(This is an element three of a four-part ‘September’ collection that revisits vital historic occasions or insurance policies and the way the teachings realized from them proceed to be of relevance in present-day politics and society. Read half one here, and half two here.)

Some may suppose the authors used a traditional clickbait headline.

After all, Viswanathan Anand is a chess participant whose brains supposedly matter greater than brawn.

In distinction, Neeraj Chopra belongs to a completely totally different world of bodily sports activities the place the mind isn’t alleged to play the main function.

Some may even argue that Neeraj has claimed greater mountains than Anand, successful each the Olympic gold Medal and the World Championship Gold. Besides, what does a javelin throw have in frequent with a chess transfer?

The authors will come to that shortly.

Still, why the headline? The reply could be very easy.

Two generations of chess gamers have been impressed by the heroics of Anand and the nation is now a bona fide chess superpower of the world, alongside America, Russia, and China.

This yr, one other Indian chess prodigy, Pragnanandha got here inside heartbreaking distance of emulating the feat of Anand earlier than dropping to reigning champion Magnus Carlsen in a tiebreak.

Incidentally, it was Carlsen who had damaged the 13-year stranglehold that Anand had over the title by defeating him in 2013 to change into the brand new FIDE world champion. Carlsen has held on to that title since then. But those that comply with chess appear satisfied it’s a matter of time earlier than Pragnanandha dethrones Carlsen.

In that context, going from zero to 83 in only a few a long time is a surprising achievement. In no different sports activities class has India produced so many potential and precise champions in such a brief time frame. There has been some success in wrestling, capturing, tennis, and badminton. But nothing compares to what has occurred with chess in India.

The Olympic Gold Medal and the world championship crown gained by Neeraj Chopra have been as inspiring because the FIDE chess crown gained by Anand in 2000 in China. The query is: can this encourage a technology of observe and subject athletes to change into world champions?

The previous supplies a sign of how robust it has been in India. There have been flashes of brilliance adopted by lengthy intervals of mediocracy. A very long time in the past, Milkha Singh impressed and electrified India along with his feats on the observe, narrowly lacking out on a medal within the 400 metres race on the Rome Olympics.

But after him got here mediocrity.

Forget the Olympics and world championships, India failed to supply an athlete who might win even the Asian Games Gold after Milkha Singh who gained within the 1962 Asian Games.

In the Seventies, Vijay Amritraj was thought of top-of-the-line tennis gamers on the earth. He even entered the Wimbledon semi-finals and got here near beating Jimmy Connors. India has since then produced some superb tennis gamers like Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupati, and others. But none have excelled on the particular person stage in Grand Slam tournaments.

There has been extra success in badminton after Prakash Padukone and Puella Gopichand. But not on the stage generated in chess after Anand grew to become world champion. There are similarities between Anand and Gopichand, although.

The mom of Pragnanandha, Nagalakshmi together with her easy apparel and smiles has change into a celeb in her personal proper. In an age the place social media was not round, Susheela, the mom of Anand had performed a key function in nurturing and inspiring the expertise of her son.

An even greater and unsung function was performed by Aruna, the spouse of Viswanathan Anand. Without in search of authorities, she has led the trouble to mentor younger expertise in chess for nearly twenty years alongside together with her husband. The effort contains monetary help and even meals throughout teaching classes.

To some extent, campion shooters like Gagan Narang and Avinabh Bhindra have performed a major function in nurturing recent expertise in capturing. Not surprisingly, Indian shooters have been persistently successful international tournaments, barring the massive disappointment on the Tokyo Olympics.

Neeraj Chopra is uniquely positioned to change into the subsequent Anand relating to observe and subject athletics. The cause is that extra individuals, cash, sources, and amenities are pouring into Indian sports activities within the twenty first century. In the previous, sports activities was not often a financially rewarding profession with dozens of tales about medal-winning athletes dwelling in abject penury. Even now, barring cricket, sports activities don’t supply monetary rewards and safety.

But that’s altering.

One can already see glimpses of this.

Till just a few years in the past, individuals would have laughed at you if you happen to prompt Indian athletes might compete with the perfect on the earth in observe occasions. But within the lately held world athletics championships, the Indian quartet within the 4*400 metres relay race shocked the world of sports activities by ending fifth.

Of course, India will maybe by no means be the sports activities powerhouse that China has change into. That’s as a result of the authoritarian Chinese state can single-mindedly pursue what a loud and nonetheless poor democracy like India can by no means. But then, even when India begins successful a handful of medals in observe and subject occasions on the Olympics, it needs to be a cause to have a good time somewhat than evaluate China with India.

(Yashwant Deshmukh & Sutanu Guru work with CVoter Foundation. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the creator’s personal. The Quint neither endorses neither is answerable for them.)