Rural India shines again; this time it is Asian Games

India ended its campaign in the sporting spectacle in the sixth position with 14 gold, bettering the 13 won at home in Delhi 28 years ago, 17 silver and 33 bronze medals.

The total medal haul of 64 here is also the highest for India in Asiad history as it bettered the 1982 haul in Delhi of 57 comprising 13-19-25.

Here are the India’s gold winners at the Asian Games.

Here are the India’s gold winners at the Asian Games
1. Defending champion Pankaj Advani notched up India’s first gold medal in this edition of the Asian Games in men’s Billiards singles event after defeating Oo Nay Thway Oo of Myanmar 3-2.

2. In a sparkling show, Sudha Singh fetched India’s second gold medal in track and field events and fifth overall by winning the 3000m Steeplechase event with her personal-best timing.

3. Somdev Devvarman created history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal in the men’s singles tennis event of the Asian Games after outplaying top seed and world number 44 Denis Istomin 6-1 6-2 in the lop-sided summit clash.

4. Somdev Devvarman and Sanam Singh combined superbly to win first gold medal for India in the tennis event in the 2010 edition of the Games, as the sixth seed pair shocked second seed Chinese Gong Maoxin and Li Zhe 6-3 6-7(4) 10-8 in the final.

5. World number one Vijender Singh (75kg) clinched an unprecedented second boxing gold for India at the Asian Games.

6. Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji took centre stage as she snatched the gold in the women’s 400 m hurdles with a timing of 56.15.

7. Ronjan Sodhi of India won the individual gold medal in the men’s Double Trap event of the Asian Games shooting. Sodhi shot a combined score of 186 to win the gold four points ahead of Dalmook Al-Maktoum of the United Arab Emirates at the Guangzhou Shotgun Centre.

8. Top Indian long-distance runner Preeja Sreedharan clocked a personal best of 31:50:47 in the women’s 10,000m final to clinch the country’s fourth gold medal at the Asian Games. She also won a silver medal in women’s 5000m race.

9. Indian women’s 4X400m relay team, comprising of Manjeet Kaur, Chithra Kulathummuriyil Soman, Jauna Murmu, Ashwini Chidananda Akkunji, Sini Jose and Mandeep Kaur, scripted history after winning gold for India.

10. Teen sensation Vikas Krishna ended Indian boxing’s 12-year-old gold medal drought in the Asian Games by winning the lightweight (60kg) title.

11. Armyman Bajrang Lal Takhar won a historic gold in men’s singles scull at the Asian Games. Bajrang Lal’s gold is first for an Indian rower at the Games.

12. Indian women’s Kabaddi team also won its maiden Asian Games gold medal, beating Thailand 28-14 in the final. Women’s Kabaddi made its debut in the 2010 Games.

13. The Indian men’s Kabaddi team beat Iran 37-20 and maintained their winning streak in the sport since its introduction in 1990.

14. Joseph Abraham Ganapathiplackal also clinched gold medal in the men’s 400m hurdles(http://www.ndtv.com/album/detail/asian-games-indias-gold-winners-8683/16)

Daughter of coolie parents brings glory to India

Hermunde village in Udupi district chants ‘kabaddi, kabaddi’ as Mamata Poojary wins the Best Raider award at the Asian Games

In the world that Mamata Poojary grew up, there are no second chances.

Before the talent spotters discovered her, she lived with her parents in a remote hamlet in Dakshina Kannada district where they had no electricity, where two decent meals a day was a luxury, and where even now no vehicle can drive up to her doorstep because there are no motorable roads.

Her parents are coolies, her brother works in a garage. Mamata had to trudge five to six kilometres to school every day. The fish that she or her brother caught in the roiling stream near their home was the only ‘delicacy’ her family could afford. Fish, fried or pickled, incidentally remains her favourite dish.

On Friday  Nov 26, India beat Thailand 28-14 at Guangzhou to win the gold medal in women’s kabaddi and Mamata was adjudged Best Raider of the Asian Games.

It is the well-deserved reward for the backcountry lass who had nothing but her lithe 5-foot-11-inch  frame and a survival ethic that forced her to optimise every sliver of opportunity that came her way.

In Dakshina Kannada where Mamata grew up, ever since the news filtered in, they have been chanting kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi, kabaddi… or is that Mamata Mamata..? She was first spotted during a game at Gadag in 2001. She was studying at the Government PU College in Muniyal, Karkala taluk of Udupi, and when Purushotham Poojary, president of the DK Kabaddi Association and physical director at the Sri Gokarnatheshwara College in Mangalore, saw her he knew right away that here was a champion in the making.

Poojary told Bangalore Mirror, “Mamata was the only player in the Udupi team who was actually playing. I spoke to the coach who said she was a brilliant player but came from a financially backward family and that she was willing to come to Mangalore if you are willing to coach her.”

Much of the current jubilation is at the DK district Kabaddi Association where Mamata first honed her skills. Despite being poor, her parents never dissuaded her from sports. “She was very hardworking and understood her family problems. She never allowed anyone to get to know of her difficulties,” Poojary added.

When she first came to Mangalore, Mamata stayed at a hostel run by the then president of the association for six months before getting admission to the Backward Community Hostel. During her three years at the Sri Gokarnatheshwara College, she represented the University at various national level competitions.

Poojary had insisted that she stay focussed on kabaddi rather than participating in all games as was the norm in other colleges. “She had disagreed several times back then,” he recalls, “but it has paid off.”

The turning point came during an All India Invitation Match in Mumbai where she represented the association. The team reached the semifinals and she was adjudged the best raider, said Poojary.

Dhanam Reddy from the Southern Railways asked Mamata if she would play for their team and offered her a job in Andhra Pradesh. But Mamata was then in the final year of her BA course and unwilling to give up her studies.

“I told her that she could complete her education later but needed to take up the job. She did, but returned last year to clear her exams,” Poojary said. Mamata’s economics lecturer, Chandra K, was also all praise for her discipline and determination.
“Despite her job coming in the way, she returned after a gap of two years and cleared all the papers,” he said. “Before leaving for the Asian Games, she had come to seek our blessings,” says Poojary.(http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/1/20101129201011290514465872c64639/Daughter-of-coolie-parents-brings-glory-to-india.html)