There are some sports where an Olympic gold medal is the last word. If you’re a track-and-field athlete, for example, no number of Diamond League triumphs will ever compare to taking the top step of the podium at the Olympics. No one really cares who won in Oslo in 2014, or Oregon in 2022, but everyone will recall where they were when Usain Bolt set the Bird’s Nest in Beijing ablaze with his runs for the ages. India will never forget Neeraj Chopra’s javelin throw in Tokyo, in an Olympic Games postponed by a year because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the same coin, though, there are sports and events where an Olympic gold is not the pinnacle. Your future Lionel Messis and CR7s are not going to grow up dreaming of Olympic gold. Their dreams will centre on winning the World Cup for their country and the European Champions League for their favourite club. Similarly, if you’re a golfer, it’s the British Open Claret Jug and the US Masters’ Green Jacket that you crave above all else.
One could argue that cricket, at least the men’s version, is in the same boat. The 50-over format may be in decline, but the World Cup remains the trophy to win. A back story that involves legends like Clive Lloyd, Vic Richards, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Sachin Tendulkar ensures as much. The women played their first World Cup in 1973, two years before the men, but so tiny was the media spotlight for decades that it has only been closely followed in the past few years.
With cricket now on the verge of being included in the list of sports for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, the big challenge, especially for the women’s game, is to ensure that it stays there. Golf, for example, was not part of the games between 1904 and 2016 simply because it wasn’t seen as a priority. For golfers, the Holy Grails were, and still are, elsewhere. But since its inclusion, the men’s golds have been won by Great Britain’s Justin Rose and the USA’s Xander Schauffele, both of whom have contended for major titles in the past.
The same was the case with tennis, which was not part of the Olympic rotation for six decades until 1988. Since readmission, golds have gone to the likes of Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and the Williams sisters. Roger Federer may not have won the individual gold, but he cherishes the doubles triumph with Stan Wawrinka in Beijing (2008). Again, it may not matter as much as a Grand Slam title, but players recognise that it’s a significant prize.
Till now, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wasn’t even bothered with cricket at the Asian Games. But with the push for Olympic inclusion taking place, attitudes are slowly changing. For a sport to be included in the Olympics, or its continental counterpart like the Asian Games, it’s essential that the organisers feel the best players available will turn up. Had India sent a team of unknowns to Hangzhou, it would have reflected badly on the BCCI and the seriousness with which it takes multi-sport events. Even the International Olympic Committee (IOC), set to vote on cricket’s inclusion for LA, might have taken a dim view. If India as the game’s powerhouse doesn’t take such tournaments seriously, why would the sponsors and other stakeholders ensure that such a competition was even held?
So, while it may not be the first-choice men’s team in China – there is a World Cup to be won on home soil, after all – the fact that the strongest women’s side has been sent is a big plus. And the men aren’t no-hopers either. Featuring the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, you could argue that this side represents India’s future in the T20 format.
The celebrations from the Malaysian team when they took Smriti Mandhana’s wicket early on in their quarterfinal on Thursday morning said it all. India should, if they play to potential, win gold, both in the women’s and men’s tournaments. But that isn’t the point. That the BCCI has finally roused itself and sent the cream of India’s cricket talent, present and future, is the biggest thing.
After this, especially if cricket is included in the roster for LA, there will certainly be dreams of gold. It may come too late for a Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma, but it’s certainly the way forward as cricket looks to spread its wings to North America and beyond.