Nima perhaps was the surprise package of the tournament. But apparently her Gold was not significant
What is common between Nima Gharti Magar, Phupu Lhamu Khatri and Nepali football team? I tried this question with a few people. A few did get it right. They are the ones who got three golds for us in the recently concluded 13th South Asian Games (SAG).Sports and politics have a symbiotic relation in Nepal. Panchayat regime, I am told, used sports to expand its cadre base. Parties ever since have simply followed suit. Interestingly, the idea goes beyond our borders. Sports bodies in South East Asia are chaired by one politician or the other. In India, you can barely disassociate a political leader from cricket, not even incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was the president of Gujarat Cricket Association.
That's the political side. Besides, not every gold won, or for that matter every medal, carries equal significance. Some medals are more important. There was a time when cricket stole all sporting headlines while we were witnessing the slow demise of Nepali football.
Winning the gold in SAG football was sweet. We beat India which until recently was punishing Nepal with a blockade. Perhaps this was the one and only medium through which we could appear more powerful than India. We had revenge to take. The gold did that for us.
Would we still have rejoiced Nepal's victory against India had there been no blockade? Yes. Traditionally men's football has been the highlight in major sporting events, including Olympics. The fact that the game is played in huge stadiums and therefore is watched by many certainly makes it big. There is fascination with the poor man's game. Not many great sporting heroes we know today are outside of football. Pele still remains the greatest sporting icon ever. He played football. He was poor. As much as we may have rejoiced the football victory, it's worth noting that it could be least concern to Indian sports fans who live, breathe and sleep cricket.
The victorious team was paraded round the city. The team was felicitated by almost everyone. The tradition of heroic welcome has been around for a while and is here to stay. This is logical and also provides an opportunity to government to take populist steps. As soon as Nepal won gold, our sports minister announced Rs 200,000 each for gold medalists. But after consulting the Prime Minister, they decided to increase cash rewards to Rs 500,000 each. He certainly could have said the government had decided to award half a million rupees to each victor.
Preparation for the games was pathetic this time too. It's long since we have seen any sporting event in Kathmandu. The fact that we do not have proper grounds and well-equipped halls speaks volumes. Whatever facilities we have are rather venues for tea parties. Rangashala hosted a recent Tribhuvan University convocation program. It's where last homage is paid to great leaders.
Nima perhaps was, as news report suggests, the surprise package of the tournament. Her gold apparently was less significant.
Listening to Nima on radio after her return was fascinating. It was story about true passion for sports sans any support. It was heartwarming to hear her share the story of being late in school every day as she had to practice. The fact that she got into Wushu seeing some people practice from her window is inspiring.
The reason we did not take Nima on a parade could be many. It could be that we have never paraded an individual sports winner. It could be that Wushu is an easy game, a kind of 'home' game. It could be that sports where we had expectations and hence winning in it did not take us by surprise. We could also say that it is less competitive.
Ask any sportsperson and you will know that there is nothing like an easy sport. The reason we think some sports are easier than others is that we simply don't understand the rules of those games.
Could we do it now? The excitement would have died down, both of public and player themselves. However, given the state in which we have seen our sportsperson practice, it would make sense to honor each of them who does us proud in the international arena.
The cases and instances of collective success are few. Could it be that we as a society have reached such a fragmented positioning that anything that symbolizes unity makes us happy? I followed the games not because I am in love with them. Whether one admits it or not, the reality was we did not expect much from the games.
Nima's story demands better recognition. The story of Phupu Lhamu is equally fascinating. Judokas are powerful and yet they cannot win by sheer power. The game demands perfect reading and use of right tactics at right times. Furthermore, Phupu's gold was first ever by a female Judoka, a historic event indeed!
We had a social media explosion after defeating India in football. We had spontaneous rallies, where we sang victory slogans. The highlight of the cheering was 'ridiculing' India more than winning a gold medal. Interestingly, both Nima and Phupu had defeated Indians to finish first.
Hiteshkarki@gmail.com