India's hidden diamonds could add up more Olympic medals
An unbelievable and amazing feat done by an Indian who is not even a professional athlete or a runner but unknowingly broke the record of Usain Bolt who is the fastest runner in the world. That too, running 100 m in 9.55 seconds breaking Usain Bolt's record without wearing any shoes. In this case, it was a competition to run along with buffaloes and Srinivasa Gowda, a jockey crossed 142.5 meters in just 13.62 seconds at a "Kambala" or Buffalo race in a slushy paddy field. I truly believe that India has talent in every corner in the raw form.
They just have to be found. Once found, they need to be motivated and nurtured to get into sports competitions all the way leading to the Olympics. India celebrates Olympics medalist with a statue of a God but ignores those who don't know about Olympics or those raw talents that exist out there living their life with a lot of talent. This is one such example and an amazing story. I hope to see this story with an ending leading to an Olympic medal and further motivating more raw talent.
I have seen while growing up some amazing swimmers in my life who never competed in formal sports competitions but could have been great in the world of sports. Same goes with the people who were doing their occupational trades whether to raise animals or run after them they had speed, agility and practice and determination but again never competed in any formal sports program or competitions because they are uneducated or just living their life.
One such diamond found by India was our own Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh. Many stories are written and movies made on him after his discovery and running accomplishments. But when we look back to his running debut it was just to win a competition where top 10 runners would get milk, two eggs and excuse from exercise while in the army. A lot more stories like this can be found in every corner of India.
Every medalist India has produced so far has a great story behind their journey. A lot of raw talent exists in India that might be doing great things routinely without knowing their actual potential. This could be in the form of their own trade or occupation or even their family tradition. If we could only tap into this undiscovered raw talent then India has then we could probably easily win more Olympic medals and give hope for many living in every corner of India.