Storyline: The 3 G’s–Grit, Guts and Grandeur–describe an indispensable core, the athletic IP exemplified by three woman from India who participated in the Rio Olympics. Written by Rahul Goswami. Connect with Rahul on LinkedIn.
It is said that your victories are the best endorsement for the odds stacked up against you and the triumphs you bring with your efforts. This triumph of winning hearts propels you — “an arrival” — that give dreams to live for.
This article offers reverence to three women who exemplify the integration of what I call “The 3G’s“–Grit, Guts and Grandeur–for the glory that Indians yearned.
Sakshi Malik (photo, storypick.com)
Sakshi Malik hails from a small town of Rohtak in Haryana, the state that boasts of perennial gender dissension with highly skewed ratio of 867 women for every 1,000 men. In spite of her entry into wrestling–and her coach’s willingness to train young women alongside boys–she initially met with resistance from her family and the community, where the “sports” means “men machine.” Enduring all this, the 23-year-old is the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal and only the fourth female athlete from the country to climb to the podium at the biggest sporting event in the world.
Dipa Karmakar (photo, indianexpress.com)
Dipa Karmakar, who missed the bronze medal in the gymnastics vault final at the Rio Olympics by a whisker, was handicapped by flatfoot, a condition which affects the quality of jump. She also comes from a small town in remote state where no real equipment is available. She began training on a makeshift vault made out of parts of a scooter. The plight was not helped by the poor infrastructure for gymnastics in the state prompted by tenuous financial support and negligence towards women athletes. Repeated medical tests being conducted on her flat foot ruled her out of gymnastics. As they say, “madness is only for the mads.” With her now famous Produnova vault, Dipa is currently the most admired gymnast in the globe.
P.V. Sindhu (photo, ibtimes.co.uk)
P. V. Sindhu, a name that lived in the shadows of Saina Nehwal before Rio Olympics, is the first woman in India to win an Olympic Silver medal. She is the first Indian to win a silver in Badminton and the Youngest Indian (at the age of 21) to bag a medal at Olympic singles. Sindhu proved that the path from dreams to success does exist; the path is made of talent, determination, hard work and passion. She used to travel more than 50 kilometers everyday to get to her training centre in Hyderabad. Her practice session would start at 4 a.m. She pushed herself to the limit, challenging her to stretch herself higher and move with greater and greater speed and agility and flexibility.
Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar, and P V Sindhu did not just win hearts at Rio Olympics. The 3G also ranked on the list of most searched Indian athletes on Google. According to Google Trends-Olympics curation (August 18), 7 out of the 10 most searched athletes in India recently were women, with top-searched Indian athletes including Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar, and P. V. Sindhu.
Ibtimes.co.uk
Achievements of these women are a symbol of fortitude in games known for their endurance, flexibility, and courage. Just when India was showing signs of obliteration and stirred past in the Rio Olympics 2016, these girls sparked up the eyelids of every Indian by their sheer adrenaline rush.
“Jag ghoomeya thare jaisa na koi…….Jag ghoomeya thare jaisa na koi.”
(Eng. trans: “I wandered all over world but I have not met like you yet.”)
Winds of Change
Reluctant to be gasped
into the mortals of exquisites
Undeterred to be spasmed
By the colonial aesthetics
….I will totter through the mountainous range
….I will weather, to bring the winds of change.
The glitterings may have gleamed
The fervour may have beamed
Immaculate re-occurrences
with abundance; unchallenged prosperity
may have refused to leave
…..I will propel the enigmatic maze
…..I will weather, to bring the winds of change.
Conquering the future is void
With the ensconce of belittling past
The affirmations of the mighty Knights
Once primed – only will yield the sights.
…. I will bow resoundingly, to pay homage
…. I will weather, to bring the winds of change.
Conspicuous by the absence
Relinquished by the essence
The indigenous comparisons will pale
Yet, in the audacity of unprecedented hail
…. I will live another day to salvage
…. I will weather, to bring the winds of change.
Owing you a lot, for the unparalleled history
I will seed into the latent quintessential
…To indulge, to evoke for the spirited assuage
… I will weather, to bring the winds of change.
