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timbopi8142 · 3 years

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fromnadirtozenith · 7 years

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Special Olympics World Winter Games: Can we just stop sitting on our hands?

Rio Olympics concluded in the most dramatic way followed by the remarkable show of performance by disabled sportspersons in Paralympics, 2016. Although, India performed way better in the latter; somewhere, the champions’ accolades seemed to have drowned in the tepid support and coverage. The fiasco that India endured in Rio mainly because of the medal drought, apathy of the officials, lack of credit amongst many other issues that India was grappling with, were brought to the fore and compassed the cause of it to an abysmal sport infra and culture. Above all, the genuine concerns of the media and magnates supporting cricket to the detriment of stifling other sports were also raised but the irony is that we can still see for ourselves that at this point of time, we’ve #ChampionTheTrophy or #IndiavAus trending more than outpouring support for our compatriots who’ve made India proud of their remarkable éclat at the #specialwintergames in Austria.

I still remember the stories of Paralympians who made it where they are and no number of adjectives in my limited vocabulary could sum up my adulation for their morale and grit. I effused my feelings through twitter and other media, insanely, because I felt their efforts were underplayed. The IPL is about to begin in a few days and the promotions are in full swing notwithstanding scandals, spot-fixing and BCCI office bearers show defiance to Supreme Court-appointed CoA because well, corruption and contempt of court rarely seem to shake the conscience of a cricket fanatic. Furthermore, such issues just add to the marketing ploy and fodder of many writers & bloggers, including myself. Will the buck stop here? Will there be a paradigm shift in the realm of sports in India? In a celebrity-driven culture, is there enough room for sportspersons apart from cricketers to receive their rightful dues? And speaking about endorsements by non-mainstream sports players seem utterly quixotic today! One needs to analyse these gauntlet of questions to make it to the stage of uniformity.

India’s feat at Austria with a tally of 73 medals – 37 Gold, 10 Silver and 26 Bronze by India is certainly a proud moment for every Indian, and a kick in the teeth for those who have flayed us for dismal medal tallies in the not-so-distant past. Folks, do y’all recall Piers Morgan’s scathing yet plausible remark on the same?

It’s a different story that things got digressed to cricket once Virender Sehwag took a dig at him and then trolls pitched in to get their two cents worth in and others, to get their buckets of popcorn...

On the flip side, passing reckless comments on India’s subpar performance without even understanding the arduous effort that goes behind the annual/biennial/quadrennial events, is a mug’s game! Besides, you’re not bringing about any change by flogging a dead horse. I guess public figures could leverage their credibility on social platforms to reach this out to many a sports enthusiast. This will help bridge asymmetry and bring other sports at par with cricket and reduce the bias towards fringe sporting events. I guess Shobha De who learnt her lesson the bitter way ensuing from her infamous symptoms of foot-in-mouth which surfaced during Rio, lent at least a congratulatory note for the achievers.

In the end, naysayers can wallow in their pessimistic outlook, and others by giving simplistic solutions. The sporting fabric needs an overhaul and not mere smooth-talking by corporate, political parties and sports committees. If PV Sindhu gets big projects, wads of cash, property and VIP treatment from her triumph at Rio, least we can do is rally around these disabled sportspersons and give them the recognition they deserve and spare some for Special Olympics Bharat organization for their patronage. Sadly, we are yet to reach parity in terms of treating sportsperson in the same vein. The issue of placing equal worth within Olympic fraternity needs special attention, and this is not an issue endemic to India since Paralympians' gold medals are worth less than those of Olympians can no longer be brushed under the carpet.

These athletes have lent credence to the possibility of people surpassing physical and cognitive impediments to awe us with their superhuman display of achievements. Let’s not vitiate their hopes by adding further impediments though our innate biases. And this especially is a grave concern if 15-year-old Double Special Olympics medalist now sells paanipuri to make ends meet for her family in Madhya Pradesh. If this is how it is, we are going to succeed in rewarding talent by nipping it in the bud. No sweat if one forgets the ignominy India faced in Sochi Winter sports (2014) during the opening ceremony but it’s real sweat if our unsung heroes bite the dust…

-Sonica Gopinathan

29th March 2017

#specialolympics #specialolympian #worldwintergames #wintergames #forgotten heroes #rio olympics #rioparalympics

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