stellar monthBy Poonam MehraNew Delhi, Oct 29 (PTI) From the badminton court to thecricket ground, from the hockey stadium to the football pitch,it has been a month to remember for Indian sports. Andperformance was not the only yardstick.
As millions of fans took pride and delight in the all-Indian men's semifinal at the French Open badminton yesterday,it was a reminder that India is slowly but surely carving itsplace as an ambitious sporting nation. Never before has thecountry achieved so many successes in one month as thisOctober.
"When a confident young nation starts to apply itself,change is always visible. Successes are due to the efforts ofthe athletes and coaches," Sports Minister Rajyavardhan SinghRathore told PTI.
Whether it was the action on the field of play or hostingfor the first time, marquee events such as the FIFA under-17World Cup, the country has reasons to be proud of on multiplecounts.
The shuttlers dazzled consistently, the hockey teamcontinued a revival march, the cricketers dominatedeffortlessly and amid all this, the under-17 football WorldCup had fans flocking to stadiums despite the home team'searly ouster.
"The successful hosting of FIFA under-17 World Cup in thebackdrop of Mission XI Million has given football a fillip. Weaim primacy of athletes, coaches, and fans in the sportsarchitecture of the country," Rathore said.
"We are for Suvidha and Samman (facilities and respect)to players. I am happy that our players too are respondingwith their dedication and determination to bring laurels tothe country. Programmes like Khelo India will take forward themomentum of the current brilliant performance," he said.
Among the highlights this month was Kidambi Srikanth'sDenmark Open triumph and the men's hockey team's first AsiaCup title win in 10 years. Add to this, the cricket team'sdemolition of world champions Australia as well as some tennisand golfing cheer.
And the man, who is, without doubt, the toast of thenation right now, Virat Kohli, did his bit to increase theeuphoria by going past the great Ricky Ponting to be thesecond highest accumulator of ODI hundreds.
Srikanth, who now has three titles under his belt thisyear, is aiming for his fourth after reaching the final of theFrench Open badminton after beating H S Prannoy yesterday inan all-Indian semifinal. P V Sindhu, however, lost in thesemifinal of the women's singles yesterday.
While India remained a novice on the football field, itwon the bragging rights of conducting a FIFA Under-17 WorldCup for the first time, which was declared a "resoundingsuccess" by the world body's boss -- Gianni Infantino. It washardly a surprise given that the hosts managed to breakattendance records for an age group world cup.
Away from the buzz that the under-17 World Cupsurprisingly generated, India also smoothly pulled off hosting-- again for the first time -- the ISSF Shooting World CupFinal.
The creme-de-la-creme of international shooting descendedon the Indian capital for the season's finale at the KarniSingh Ranges and the host nation's best ever performance inthe event, a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal, made itmemorable in more ways than one.
Adding to the cheer were the on-mark archers, who notchedup a silver medal at the World Championships in Argentina.
All things put together, rarely has a single monthbrought so many sporting reasons for India to celebrate. Andthe most heartening aspect of it all has been that cricket wasjust one of the contributing factors.
It was a very expected first-round exit from the under-17World Cup but it was nonetheless made unforgettable for thenation by Jeakson Singh, a 16-year-old son of a street vendorin Manipur, who became the first Indian to score a goal in aFIFA World Cup.
The strike against Colombia was certainly one for thehistory books and is unlikely to be forgotten. Then there werethe shuttlers, a consistent bunch of performers, ensuring thatalmost every weekend had a title up for grabs for the country.
The striking feature of the Indians' rising stature ininternational badminton has been their ability to regularlyget the better of Chinese players, the most formidable in theworld despite their recent slump.
The cricketers, on the other hand, went about theirbusiness with usual elan. Kohli's men have been nearlyunstoppable for a while now and being at home has made themjust a shade more dominating and intimidating.
The Australians were the most recent to be at thereceiving end of this intensity and they hardly looked likeworld champions in what can only be described as a soundthrashing.
In fact, it wouldn't be wrong to say that sports providedthe Diwali fireworks, which seem to be on the wane with everypassing year. PTI PM VJCM.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.