Forget the medals, India has the mace

It is difficult being an Indian during the Olympics. Especially so in a China Daily newsroom consisting of Americans and Britons; and, of course, Chinese.

Those familiar with Indian athletic prowess politely avoid the issue. But a visiting senior editor from Hong Kong, sitting next to me, scoured the medals table before asking: Where is India?

India is where it has always been - at the bottom of the table. A female wrestler notched up a solitary bronze on Wednesday night.

Then began that dreaded conversation Indians are so used to. Why can't a nation of more than 1.2 billion pro-duce gold? How is the infra-structure? Are the training facilities good? Do parents prevent kids from sport because of the rigors involved in reaching the top?

Back home, too, is a similar debate for it is time for the quadrennial self-flagellation combined with a lacing of humor.

Writer Manu Joseph, advising his compatriots to take a chill pill and writing under the headline "Why Indians should not feel bad", started off with "once every four years, the world unites to humiliate Indians. Cities even bid with great aggression years in advance to host the torture and billions are eventually spent to achieve the end. No other nation is as shamed by the Olympics as India is..." before listing reasons not to feel so wretched.

Even in China, some seemingly solicitous media organizations waded in with their own take.

Chinanews.com said it is the lack of a sports culture in India that led to lack of Olympic success.

"Indian culture hinders local sports development. Most families want their children to become doctors or accountants. Sports talents are persuaded by family and even neighbors, stopping them from taking part in high-level competitions," the article said.

Toutiao.com thought it had the answer. "Cricket is the national sport of India. Indians love it so much that it is like a religion. In India, those who don't like cricket are regarded as pagan. Indians love cricket and are proficient at it, but sadly, cricket is not among Olympic events, Indians can't win a gold medal with it."

Well, there is hope yet for there is talk about cricket being an Olympic sport in 2020.

Meanwhile, as the rest of the world was distracted by Rio, cricket was being played by the top-ranked nations: Pakistan held England to a 2-2 draw away; Australia was white-washed 3-0 by Sri Lanka at home; and India, after defeating the West Indies in the Caribbean, is the No 1 team in the world.

For that effort, India will be presented with a champions' mace - which appears to weigh more than a 100 Olympic golds.

Contact the writer at ravi@chinadaily.com.cn