From Kapil Dev to Abhinav Bindra and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to MC Marykom. And even the little known names of Murlikant Petkar and Sharath Gayakwad — both Paralympic swimmers. Rahul Dravid, who himself is a motivational figure for many around the world, invoked all of them to emphasise that for a ‘doer’ nothing is impossible.
Dravid was in Delhi on Tuesday for the first TCM Sports lecture. He started his 21-minute lecture in front of a full house with a truly inspiring story of Petkar, an army jawan who miraculously survived after being hit by seven bullets during the 1965 war. Petkar’s family refused to take care of him and left him in the hospital.
An upcoming boxer before the war, Petkar had to switch to other sports as he lost his limbs to injury. And he did that quite successfully winning India’s first-ever individual gold medal in 50m Freestyle swimming in the 1972 Paralympics in Heidelberg, Germany. He also broke the then world record.
“The athletes’ journeys, battles and victories may be their own but to see this phenomenon just as these individual journeys loses an opportunity; an opportunity to build a legacy of sport in our country,” Dravid said. The legacy that Kapil Dev’s 1983 team created left an indelible impact on Dravid’s mind. He was just 10 years old then.
“I remember being overwhelmed with emotions when Kapil Dev ran back to catch Viv Richards in 1983 World Cup final. When he lifted the World Cup, I was overjoyed…because I could feel something changed in me,” he said.
Dravid related the near-impossible task of beating the mighty West Indies after putting up just 183 on the board to the “deeds” of Major Dhayanchand and those who followed him for giving the coming generation the “belief” that victory is possible on world stage.
“Decades later there came a young boy from a small town. He achieved. He over-achieved. He won everything there was. He made the country proud. On the way, he put his small town on the world map. Today, people in Australia and West Indies know about Ranchi and it has a lot to do with MS Dhoni,” Dravid said highlighting how the success of a sportsperson can inspire a change in society.
“To me this is a journey started by the Dhyanchands and many hockey players that gave us the sporting heritage to be proud of. It was kept alive by our Kapil Devs and their outrageous aspirations and brought to our full potential by MS Dhoni.” Hailing all the achievers for their hard work and succeeding despite all odds, Dravid said it has changed the mindset of the people.
“I grew up in an environment where the dominant narrative of Indian sporting achievement was ‘we cannot’. The achievers have fought hard, built on each others body of work and knowledge and have today changed the script to ‘we can’. They have eaten away at practically every stereotype or excuse one can think of. It is a gift we have been given and now ‘we can’ needs to feed into an ‘I can’ attitude,” Dravid said.
On Sarita Devi
I am not really aware about what the points system in boxing is. But yes, I am sympathetic about how she must have felt after losing the semi-final. But I don’t think I supported what she did after 24 hours when she didn’t accept the medal. I think that was not a right thing to do. You have to remember that along with you, there were three others at the podium also. They have also worked hard for this day and by not accepting the medal, you also didn’t respect their achievements.
On Abhinav Bindra’s influence
Around 2008, I was in the middle of a lean patch. The runs had dried up and I was on the wrong side of 30s — that isn’t a good territory in Indian cricket! I needed to pick myself up. I knew I had another couple of years of cricket left in me. Around this time, I watched with glee as Abhinav Bindra shot his way to gold in Beijing Olympics. I still remember the adrenalin rush that I had felt at that time. Reading Abhinav’s autobiography was fascinating for me. His achievement emboldened me to give a last push to my own career.
On India’s chances in World Cup
The format is such that all top teams will play in the quarterfinals. From there on, You need three good days to win the World Cup. We have Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who can singlehandedly win a match. I am not saying it would be easy. It would be very tough but we can always be a bit lucky. Some good individual performance and we can win the World Cup.
On Mary Kom
If I had a daughter, I would have told her the story of MC Mary Kom. I’ve two sons and they will hear her story from me too. Every time I think of Mary I’m astounded how she defied all the odds to become the world champion and win the Olympic medal. She’s broken down so many barriers for Indian girls.