OLYMPIC SPIRIT

Is winning and getting gold, silver and bronze the only spirit that the four yearly once event ‘OLYMPICS’ brings to us? Guess not, at least not to me. No, I am not a sportsperson or constant follower of sports. I am a mere listener of stories of glory and a person who cheers on competitors in almost any sport (from Spell Bee to Cricket to the Olympics). I once came across a beautiful friendship story. The friendship of Sushil Kumar and Yogeshwar. We have heard about Sushil, who has held our flag in the London Olympics inauguration march. Sushil’s name was included in our description of his glorious Bronze medal won in 2008, Beijing Olympics. The humane touch in him was displayed when he stood beside his friend Yogeshwar who had two consecutive knee injuries and a problematic back. His injuries forced him to think about retirement. Yogeshwar went for treatment in South Africa. South Africa did wonders to him and he came back fit and fine. But his confidence to step into the ring once again was lost. Once again, his dear friend Sushil stepped in He had became a regular visitor of Yogi’s home and started to practice with him.  Sushil not only made Yogi reconsider his decision of retirement but also filed a nomination in Yogi’s name before he filed his own in the London Olympics. Yogi won a bronze and Sushil, a silver in their respective events and made sure that they did not fail each other and the nation…

                More than the participation or their victory in Olympics 2012, the overwhelming feeling of friendship and fellowship that Sushil showed is worth mentioning.    

              So is the case of Mary Kom, better known as ‘Magnificent Mary ‘. She is a petite female boxer formally named as Chungneijung Hmangte, a Christian from the land dominated by Hindus and Muslims. She is 29 years old, a mother of two, who, fighting all the odds of a male dominant world and not considering the menace around her, fought to get us bronze for an event which was not hers (she fought for 51 kg weight class whereas her real event was 48 kg. She fought for the tougher one because there was no consideration for 48 kg weight class in the Olympic Games). Added to her glory is the fact that she was the one who encouraged, rather, forced the Olympic authority to have women’s boxing included in the Olympics.

Kukku

III BA (PjoE)