The true torch-bearers

Who exactly are the bearers of India8217;s Olympic dreams? As the Olympic flame is taken through five continents for the first time, a controversy is now raging over the list of persons invited to carry it in its Indian passage. There is deep disquiet that film actors were invited in overwhelming numbers to run holding the flame, to the direct exclusion of some of the country8217;s athletic legends. P.T. Usha, for one, is angry. While care was taken to requisition some of the most glamorous people from Hindi cinema, the woman who fetched India a gold mine in honours at some of the most prestigious events in the 8217;80s was invited at the last minute. In the 1984 Games at Los Angeles, a photofinish deprived her of a medal in the 400 m hurdles. Twenty years later, an afterthought of an invitation has cruelly dimmed the sheen from that spectacular run. Can it really be that our sport establishment deems Rani Mukherjee a more stirring symbol of Olympic hope than P.T. Usha? And, given that cricket is not an Olympic event, can Rahul Dravid8217;s participation really make up for Prakash Padukone8217;s neglect?

There is no denying that movies and cricket consume India8217;s passions. To the extent that torch relays like these are sought to be made more participatory and high-profile, actors and cricketers will understandably be wooed by organisers and sponsors. It8217;s sad but it is true: large infusions of glamour are required to rally the crowds for celebrations of our sporting hopes. Yet, those hopes are tainted when the men and women who have carried India8217;s hopes so ably in years past are belittled in the process. It speaks of incomprehensible insensitivity on the part of organisers and sponsors when they are asked to play supporting roles in the event, if not offstage ones. One cannot help but draw the conclusion that the Olympics are just an excuse to string together some crowdpullers 8212; instead of using those crowdpullers to honour sportspersons who have toiled in virtual anonymity in pursuit of excellence.

In any case, these run-up events to the Athens Games presumably also aim to lure children to Olympic disciplines. But who would give her life over to years of training and discipline when she sees how fast her country forgets heroes of the past?