Never Take Sport for Granted: The Asian Games Have Taught Us That

For two-thirds of the Asian Games, India’s campaign seemed to be going nowhere. As often happens in India, people had started abusing and trolling the athletes. All of a sudden, they were public enemy number one, with each of them being trashed and abused. Indians are mentally frail, succumb to pressure and simply aren’t good enough at this stage, went the refrain. Everyone was being painted with the same brush, and if you said anything to the contrary, you weren’t spared either.

Let’s be practical. No one is suggesting this has been the perfect campaign. By no means is that the case.

Tennis was a huge disappointment. Athletics was below par. Shooting, particularly rifle and pistol, did not deliver as expected, while shotgun carried the team. Fencing was a shocker, and rowing left us all asking why we continue to mess things up like this.

But while that is one side of the story, the other is equally relevant.

Three gold medals in boxing, making it India’s best-ever campaign in the sport at the Asian Games. A gold in women’s hockey that secures the ticket to LA28. A women’s recurve team gold after beating mighty South Korea. These, too, are stories of a lifetime and must be celebrated with equal gusto.

For me, these Games have been a mixed bag. If the first half was all disappointment, the second half has been a magical transformation. And that is why you never take sport for granted. Sport will always find a way to surprise you.

The women’s hockey team were relegated from the Pro League just a year ago. Today, they are Asian Games gold medallists and have earned the quota for LA28. Sport has this unique way of turning things around.

And that is why you don’t just mouth off and start trolling.

Lovlina Borgohain now stands as the most successful Indian boxer in Asian Games history. Just a month ago, she was the target of incessant trolling. Today, she is a champion.

The truth is, we aren’t done yet.

We still have men’s hockey, cricket, Dhiraj and Neeraj Chauhan, Aman and Antim, and more. Twenty gold medals suddenly look possible if things go well.

That is my biggest learning from these Games: just keep showing up and sport will reward you.

And that applies to all of us. If you are an athlete, it can take you to the podium. If you are a storyteller like me, it gives you stories to tell, stories that can create a real legacy.

For now, it is time to live the final day of the campaign and hope for a few more gold medals.

And yes, it is India versus Pakistan in cricket once again, a contest that always makes for a real spectacle.

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