India shining at London 2012?

More glory to follow for India?

Winning 3 medals (2 Bronze and a Silver) was something which was not quite expected from the Indian contingent at the ongoing London Games.

Gagan Narang, Vijay Kumar (surprise surprise!) and Saina Nehwal have probably given India their best ever start in Olympic History.

For a nation with its supposedly ‘lack of sporting culture’, winning three medals, so early into an Olympic tournament shows there definitely has been a change in fortunes for  India, at least at this edition of the Olympics. Take Vijay Kumar for instance.

Kumar won silver in the individual 25 meter Rapid pistol shooting event, a result which even the most optimistic of fans could not have predicted.

The amazing part is that Kumar, who serves as a ‘subedar’ in the Indian Army, hails from a small village in Himachal Pradesh, and despite being an ‘unknown’ part of the shooting team, shot his way to glory.

While a medal from Nehwal was expected, Narang too surpassed expectations (and Abhinav Bindra of course!) by clinching a well-fought Bronze in the 10 meter Air rifle event.

So do the above medals reflect a change in India’s sporting scenario, or is it just a passing phase?

While some may argue that these medals are ‘just a flash in the pan’, the optimists may believe that they are a sign of good things to come.

Though I feel tempted to agree with the latter, I believe that hopes of India becoming a sporting power on the basis of these 3 medal wins may be expecting too much.

But I do agree that Kumar, Narang and Nehwal have definitely given India its best-ever start in its Olympic history and probably may have just set the tone for even more medals to follow.

So here is hoping India wins a few more medals at the Games and hopefully this edition is just be the start of a new beginning for Indian sport.