| Khelein hum jee jaan se: India’s new pantheon has arrived Remember when, as Indians, the only way to get our heart rates up was cricket? I distinctly recall my pados ke legendary cricket buff, the twice-CCU-returnee Mr Mendiratta, who switched the TV off after Sachin got out in the 2003 final (now in his mid-70s, he’s all hale and hearty, I heard last month — the nailbiters and cliffhangers in the 15 years of the IPL have hardened him). Mr Mendiratta is all of us. This nationwide hysteria — borne at the behest of Mr Kapil Dev and his Devils, superbly taken forward by the generation of the Little Master Jr Sachin and firmly entrenched in our collective consciousness by a man who loves riding bikes and launching helicopters — now stands face-to-face with another juggernaut. Indian athletics, deviyon and sajjanon, has come into its own, emerging as a modern symbol of Indian pride and sporting pedigree. At this point, I’d like to request the frustrated yelling memer AngryRantman to do one for Indian sports: cuz with this bunch, the passion is there, the vision is there, the mindset is there.  First off, we have Neeraj Chopra flinging that javelin with such precision that even GPS would be envious. After he clinched a gold at the World Athletics Championship, I was so proud that we’re pros at both throwing javelins and landing spacecraft. But wait, there's more! Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa, our very own chess wizard, nearly outwitted Magnus Carlsen, the world's numero uno in the FIDE World Cup final. And by the way, this genius just turned 18. I could do a series of columns over the coming year about the things I couldn’t do at that age. If that’s too much, let me tell you that India’s highest-ranked grandmaster is a 17-year-old. Named Gukesh D, he has been rated highly by Carlsen and is one to watch out for in the future. Gone are the days when our podium presence was a one-man show. Now, we've got multiple Indians doing the 'almost podium' shuffle. Kishore Kumar Jena, who fought his way through visa troubles (because apparently, even visas play hard to get), came fifth in javelin with a personal best. DP Manu gave his all and finished sixth, scoring a solid 84.14. Our men’s relay team might have finished fifth but when seen in context, they actually beat Japan’s Asian record in the 4X400 relay. Their effort even enthused Bollywood’s grand baritone Amitabh Bachchan to unleash his wrath on the commentators for not acknowledging Rajesh Ramesh, Muhammed Ajmal Variyathodi, Amoj Jacob and Muhammed Anas Yahiya until they obliterated the Asian record. Heck, even Mr Mendiratta shared it on his Instagram Story! With the boys in blue headed into two high-stakes tournaments this year, one of which is to be held at home, I have my sights set on Paris next year (for the Olympics yaar, what else?). All I can dream about is javelins soaring across continents and chess pieces plotting their way to global domination. Cricket, you might still be captain of our sporting pantheon, but the team now has some seriously entertaining players on the field. And off the field, well, we've got the vocal pyrotechnics of our biggest icons to ensure that no achievements go unheeded. Khelein hum jee jaan se! |
