All Sports are Equally Important

ONLY Viswanathan Anand plays chess for a living! This one-liner from a TV commercial just about sums up an average Indian's concept of the game. For millions of countrymen smitten by the cricket bug, any other sport would hold their fancy only as long as it is in public memory, thanks to the media.

The gold-medal winning performance by Mr Bindra and the superlative efforts of our olympians seem destined for the same fate. Cricketers sharing the dais with cine-stars is an indication of the obsession we have for the game. No sincere efforts have ever been made to bridge the ever-widening chasm between cricket and other sports.

Mr Viswanathan Anand's efforts at maintaining his supremacy in world chess should be viewed as that rare event where an individual has, solely on his skills, made fame and fortune for oneself. His triumph at the World Championship in Germany where he successfully retained the title can only make us fellow-countrymen gloat with pride.

Category: Chess , World Chess Championship 2008