In an in-depth interview with Mint, sports writer Boria Majumdar talks about India’s prospects in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the country’s blueprint for sporting success
Boria Majumdar knows the value of a bold prediction. When I ask the sports writer and academic about the importance of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics for the development of Indian sports, he doesn’t hedge. “It’s massive,” he says. If India doesn’t win at least eight-nine medals, he says, it would be unacceptable. One of India’s best-known sports writers, Majumdar’s new book, Dreams Of A Billion: India And The Olympic Games, co-authored with journalist Nalin Mehta, is being released this week.
While Majumdar is fairly gung-ho about India’s chances, he takes a long view. His experience of covering India’s fortunes in four consecutive Olympic Games makes him realistic about things like medal tallies. At the Rio Olympics in 2016, despite high hopes and much hype, India could only win two medals. Most of India’s medal hopefuls crashed out, while Vinesh Phogat lost her quarter-final bout after competing with a knee injury. For the first time since 2004, not a single Indian shooter achieved a podium finish. Boxing, another big hope, didn’t yield any medals either. Rio was a big comedown after the high of the London 2012 Olympics, where Indian athletes had won six medals, the most ever.
