Signs just right in a season of plenty for Indian sport

Indian sport revealed welcome strands of steel in 2010. A boxer braving a dislocated thumb to nail the gold, a wrestler of power and guile and a cricketer with a never-say-die attitude exemplified the country’s surge to a different plane and that made the year a hugely memorable one.

As the year draws to a close, tales of corruption still make front pages, just as they did at various points in the course of the season. But rising above those stories were stirring deeds by men and women who kept the tricolour fluttering on big stages.

Often in the past, Indian sportspersons have been accused of succumbing to pressure situations easily, always ready to trot out excuses. Exceptions only served to prove the rule. But in 2010, the frequency with which the country’s athletes challenged the norms came like a cool breeze on a stifling summer’s day.

Home advantage, certainly, played a role. The Commonwealth Games in New Delhi provided the ideal platform for India to take a definite stride forward. A total of 38 gold medals and a second-place on the table were the results of some strong performances from expected quarters but just a month later, a gold rush from unexpected avenues powered the country to their best-ever placing abroad in the Asian Games, with 14 gold medals.

From amidst the riches, it’s tough to pick out one performance as the best. Apples or oranges? Diamonds or pearls? Still, if one were to make a choice, Vijender Singh’s courageous march to the Asian Games gold seems to have an extra sheen over the rest, and that includes Sushil Kumar’s super show that earned him the world champion’s tag, Saina Nehwal’s stupendous run of Super Series titles and the Commonwealth Games gold and path-breaking success stories by Bajranglal Takhar in rowing, Ashish Kumar in gymnastics and Tarundeep Rai  in archery or Virdhawal Khade’s bronze of hope in swimming.

Denied success at the CWG, Vijender stormed the Asian Games bastion, and an injury was no handicap as he put out world champion Abbos Atoev in the 75kg category final. The confidence and the attitude he displayed on that day capped a big leap by the Indian boxers on the international stage, with five of them making the Asiad final.

Sushil, with a sizzling triumph over Alan Gogaev in Moscow and a CWG gold, brought wrestling to the forefront before an injury ended his season, while Saina was China’s nemesis for the better part of the year but spoilt her book somewhat by a drowsy display in Guangzhou.

A medal sweep in discus throw and a stirring run in front of a packed Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium were among the gems at the CWG but they were only the starting points, as A C Ashwini, Preeja Sreedharan, Joseph Abraham and team rolled out historic feats at the Asian Games even as Somdev Devvarman set the tennis courts afire.

On different spheres, Viswanathan Anand and Sachin Tendulkar merely affirmed their status as the best in their chosen fields, with Anand winning another world title after a bitter battle and Tendulkar soaring high with two remarkable feats – first ODI double ton and fifty centuries in Tests.

Will the year of gold rush mark a turning point in Indian sport was the question as the season ended. The indications are it could well be one. Success breeds success and India couldn’t have found a better launching pad than a gloriously successful 2010.