There are some real heroes in other sports as well, says Gautam Gambhir
Former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir has acknowledged that the Indian sports have some real heroes, who came up with exceptional performances at the recently concluded Asian Games. Registering their best ever performance at the Asian Games, the Indian players accumulated a total of 69 medals.
Gautam Gambhir mentioned that the cricketers in India have always been placed on a higher pedestal because there is a huge section of Indian crowd that follows the game. However, he acknowledged that there are some real heroes in other sports as well and that they have made the country proud at the Asian Games 2018.
"It has been fabulous, absolutely fascinating. Look at Swapna Barman's story. This is what creates heroes. I have always been a believer that cricketers are put on a pedestal because cricket is the most popular sport in the country. But there are some absolute, real heroes in other sports as well. Look at what our athletes have done, look at what your badminton players have done, look at what your shooters have done. They have worked equally hard. There are many more heroes (in non-cricket sports) as compared to what you create in cricket in India. These are the actual heroes,” Gambhir said in
Out of 69 medals, Indian players achieved at the Asian Games, 15 of them were gold. Star performers like Dutee Chand, Tejinderpal Singh Toor, Swapna Barman, Vinesh Phogat, Bajrang Punia, gave fantastic performances. Gambhir hoped that the situation of our athletes would improve after this edition of Asian Games.
“They (non-cricket sports athletes) have gone through so much financially, from the facilities point of view. Personally
“But people would have never recognised them had they not won the medals, but from now on I hope things get better and some of our athletes don't have to struggle so much.