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[Blwe_torch]

Night of the knights
Satya Siddharth Rath, TNN 11 November 2009, 01:29am IST

MUMBAI: Sylvanus Dung Dung was not born great. He was just one among the countless poor tribals, from Jharkhand's Simdega district, for whom each day was a struggle for existence. Till he got a job in the army, and could somehow make ends meet.

But he did achieve greatness. Dung Dung was one of the architects of India's 4-3 win over Spain in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, the country's last hockey gold. A prolific rightback, he also played in the Asian Games and World Cup in 1978. He also represented the Bihar and Services team from 1977 to 1981, and retired in 1988.

With a meagre pension, and a big family to look after, the bad old days were back soon. But there was no one to listen to his cries. He was not even conferred an Arjuna. He managed to survive though. With his medals. And memories.

After two long decades, on the starlit lawns of a city hotel on Monday, Dung Dung got his due. He was conferred the honour of 'Unsung Hero' at the Sahara Indian Sports Awards night, which besides the plaque, also carried a cheque of Rs 5 lakh. Greatness, though late, was finally recognised and 'thrust' upon him, if one puts it that way.

While Dung Dung was clearly overwhelmed with emotion, tears of joy rolled down the cheeks of many of his contemporaries from other sporting disciplines, notably Prakash Padukone, Michael Ferreira and Sunil Gavaskar.

As strains from an old patriotic song filled the air, the well-attended audience — from the film and sporting world — stood up to applaud the moment. And that one poignant moment more than served the purpose behind the first edition of the Sahara awards.

Yes, there were glitches too. Like badminton ace Saina Nehwal getting the 'Sportswoman of the Year' award, when everyone felt it should have been MC Mary Kom instead. Even in the official winners' list, Mary Kom's name was there. Though the Manipuri boxer was later given a 'Special Achievement' award, perhaps to cover the faux pas, it did struck a sour note on an otherwise lively evening.

Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who came up to receive the 'Team of the Year' award along with teammates Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra, was spot on in his assessment: "People might blame cricket for cornering all the attention, but at the end of the day we all play for India. That's the unifying factor for all sportsmen.

But a sportsman, be it from any sport, also craves for recognition. These awards will go a long way in fulfilling that need. I consider myself fortunate to be part of this function."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5217385,prtpage-1.cms

[RicePlateReddy]

MUMBAI: Sylvanus Dung Dung was not born great.

Talk about euphemism.