Service, Then Jubilation

Young Indians are plucking gold at the CWG at will. Tougher challenges await them at August’s Asiad.

- Qaiser Mohammad Ali

IN the veritable deluge of gold-tinted performances from Indian athletes at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, spare a cheer for the gallant failure of Muhammed Anas Yahiya, who came fourth in the finals of the 400-metre race in Gold Coast in Australia. In a way, this was the latest occasion of prideful despair for the Indian fan—in the 1960 Rome Olympics, Milkha Singh had lost a medal by one tenth of a second in the 400 mts; and in the 1984 Los Angeles Games, P.T. Usha’s losing the bronze by one-hundredth of a second in the 400m hurdles was even more cruel. Yahiya is the only athlete to enter the 400 mts final in a CWG after Milkha did in 1958 in Cardiff. Nonetheless, he broke his own national record with 45.31 seconds.

Meanwhile, the Indian tricolour flies high at Gold Coast. As the 12-day event creeps towards a close, India is proudly placed at the third position in the medals tally—its 12 golds so far buoyed by a few pleasant surprises. The haul includes nine medals from weightlifters alone, including five golden ones. And there is more to come in the open events that are going on now.

But even by the most optimistic yardstick, it would be well-nigh impossible for India to emulate its best-ever performance at a CWG. That high point had come at the 2010 Delhi Games, where the crucial home environment helped Indian athletes win a grand total of 101 medals. It was the only time the country had crossed the 100-mark in 15 attempts till then, and the tally included a record 38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze medals. India will have to bide its time to break the Delhi record in the quadrennial sports extravaganza.