Sing our heroes....

We Indians have this bad habit of quickly forgetting our heroes. Especially, those in the field of sports, even in the field of cricket. Sportsmen/women have bought glory in the past but its all so flash-in-the-pan existence that we live. If this movie on Mary Kom would not have been made we would have forgotten her achievements – literally, its like raat gaayi, baat gayi.

Thus it comes as no surprise to know that we had an illustrious swimmer, Sachin Nag. He was the gold medalist in 1951 edition of the Asian games. And like most sad stories of such unsung heroes, he quietly passed away way back in 1987 and led a life of difficulty and simply no recognition. He was never acknowledged for his service to the country as a sportsman.  

He earned words of appreciation from the then PM, Jawaharlal Nehru. He did not have any swanky swimming pool to learn his strokes; he learnt swimming in the Ganges in Varanasi and became proficient. Nag also represented the country in water polo and India had actually beaten Chile by 7-4 and it was Nag who lead the victory by scoring 4 goals. Sadly, when India hosted the Asian Games in 1982, he did not even get an invitation to attend, Ironically, the Asian Games Village at Siri Fort in Delhi has a block named after Sachin Nag. How much more satirical can life get!

We need to encourage sportsmen like these so that there are others who are encouraged to follow in their footsteps. If past legends are allowed to die a quiet death, what does winning accolades for the country really mean? The present Asian Games winners need to think about Nag and many such other record holders.