SOFT SHEEN TO INDIA SHINING

By far the most soul stirring for me is our team's success at the 'Paralympics' that followed at Hangzhou. No one can forget the video of 16-year-old Sheetal Devi - born without arms-from a village in J&K, drawing the bow with her toes and going on to win three golds in mixed archery

- Krishan Kalra

AFTER I WROTE my column titled India Continues to March Ahead for the 19 November 2022 issue of BW Businessworld (my first column for this magazine), much has happened on the economic front and technological growth, as well as our climb up the political and diplomatic ladder as we make subtle progress in almost all walks of life.

Now I plan to focus on the ‘softer aspects’ like sports – including for persons with disabilities – that reflect on a holistic growth of Indian Society which is equally important for any nation with ambitions to move up to being a superpower by around 2050. Sports excite nationalism and, unlike politics, everyone respects rules on the field. No matter how nationalist the home crowds may be, if their team loses, it loses in the open and if it wins that too is in the open.

Sportsmanship Above All

Sports are transparent from start to finish. If you don’t agree with the rules, you are not allowed to play. There is that historic example of the WW2 time Olympics, when Hitler offered the great Indian hockey player Dhyan Chand a switch to the German team. Chand politely refused and even the Fuhrer respected this decision.

Violence on the sports arena is simply not allowed. Sportsmanship is above all and is a test of how a society and the country are evolving. India is witnessing an era of transformation in sports and that should rub off on everything else.