Has Indian sport truly arrived?

By the end of it, Bindra was richer by Rs 50 lakh 8212; half of it presented by the team sponsor, and another half announced by the IOA 8212; while Sushil and Vijender pocketed Rs 20 lakh each.

Suresh Kalmadi went on to announce Rs 5lakh to each quarter-finalist 8212; the pugilist duo of Akhil Kumar and Jitender Kumar, and shuttler Saina Nehwal.

8220;Olympic sports have come of age in the country,8221; declared Mr Kalmadi. 8220;The jinx is broken and I can assure you of a bagful of medals, at least 10, and half of them gold, in 2012,8221; said the IOA boss, who, ironically, had cautioned before the Beijing Games not to expect much.

Then, he took an almost customary swipe at cricket. 8220;I was pleased to see the cricket victory was the third headline when we won medal in Olympics,8221; he said.

Mercifully, the men of the moment turned out to be men of few words. 8220;Let8217;s adopt Olympic sports in our way of living,8221; Bindra said.

The function was over, the scramble was not. A scribe shoved rower Bajranglal Takhar to get Vijender8217;s byte. Indian sport has arrived, or has it?