It's almost heart breaking when a young Indian runner says her country started following track and field events only after her medal winning prowess at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games!
Paris (1900) Olympics was the first time that the Indian Olympic Association sent an official entry to the quadrennial games! That Norman Pritchard's 2 silver medals (men's 200m & 200m hurdles) were added to the United Kingdom tally is another matter since India was still under British rule and the tri-colour was yet to be born.
Then came the two great wars followed by Independence and Partition! Milkha Singh made 1960 Rome his own, missing out on an Olympic medal by a whisker, followed by the exploits of legends like Gurbachan Randhawa and Kamaljeet Sandhu. Middle and long distance running of Sriram Singh (1976 Montreal Olympics), Shivnath Singh and Hari Chand were not too far behind till the women stars led by PT Usha and Shiny Wilson set the tracks alight. If Usha missing an Olympic medal in Los Angeles (1984) did not fire the Indian imagination nothing ever could.
And finally, the box office success of biopic 'Bhag Milkha Bhag' is evidence that track and field still rules even though it may have been overtaken by cricket in the past three decade or so. But remember ... come Olympics, it's track and field events that hold the spotlight for Indians too! Medals have been elusive is another matter altogether, but remembering the legacy doesn't really hurt!
Paris (1900) Olympics was the first time that the Indian Olympic Association sent an official entry to the quadrennial games! That Norman Pritchard's 2 silver medals (men's 200m & 200m hurdles) were added to the United Kingdom tally is another matter since India was still under British rule and the tri-colour was yet to be born.
Then came the two great wars followed by Independence and Partition! Milkha Singh made 1960 Rome his own, missing out on an Olympic medal by a whisker, followed by the exploits of legends like Gurbachan Randhawa and Kamaljeet Sandhu. Middle and long distance running of Sriram Singh (1976 Montreal Olympics), Shivnath Singh and Hari Chand were not too far behind till the women stars led by PT Usha and Shiny Wilson set the tracks alight. If Usha missing an Olympic medal in Los Angeles (1984) did not fire the Indian imagination nothing ever could.
And finally, the box office success of biopic 'Bhag Milkha Bhag' is evidence that track and field still rules even though it may have been overtaken by cricket in the past three decade or so. But remember ... come Olympics, it's track and field events that hold the spotlight for Indians too! Medals have been elusive is another matter altogether, but remembering the legacy doesn't really hurt!
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