It’s not often that a
defining moment arrives in the history of Indian sports that makes every Indian
feel proud of. Nor do we see Indians irrespective of differences glued to TV
sets watching in total stillness an international sports competition other than
cricket. But September 17 presented an unusual spectacle of people thronged in
front of TV sets watching the ace Indian shuttler Pusarla Venkata Sindhu
battling it out against Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in a thrilling summit clash to
clinch the women's singles title at the Korea Open Super series in Seoul. In an
energy-sapping contest that lasted an hour and 23 minutes Sindhu saw off eighth
seed Okuhara 22-20 11-21 20-18 and exacted her sweet revenge on her
heart-wrenching World Championship final loss to the Japanese at Glasgow last
month. And India exploded in celebrations.
Celebrating winners
of medals in international sports competitions have not been rare phenomena in
India. The sense of pride, glory and hope that the Sindhu-phenomenon has created
in India where even tiny tots have begun to clutch badminton racquets in their little hands
reveals that there is more to Sindhu’s triumph than what meets the eyes.
It has been raining
accolades and awards for Sindhu right from the President and Prime Minister of
India, Andhra Pradesh government, Bollywood and sports stars, family, friends
and fans across India and abroad. She
has been lauded for taking India to the top of the world of quality badminton.
PM Modi wrote on Twitter: “Congratulations to @Pvsindhu1 on emerging victorious
in the Korea Open Super Series. India is immensely proud of her
accomplishment.”
If Sindhu’s huge win
in Seoul comes as revenge against snatching away from her a chance to win a
gold medal weeks earlier in the final of the World Championships at Glasgow by
Okuhara, it’s also a cry against snatching away the basic human rights of life,
dignity, education and opportunities of development from India’s girl children.
With Sindhu’s victory, the curtain falls on the Korea Open Super series. But it
raises a bunch of change in the thought-pattern of Indian parents, schools and
society: It’s a challenge to those parents who say, “I want my daughter to be a
doctor/ engineer/ housewife” to say “I’ll let my daughter follow her dream.” It’s
a slap on the patriarchal mindset in India that “good girls don't wear short
clothes". Girls shouldn’t be aggressive.
Girls should be soft spoken and never scream or shout.
India is a perpetual
paradox where mechanisms that save as well as kill girl children go hand in
hand. While female foeticide is a ticking bomb on India, there’s no dearth of
programmes to protect girl child in the country. Balri Rakshak Yojana, Indira
Gandhi Balika Suraksha Yogana, Balika
Samridhi Yojana, Beti Hai Anmol, Mukhya Mantri Kanya Suraksha Yojana, Mukhya
Mantri Kanyadan Scheme, Dhanalakshmi, Bhagyalakshmi Rajalakshmi, Ladli and the
more recent ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao ("Save daughters, educate
daughters"), the list keeps lengthening. The reason why these schemes meet
with very little evidence of success is everyone’s guess. Schemes and projects
are no human beings, they are just arrangements. Turning an assortment of
people into human beings needs a different project that addresses their
inhumanity and appeal for putting humanity in them. The democratic values of
equality and justice, enshrined in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution
teach us not just political principles but essentially moral and ethical values
vital for the very survival of any civilized nation.
India’s Sindhu
phenomenon has left many a takeaway for a generation of sports players. It has
taught that consistency wins, patience pays.
Much more than pure skills and fighting spirit, a player at the highest
level needs a consistent capacity to keep learning from failures while focusing
on success. Sindhu did exactly this by compelling Okuhara to play on her terms
of pace and power and resist the urge to manically go hard at the second
set. Sindhu thus conserved her energies
for the decider and proved to be quick learner. Sindhu, the Olympic Silver
medallist, bagged her third World Championships Podium at Glasgow and proved
her ability to settle scores at Seoul. She made her place secure whenever the
biggest titles in badminton will be decided. Sindhu has the habit of dreaming
big and chasing her dreams through every big sports event. “When you play for
your country, the effort is more important than the outcome. I know medals
matter, but when people put in more than 100%, it shows,” says Sindhu. And
that’s patriotism.
India is blessed with
powerful women athletes of International fame like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal,
Sakshi Malik who make their country proud. Their contribution to the image of India
is a slap on the face of a country where the majority of people frown upon the
birth of a girl child and deny them their freedom and other human rights. They
prove their mettle and call on the Indian patriarchy to stop its gender based
discrimination and nurture their girl child with love. It should be the moral
obligation of every Indian to encourage India’s girl children to participate
enthusiastically in sports events.
Schools and educational instructions irrespective of private or public
status should be supported by state and central governments with financial aid.
Sports activities should be made mandatory for school children.
PV Sindhu is an
incredible phenomenon that inspires young India to step out in pursuit of
sports championships. The government ought to give incentives to parents with
girl children through better retirement benefits, honouring them in public
forums. It should initiate social change by promoting and popularizing widow
remarriage and getting rid of the dowry menace etc. This can be carried out
through the use of mass media campaigns and active involvement of social and
religious institutions to enhance the importance of girl children in India.
