Let me begin by congratulating Saina Nehwal on winning the much-deserved bronze medal at the London Olympics. Bravo girl, even though many had expected you to get us a gold! I don't care about how the match was awarded to you, for you already are a true champion in the true sense.
Sania Mirza hasn't had the kind of run at this year's Olympics that she may have thought she would. But then, it doesn't take away any bit of what you've achieved so far on the court.
My admiration for you girls goes much beyond the outcome of one particular event, even though the Olympics is the greatest sporting extravaganza in the world!
To me, you both symbolize fight, grit, determination and belief in yourself. While you were busy giving colors to your dreams, while you were sweating it out to prepare for big events, while you were breaking records nobody thought would be challenged any time soon, you were in fact gradually awakening the sleeping Indian woman. She had fallen asleep long back thinking that's what she was supposed to do, not quite knowing she had the right to choose when she wanted to wake up all by herself! She started realizing you could begin to lead the pack of 'others' should you feel the hunger for. Thanks to you, she started believing in herself.
She started knowing no fence could be high enough and no barrier strong enough if you made your mind up. You both may just be playing your sport, but the ripple your stories have created has inspired a whole lot of Indian women. Any race, any species, any nation takes a giant leap the moment it asks itself, "why can't I?".
Sports has largely been a man's bastion in India for who knows how long. Thanks to your duo for questioning the taboo in our mind, and for challenging the status quo of Indian sport which wasn't doing much good anyway. The typical manish perception of who should play professional sports could be gauged from a statement issued more than ten years ago by the great tennis legend John McEnroe, when he said that even though he was well into his official retirement, he could still beat the top-ranked women tennis players on the court! It sure had irked some of the women at work.
A country like ours does need sporting icons, not as much for becoming like those icons themselves as for wanting to emulate their feats in a variety of fields. After all, as they say, the only people who never fail are those who never try!
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