An opportunity lost

With my nose buried in files early on Monday, a colleague knocked at my door and urged me to take a look at the TV. 8220;India has got its first Olympic gold. What are you doing with these files?8221; he asked complainingly. When I read the name Abhinav Bindra, preceded by the phrase 8220;gets India her first Olympic gold8221;, I went down memory lane to circa 1998.

As I was the general manager of the Punjab and Sind Bank, the then teenaged lad came to meet me with his grandfather from Chandigarh. 8220;He is a promising marksman. We were looking for sponsorship so that his talent can get a boost,8221; said the elderly Sikh gentleman. Since I also happen to belong to Chandigarh, I had heard about this upcoming shooter who studied at the School for Boys there. I immediately felt connected to him and his cause. 8220;Let me check with my boss for sponsorship,8221; I said and went to meet B.D. Narang, the executive director. When I conveyed the idea to him, he didn8217;t feel as enthused about Abhinav as I was. 8220;See, we have already sponsored the hockey team. So let it be8230;8221; was his rather dampening reply. I continued pestering him about the young lad. Unfortunately, it didn8217;t work. Disappointed, I told the duo that I could try for some private sponsorship but that would amount to merely less than half of the requirement. The elderly gentleman was wise enough to understand the state of affairs and gracefully left my cabin after sharing a cup of tea with me.

Today, 10 years later, I lament the loss on behalf of the P038;S Bank. Before hoardings and TV slots go awash with Abhinav8217;s triumphant pictures, the bank could have proudly announced that they had patronised the boy when he was a 8220;nobody8221;. The sad truth is that, in India, nothing less than cricket qualifies for a sport or warrants patronage. I fathom all these years later that my boss might not have denied Abhinav a few lakh rupees had it been a team sport.

However, I feel proud that a young boy from my city has done what no one in the history of this great nation could do. This once again underscores two ideas: individual sports are in no way less than team sports unlike what we Indians feel; and that the onus of taking India forward is on the youth.