Wednesday, August 13, 2008

India's Abhinav Bindra bagging the country's first-ever individual gold in the Olympics

As the news of India's Abhinav Bindra bagging the country's first-ever individual gold in the Olympics came in, Chennaiites, like their countrymen in other states, shared the joy and basked in the moment of glory.

As news of Bindra's winning gold in the 10 M Air Rifle trickled in, a wave of joy and patriotism swept across the city, especially among tech-savvy youngsters, who used the Short Message Service (SMS) to spread the news.

The general content of the SMSs was patriotism as most of them read, "proud to be Indian," "Jai Hind" or "Bindra has made us proud," reflecting the mood of the nation.

SMSs started flying thick and fast, with youngsters' eager to be part of a winning moment of the 25 year-old Bindra.

The city's office-goers were preparing themselves for a busy Monday, the first day of the week when they got the pleasant news on their mobile phones.

"I screamed with joy as soon as I saw the SMS, unmindful of the fact that I was travelling in a packed compartment in the suburban train," S Sriram, a software professional, said.

"As those around stared at me strangely, I broke the news to them and saw a lot of smiles in the compartment," he said.

For some, the news was like an oasis in a desert as the medal-starved Indian contingent was failing to live up to the expectations of a billion Indians since the start of the games.

"It's a great feeling. I hope this win inspires the others also, as we have pinned lot of hopes on Sania Mirza and others like Saina Nehwal," sports enthusiast and homoeopath, S Lakshmi, said.

As I read in NDTV.com