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| By Partho Burman |
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Tuesday, September 02, 2008 (10:05:58) |
| Tags : Sunita, Beijing Olympics, Fine Arts, Gold medal |
Sunita Lamba: An unsung hero of Beijing Olympics |
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| Sunita Lamba, making India proud |
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New Delhi: Besides the three geniuses - Abhinav Bindra, Sushil Kumar and Vijendra Kumar, there was another Indian, who made the nation proud by clinching the second gold medal for the country at the recently concluded Beijing Olympics 2008. The unsung artist is Sunita Lamba, who was declared as the 'best artist' in the global 'Fine-Arts' competition, jointly organised by the International Olympic Committee, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the organising committee of XXIX Olympiad at China International Exhibition Centre.
"To find a place in the Olympics Fine Arts was a cut throat competition, where 10,000 artists from 80 countries participated. But the paintings and sculptures of only 110 artists were selected for exhibition in the gallery of Olympics Fine Arts 2008," Sunita said, in an exclusive interview with Headlines India.
The International Olympics Committee Chairman, He Zhenliang inaugurated the exhibition on August 11. The Olympics Fine Art committee selected Sunita's 24-inches high bronze sculpture titled 'Unity' because it matched the theme of the exhibition - 'One World'. "I finally managed to give it a shape after many trials-and-errors," Sunita said. The exhibition would continue till September 20 and the artwork will further be showcased in other cities of China in the coming two years.
It was unfortunate that when the other over-night stars of the country were busy sharing their Beijing experience to one or the other TV channels, Sunita had to plead the government authorities to recognise her achievements.
The manner in which Sunita's Beijing achievement was ignored by the concerned authorites, certainly makes us to contemplate over the influence of money and politics in the post-victory ceremony. The story does not end here. It also leaves some unanswered questions.
Though her achievement can not be considered anything less than what Abhinav Bindra achieved but due to media and administrative apathy the country missed those moments of pride. Definitely her journey to Beijing was not that rosy in comparison to that of Bindras and Kumars. But she owes huge applause from the countrymen for her stupendous achievement.
Believe it or not, Sunita had to register herself for the participation and had to arrange her trip to Beijing all alone. No hands of support came from any organisation except the Olympic Committee which finally arranged her boarding in Beijing for just 10 days.
"It is a mixed feeling. At times, I feel great but at the end I feel as a loser. Loser, because I am not getting the kind of support and recognition in my own country. I can not face the political hassles," Lamba said when asked about her reaction after she was declared winner.  | | The award-winning sculpture |
Sunita, who displayed her first solo show at Triveni in 2002, is now eying to craft something different for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to be held in New Delhi before focusing on the London Olympics. "Paintings and sculpting have been my passion and I started it since I was three," she recollected.
Sunita, before leaving for Beijing, even tried to meet Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi, but he refused to meet Lamba. No one knows why? He must now come up with an answer. Headlines India tried to contact Kalmadi several times but he always expressed his inability in sparing few minutes.
Meanwhile, reacting on Sunita's achievement, IOA secretary, Randhir Singh said, "I do not have any idea about any such lady bagging gold in art segment. If you have any information then please pass on the same to us as well." Even the IOA spokesperson Sandeep Mehta expressed his unawareness about Sunita's participation in Beijing Olympics. Rather, he gleefully advised Headlines India correspondent to talk to Kalmadi, who was obviously not available for comment.
After facing such ignorance, Sunita spoke to Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit about her achievement. On that note, she was invited on Monday along with wrestler Sushil Kumar at a felicitation ceremony. Dikshit introduced Sunita to Sports Minister M S Gill, who was also present at the ceremony and apprised him of Sunita's achievements in the Beijing Olympics. This is the state of sports management in India. It is high time that sports authorities in the country recognised the importance of behind-the-scene-performers. |
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