The Power Of Youth

India’s successes at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games have proved that the country’s youth are learning quickly and are not affected by the negativity that plagues Indian sports.

- Kamesh Srinivasan

Catch ’em young. The cliche sounds forced in today’s context.

India’s sporting brigade is hauling in medals at a younger age, medals that eluded earlier generations. This year’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Aus­tralia, was a great outing for the country – 26 gold, 20 silver and 20 bronze. The Asian Games at Jakarta and Palembang was sup­ posed to be a tougher challenge. But India’s youth, for the second time in 2018, stood up to the challenge as the country had its best ever performance at the continental meet, winning 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze medals.

First it was the shooters. Saurabh Chaudhary, just 16 years old, won the men's air pistol gold. Even as Saurabh soaked in the adulation of sports aficionados, 15­ year­old Shardul Vihanwon the double trap silver. Vihan, who finished just one point behind the eventual champion after topping the qualifying stage, was just two years old when Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore won the Olympic silver in the same event at the Athens Games.

In the men’s trap, 19­year­old Lakshay Sheoran won the silver medal with consid­ erable poise, even as former world cham­pion Manavjit Singh Sandhu faltered from a position of strength.

“The young shooters have been the highlight of the Asian Games campaign. They have such a positive attitude. Unaf­fected by the stature of the competition, they approached their matches with de­termination. They will continue getting better leading into next year, winning Olympic quotas for 2020,” said Mansher Singh, the four­time Olympian who was the coach and team leader for India’s Asian Games shooting contingent.