India's first ever individual Olympic gold medal won on Monday was greeted at home with disbelief and joy -- as well as renewed hope the country could break with its total obsession with cricket.
Abhinav Bindra, a 25-year-old businessman, was lavished with praise and a huge cash bonanza after taking gold in the men's 10m Air Rifle, in one of the most thrilling shooting finals in Olympic history.
India, winners of eight field hockey golds, had never won an individual Olympic title before Bindra's feat.
This is an individual medal. It's a greater achievement. I was the captain of a team that won a gold but this is far bigger," said Vasudevan Bhaskaran, captain of the Indian hockey team that won gold at the Moscow Games in 1980.
Tributes were sent by President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi, while Bindra's family home in Chandigarh in northern India was thronged with well-wishers.
"Abhinav has shown the world that an Indian can also stand on the podium," said Indian track and field legend P.T. Usha, whose best was an Asian Games gold.
Several Indian states were quick to announce cash awards totalling four million rupees (95,000 dollars), with an additional three million rupees from the central government and 2.5 million from an unlikely donor -- the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"Hearty congratulations to Abhinav Bindra for winning India's first ever individual gold medal at the Olympics. He has done the country proud," BCCI president Sharad Pawar said.
India is currently facing its four-yearly dilemma of watching cricket or switching to the Olympics -- although this time the Beijing extravaganza appears to have gained ground.
A poll conducted by one of the Games sponsors found that almost 70 percent of city-bred Indians will closely follow the action in Beijing despite a clash with India's cricket tour of Sri Lanka.
[ 本帖最后由 shunitang 于 2008-8-13 16:10 编辑 ] |
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