Olympic heroes given grand welcome

By Sunit Kaul

New Delhi

Aug. 26: It was a welcome that would have been an eye-opener for a victorious Indian cricket team. India received its sporting heroes with open arms as the two bronze medallists — boxer Vijender Singh and wrestler Sushil Kumar —touched down at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the early hours on Tuesday after a historic campaign at Beijing.

Sweat dripping from every pore, thousands of fans —mostly from the hinterland — craned their necks to catch a glimpse of the duo and the rest of the Indian contingent. Drums beat alongside and the fireworks joined the symphony, but their sound was drowned by hordes of wildly cheering supporters, who had come all the way from Najafgarh and Bhiwani district, Sushil and Vijender’s hometowns.

The security was far from stringent, considering the sensitive nature of the visit. Excitement in the crowd ran high and reached a crescendo when Sushil broke free from his security cordon to hug his family and innumerable friends. The securitymen had a tough time controlling them, but nobody complained.

"I cannot explain how happy I am to see so many people turning up to receive me. This reception is motivational enough for me to work with renewed vigour to win gold next time," said Sushil, addressing his fellow wrestlers from Chattarsal stadium and from other akhadas.

Vijender, though, missed out on the moment as he was whisked away in an armoured car straight from the terminal exit. But 21-year-old Jitender Kumar and his mentor Akhil Kumar more than made up for their partner’s quick getaway.

Akhil was the crowd’s favourite and remained remarkably calm as he was lifted up on his shoulders by aides, hounded by photographers who leaned over each other to snap that perfect shot, and almost tackled by mediapersons who tried to get close to catch that soundbyte.

In the midst of this pandemonium were his childhood friends who came up to the boxing veteran asking if he still remembered them in this glory. "Yes," replied Akhil.

"I owe it all to you... I was waiting for you guys," he said, cueing manic cheers from them.

Not very far, Sushil tried to do an Akhil, by climbing on the shoulders of a friend. After few failed attempts, the grappler and his mentor Sat Pal opted for an open air jeep instead.

A large group of Indian Olympic association and Sports Ministry officials, including the minister M.S. Gill, came to recieve the sportspersons.

However their meeting was shortlived and the crowd took over soon. This night belonged to them.