New Delhi: Till sometime back, India was not known to be a sporting power in endurance and strength sports. But along with increasing prominence in global politics and power-play, a new sporting narrative is seemingly emerging with no small contribution from the country’s 13-lakh-strong Army.
The Indian Army’s plan and its near-perfect execution with the twin mantra of “catch them young” and “early recruitment” to carve out the force’s own niche in the sports arena is paying off well and how!!
Two out of three gold medals won by India till Monday (August 1, 2022) at the ongoing Commonwealth Games being held in Birmingham are by Indian Army sportsmen even as other hopefuls prowl in the shadows.
On Sunday, Jeremy Lalrinnunga, all of 19 years and hailing from Mizoram’s Aizawl, won a weightlifting gold on Sunday in the men’s 67 kg category) while Achinta Sheuli, 20, and hailing from Deulpur in West Bengal, won the gold in the 73 kg category.
Not just that, both set new Commonwealth Games records by lifting 313 and 300 kg respectively, shattering old Games’ benchmarks. And the icing on the cake is that both of them are from the Indian Army who were picked up quite early on by Indian Army sports talent spotters.
While Lalrinnunga is a Naib Subedar from the 17, Guards, Sheuli is a Havildar with the Corps of Signals. After being identified at a very young age, both Lalrinnunga and Sheuli enrolled at the Army Sports Institute, Pune.
Since 2001, the Indian Army has been implementing a well-structured and planned programme called “Mission Olympics” with a “Mission Olympics Wing” and various “Mission Olympic Wing Nodes” equipped with suitable facilities. Already, the programme has yielded a rich Olympics bounty.
Tokyo Olympic Games 2020 Gold Medalist javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, who missed out on CWG 2022 due to a groin injury, is also Naib Subedar in the Army. There are two silvers—in double trap shooting (Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Athens 2004) and in 25 m rapid fire pistol (Vijay Kumar, London 2012.
The core of the Army’s effort involves providing state-of-the-art infrastructure and employing qualified national and international coaches in various sporting disciplines.
The initiative includes a Long Term Athletes Development (LTAD) programme, provision of sports science facilities and a robust psychological strengthening programme. Of the total 210-member strong Indian sports delegation to the Commonwealth Games 2022, 19 are from the Indian Army.
Besides weightlifting, the 19 Indian Army men are taking part in 4 x 400 m relay, marathon, 10 km race walk, 3,000 m steeple chase, boxing, gymnastics, wrestling, javelin throw, Triathlon, and para swimming. The Birmingham 2022 Games began on July 28 and will conclude on August 8.
