A few weeks back, I was guilty of dismissing the Indian contingent at the Olympics as the worst ever. Today I am exhilarated at being proven wrong. At its neighbor’s Olympics, came India’s first gold, the best expression of which is captured as “Bindra, done that!” by a fan on this page.

As if it were a precursor to better things to come, the light of sporting glory has started growing brighter. Sushil Kumar’s bronze in the 65kg freestyle category rekindled hopes of the revival of an ancient Indian art, which has sadly started pandering to ”staged” wrestling, the most famous of those exponents being the Great Khali of WWE fame.  Sushil Kumar, and not the Khali, is now the poster boy of Indian wrestling at last resurrecting a tradition that has lasted for 2000 years. Little do many Indians know, that Mahabalipuram or Mamallapuram, the ancient site near Chennai is named after Maha Mallam or great Wrestler, as tribute to King Narasimhavarma Pallavan. Ever since, wrestling or kushti has had the highest of royal patronage. 

For the first time since the hockey team and K D Jadhav(also wrestling) brought home two medals in 1952, India will return with more than one medal. Add to that the new Nawab of Najafgarh, not the Virender of Sehwag fame, but Vijender the Boxer, whose exploits at Beijing have still not finished. We could very well hope for gold. The Olympic Team India, now packs a punch! Keep watching this space for more.