Sunil Gavaskar Calls 2021 The Most Memorable Year for Indian Sports

Will India do better in 2022?

The year took off with a Test series win in Australia in January. Defeating Australia in their home country was a milestone achievement for the Indians. These special moments of glory were followed by young athlete Neeraj Chopra winning India its first Olympic gold medal in javelin throw in Tokyo. He flung the javelin and it fell 87.58 m, bettering the score set by his peers. Winning gold in a track and field event has been a rarity for an Indian athlete. However, the Indian contingent set record medal tallies in both the Olympics and Paralympics.

India finished with seven medals in Tokyo, its highest ever in Olympic history. So Sunil Gavaskar, an active sports fanatic, is right to make the statement in the context of the upcoming Sportstar Aces Awards, where he is a chairman of the jury. "It's probably been one of the most memorable years for Indian sport,” said the former Indian skipper. “Starting with the Indian cricket team's fantastic win in Brisbane and then in England. Yes, there was the disappointment of not winning the World Test Championship and the T20 World Cup, but overall, the cricketing performance was very good. Then, at the Olympics, the performances of our athletes just blew us all away. India held its head high when Neeraj Chopra won the gold. When Mirabai Chanu lifted silver, we felt that we had all lifted the entire world on our shoulders. And then came the performances from our Paralympians which was also terrific."

Temperament is the key

Sunil Gavaskar also spoke about the basic criteria for shortlisting nominees across different categories. According to the batting legend, temperament is one of the most important aspects. “While it is difficult to assess what temperament is in sports other than cricket for me, that's where other members of the jury come in very useful, and they talk about their experience. So, you look at the achievements, you look at the competition level, you sometimes look at the venue. You look at countries where there could be a situation where the athlete might not get the kind of diet that he/she actually wants. So, all those things come into consideration, and therefore it is challenging. But it is something that makes it more interesting,' he said.

The record-breaking icon Gavaskar believes that both success and failure can act as a springboard for future success.“Sometimes there is much more to learn from a failure than from success,” he said. “The mindset of the Indian athletes now is not just to participate but to win. Since some of them have not had the best of Olympics, hopefully, they would have learnt from it, they would have learn about the pressure and will be able to cope better the next time around. It won’t be a surprise if India wins even more medals in Paris 2024," he said before stating that it is a privilege to witness India's growth in sports.