children of ordinary households
The series has started from the second day in the Commonwealth Games. India won four medals that day and all four were in weightlifting. First of all, in the 55 kg weight category, Sanket Sargar won the silver medal, who runs a paan and tea shop with his father in Sangli, Maharashtra. His younger sister has also won gold medal for her state in Khelo India Games. The second bronze medal was won by P Gururaja in the 61kg category of weightlifting. Gururaja, who hails from a village in Udupi, Karnataka, is the son of a truck driver. Then Mirabai Chanu got the gold in the 49 kg category, then there was a wave of happiness across the country. People of his gold were waiting since morning. Mirabai Chanu’s father works in the Public Works Department in Imphal, Manipur and mother runs a small shop. As a child, Mirabai had to bring wood from the forest so that food could be cooked at home. He had got into the habit of lifting weights from the same bundles of wood which came in handy in weightlifting. After this Bindiya Rani Devi won silver medal in 55 kg category in the same game. She is also from Manipur. His father is a farmer and he also owns a grocery shop.
All these players are from simple families. Most of the players who play and bring medals for the country in international sporting events come from the general category, who fight against the shortcomings and move forward. Children from rich households can still go in for sports like tennis, shooting, golf, swimming, but they have left the responsibility of the rest of the games to the lower and lower-middle class. It will be a big deal to meet a player of rich background in Archery, Boxing, Wrestling, Hockey etc. Remember, Abhinav Bindra, who won the first individual Olympic gold for the country, had his father built a private shooting range by spending crores of rupees. Similarly, Honey Jumani’s father from Ahmedabad has got a private tennis court built for her and has also kept a private coach. But most of the children in the country are dependent on sports resources of government or schools and colleges.
