From medal winner to medal carrier : Bizarre and shocking
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: March 15, 2013 -

The incident was bizarre and shocking. Perhaps what was more bizarre and more shocking was the explanation.

The mentality sucks.

On March 13, 2013, three women cyclists, Manorama Devi, Sunita Devi and Anjana metamorphosed from being cyclists and participants in the Asian Cycling Championships underway at Greater Noida to ceremonial staff, carrying the medal trays to felicitate the winners in the road race competition of the said Championship !

Shocking and bizarre.

As if this was not enough, organising secretary of the championships, Mr Onkar Singh justified it, asserting, "It is no way demeaning the girls. It's an innovative way of felicitation. Giving a medal to an Asian champion is an honour....It also conveys a mark of respect for a better cyclist. We used to do it in our college events."

More shocking and more bizarre. No wonder India with a billion plus population is hard pressed to produce a medal winner at the Olympics and even at the Asian Games.

Extend the argument put forth by Mr Onkar Singh and one may as well make the Bronze medallist present the Silver to the second placed competitor with the Silver medallist doing the same to the Gold medallist.

What better way than to show respect to a better performer ? Perhaps the organising secretary mistook a sports event with a beauty pageant, where the former Miss or Mrs crowns the new winner !

This is not how sports should be run and certainly this is not how sportspersons should be treated. This is the Asian Championships and not an event at the college level.

Take the fact that Manorama Devi had won the Silver medal in the Keirin race at the same championship earlier and the conduct of the organisers becomes all that more unacceptable.

Given the explanation of Mr Onkar, then he may as well be made to offer platitude to the organising secretary of cycling at the Olympics, for here is a much bigger and more challenging cycling event and what better way than this to demonstrate one's respect to a person behind a bigger event ?

Given the manner in which sports bodies and sports events are managed and run in the country, it would not be surprising if the incident at Greater Noida fails to grab prime time in mainstream media.

Respecting the winner, respecting the best is the universal ethos that rules the world of sports and sportspersons, but in the process this should not mean demeaning others.

This obviously flew over the head of the organising secretary and the justification issued has only gone to confirm how sportspersons continue to be tossed around by people in positions of power and authority.

Fortunate that this mindset has not percolated to other sports organisations or else imagine the ruckus and outbursts if members of the Indian cricket team are made to carry the medal trays after being beaten in a tournament by Pakistan !

Sensitivity is perhaps not one of the virtues of Mr Onkar Singh but in issuing the justification and the explanation, he has exposed his haughtiness and shallowness.

Certainly not the way to treat sportspersons, especially not someone who has already won a Silver at an earlier event.

The organising secretary of the Asian Cycling Championships need to graduate from the college level mentality and come to terms with the fact that he is dealing with real sportspersons and not some college students.

Or else how does one explain his justification that such a practise is done at the college level !

The farce should stop and the body behind the event should issue an apology to all sportspersons for it is not merely a question of three cyclists being 'humiliated' but is also a question of how sportspersons are being treated.