Cricket without boundaries

Bindra’s gold medal – pointer to future?

Abhinav Bindra’s first-ever individual Olympic gold medal for India has showed his countrymen they can now on dare to succeed at the greatest sporting stage.

His victory in the 10m air rifle after a tense finish on Monday spoke volumes about his composure and has given his team mates the confidence they can go on and claim more medals in Beijing to shake off the unwanted tag as a “one-medal” nation.

While Bindra’s success is being toasted as a great sporting moment in India, it will also go a long way to help prove the country is much more than a cricketing nation. His triumph ironically came on a day when the cricketers slumped to an eight-wicket defeat in Colombo, handing hosts Sri Lanka a 2-1 series victory following another batting debacle.

So, will Bindra’s effort inspire cricket-mad Indians to look beyond cricket and push them to excel in other sports?

Overnight leading golfer Jeev Milkha Singh, in superb form this season, almost did the unthinkable after he finished in the top 10 of a major when he tied for ninth in the USPGA championship.

Much needs to be done in terms of sports administration and infrastructure, but have the seeds of future success beyond the cricketing fields been sown?