cricket which brings to the fore this truth in an inspiring way. Cricket may not be an Olympic subject yet, but perhaps the most followed sport in the country, particularly, so now the shorter version of the sport has caught the imagination of people, young and old. The influence of the slam-bang style of play is very much visible now in Test cricket too with the ongoing India-England series reflecting this in the most exciting way. This has also brought to the fore a new set of players who are not only too eager to shed any signs of diffidence that one normally associates with someone new to the scene but also jumping out and daring to take the fight to the rival end! None exemplified this better than this Mumbai young man, the 23-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Indian cricket has been seeing a flood of new talents waiting to get recognised. Such is the halo around a player who represents the country. Yet a cricketing talent, in many ways, enters the field with a touch of pressure. One had seen this in bowlers like Mohammad Siraj, Mukesh Kumar and the latest Akash Deep and similar it was for batsmen. But given the opportunity, Jaiswal, it must be said, grabbed it with both hands so to say. He is just seven Tests old and has already raised a heap of records. Two doubles hundreds, one century and runs aplenty. In fact, he needs just another 130 odd runs to complete 1000 runs in Tests and become the fastest Indian batter to achieve that!
Leave aside diffidence, what stood out about Jaiswal was his daredevilry. Hitting a class bowler like pacer Jimmy Anderson for three successive sixes, he simply stupefied the bowler for sure, as also did many observers, which included visiting Englishmen. Every era brings up a mighty player. We have seen Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and the like, and Jaiswal now has all the trappings to become another ‘great’ if he should continue in the current vein. What is striking about his batting is the variety he brings in. Not one to allow being cowed down by bowlers, Jaiswal, who has been well soaked in the shorter version of the game, follows the cricketing dictum that the ‘ball is there to be hit’. That is what he does with gay abandon!
As in cricket, so in other sports. Take badminton, for instance, and the recent grand success that the Indian women’s team achieved, a historic gold in the Badminton Asia Team championship held in Malaysia. Ever the inspiring figure, P.V. Sindhu was there to provide the initial contribution in this final against Thailand. What to say, with the match score of 2-2, the whole focus was on the ability of a teenager, Anmol Kharb, to bear the heavy load of high expectations. The fact is that this 17-year-old Anmol turned a gem under pressure and seized the moment for India! It was an incredible show of grit and guts from this national champion as she courted glory.
What is praiseworthy is that Anmol has not come up from any major academies but through her single-minded devotion, dedication and struggle in the sport. When she won the national women’s singles crown, this Faridabad girl had signalled her readiness for bigger challenges. The Malaysia event proved the point, and for India, one more reason to rejoice, for here is another gem ready for bigger things ahead. Amazing has been the strides seen in Indian badminton. Only sometime last year, we had the heroics of the doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in full display when they won the gold in the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Badminton Asia Championship. Their winning spree made it an exceptional 2023 for them.
There were more such success stories to light up the sporting arena. Aditi Gopichand Swami is one. A 17-year-old became the youngest world champion archer (compound) to make history as India’s first female to achieve this milestone in Berlin. Aditi also played a pivotal role in the historic gold medal finish for the women’s team in the same championship. Then there was Esha Singh, who displayed her prowess in winning the gold in the 10 m Air Pistol Mixed Team event in the ISSF world championship held in Baku.
Last but not least we forget chess prodigy R Praggnanandhaa, who made history by becoming the youngest player to reach the final of the Chess World Cup. Look not beyond him for the question, who after the maestro Viswanathan Anand! Pragg, as also Vidit Gujrathi and D. Gukesh, will be among the eight players who will be seen in action in the Candidates tournament to be held in Canada in April. The winner plays the reigning world champion, Ding Liren of China. Pragg had beaten him in the Tata Steel event early this year, the second Indian after Anand to beat a reigning world champion in classical chess. Success stories have been many, and the lookout will be for even more spectacular ones in the days ahead.
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Indian talents aspiring for bigger goals
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29.02.2024
A sea of change seems to be happening in the Indian sports scene in general. Not only are newer talents emerging with elan, but they are also ready to exhibit their abilities in a stunning way to make everyone believe that ‘India can also do it’ at the highest level of sports. Without a doubt, it was that javelin exponent Neeraj Chopra who set the tone with his imperious show at the international level, his world champion success and the Olympic champion tag being the priceless crowns that don his proud head. That has seemingly inspired Indian sportspersons in general across all sporting disciplines.
As always, it is cricket which brings to the fore this truth in an inspiring way. Cricket may not be an Olympic subject yet, but perhaps the most followed sport in the country, particularly, so now the shorter version of the sport has caught the imagination of people, young and old. The influence of the slam-bang style of play is very much visible now in Test cricket too with the ongoing India-England series reflecting this in the most exciting way. This has also brought to the fore a new set of players who are not only too eager to shed any signs of diffidence that one normally associates with someone new to the scene but also jumping out and daring to take the fight to the rival end! None exemplified this better than this Mumbai young man, the 23-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Indian cricket has been seeing a flood of new talents waiting to get........
© Mathrubhumi English
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