If Cricket is a religion in India, then Sachin is a God that millions of Indian worship. India is a cricket crazy nation as much as Brazil has its football/soccer fever. But the question here is, has cricket killed off other sports in India?
Yeah, cricketers get the bulk of the attention and fuss, they are always front and center of any event, be it their million buck endorsements, their love life, the after-parties, the scandals and match-fixing, and yes occasionally playing the sport for which they have been selected. But we do see other sports and sporting personalities slowly but steadily stepping out of cricket's gigantic shadow.
Other sporting personalities too have made their mark and have gained popularity (and some endorsements). Be it in tennis, badminton, archery, shooting, boxing and above all wrestling. We have Grand Slam champions in tennis in the form of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, with Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza not far behind. Saina Nehwal is ranked at the top with the Chinese player and even got us our first medal in badminton during the summer games at London. Of course Vijendra Singh made a name for himself famously in the boxing ring (infamously outside it). And who can forget the inspirational Mary Kom. Finally our wrestlers, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar, did us proud and helped us get our best medal haul at the Olympics and taught a lesson of humility and dedication.
Besides these personalities, football has been a part of our school systems for quite a while now. The various inter-school divisions have been around for over decades. Besides football, we also have various hockey divisions in schools and colleges. Football has a sizable fan following here too. There are ardent fans of the top clubs in the English Premier, the LA Liga and the Bundesliga and their players (even though not a single Indian player feature in them). Surprisingly you will find more teenagers sporting their favorite club's jersey than even any IPL franchise. Formula One too is finding its footing here with the Indian Grand Prix. And you have the supporters of the NBA.
All this points to the fact other sports are alive and kicking, in this country. These sports may not match the blind devotion that people have towards cricket. So in short, cricket hasn't killed other sports. They are very much there and making their presence felt.
Yeah, cricketers get the bulk of the attention and fuss, they are always front and center of any event, be it their million buck endorsements, their love life, the after-parties, the scandals and match-fixing, and yes occasionally playing the sport for which they have been selected. But we do see other sports and sporting personalities slowly but steadily stepping out of cricket's gigantic shadow.
Other sporting personalities too have made their mark and have gained popularity (and some endorsements). Be it in tennis, badminton, archery, shooting, boxing and above all wrestling. We have Grand Slam champions in tennis in the form of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, with Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza not far behind. Saina Nehwal is ranked at the top with the Chinese player and even got us our first medal in badminton during the summer games at London. Of course Vijendra Singh made a name for himself famously in the boxing ring (infamously outside it). And who can forget the inspirational Mary Kom. Finally our wrestlers, Yogeshwar Dutt and Sushil Kumar, did us proud and helped us get our best medal haul at the Olympics and taught a lesson of humility and dedication.
Besides these personalities, football has been a part of our school systems for quite a while now. The various inter-school divisions have been around for over decades. Besides football, we also have various hockey divisions in schools and colleges. Football has a sizable fan following here too. There are ardent fans of the top clubs in the English Premier, the LA Liga and the Bundesliga and their players (even though not a single Indian player feature in them). Surprisingly you will find more teenagers sporting their favorite club's jersey than even any IPL franchise. Formula One too is finding its footing here with the Indian Grand Prix. And you have the supporters of the NBA.
All this points to the fact other sports are alive and kicking, in this country. These sports may not match the blind devotion that people have towards cricket. So in short, cricket hasn't killed other sports. They are very much there and making their presence felt.
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