Young athletes inspired by India’s show at Olympics

Encouraged by the record medal haul, more youngsters are now hitting the training ground running

After India’s best-ever medal haul in the Olympics, there is a buzz around the local training grounds. There is renewed energy and motivation among the youth. At a stadium in Gurugram, the brisk morning air has an edge to it, and every athlete is striving to live the Olympics motto – ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’. “A lot of children that come here to train are like mausamimendhak (fair-weather frogs). They will train as long as they are in their comfort zone, but when the going gets tough, they disappear.”, Akhil Kumar, boxing coach at the Nehru Stadium in Gurugram said about the young athletes that he trains. The ones that remain, he went on, are like rough diamonds. Boxing as a sport gained immense popularity in India after Vijender Singh’s historic bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Sahil Bansal, now a State level boxer, is one such athlete. “Do I want to go to the Olympics someday? Wohtohjaanahi hai!! [That is the objective!],” he says. As the talk turns to the Olympics, he says that he really enjoyed watching the games, even though his favourite boxer, Amit Panghal did not win a medal.