When the lights are brightest,
Pressure is highest,
Crowds are the loudest,
The best will arrive,
The strongest will survive,
The greatest will thrive.
Neeraj Chopra and Arshad Nadeem's pic from 2018 Asian games, who later went on to create OR (Olympic record) and PR (Personal Record) in Olympics 2024 Paris reminded me of Luz Long and Jesse Owens form 1936 Berlin Olympics.
There is a gap of 88 years between the photographs. But the message remains the same. Hatred and bigotry has no role in sports.
1936 Berlin Olympics would be the only time Owens and Long would compete against each other.
Owens and Long, both born in 1913, were at the peak of their athletic powers when they locked horns in Berlin. But that is where the similarities ended; their beginnings and journeys to the Games were polar opposites.
A 20th-century icon, Owens' story has been widely told. He was the grandson of former slaves and the youngest of 10 children in a family of Alabama tenant farmers.
At Berlin Olympics, during the time of Hitler, Luz and Owens became friends amidst the game, and it is even said that Luz supported Owens in winning the gold and he was happy for his friend.
Owens went on to add the 200m and 4x100m titles to his wins in the 100m and long jump and would take home four gold medals from the German capital.
But he angered authorities by refusing to compete in a meeting in Sweden immediately after the Games, instead returning home to take advantage of his new-found fame and a clutch of commercial opportunities.
The decision would result in Owens being banned from competing by the American Athletic Union - effectively ending his sporting career.
Owens was still given a hero's welcome in a special homecoming ceremony in New York, but an incident at a party thrown in his honour at the Waldorf Astoria proved that despite his Olympic glory, nothing had changed.
On arriving at the hotel, Owens was directed away from the lobby by a doorman to a side entrance he was told was for tradesmen and black people.
Long left Berlin as Olympic silver-medallist, national champion and European long-jump record holder.
He would go on to extend that mark to 7.90m the following year - a record that stood until 1956.
But he could not escape scrutiny or suspicion.
Long did not compete again after the outbreak of World War Two, instead focusing on his career as a lawyer.
Heinrich, his youngest brother, was killed in action. Devastated by the loss, Long attempted to plot a course through the war for his own family.
He married Gisela in 1941, and they had a son - Julia's father - in November of that year, naming him Kai Heinrich, after his lost brother.
By then, Long had been drafted into the military, initially carrying out duties away from the frontline.
However, in 1943 Long was shipped out to Sicily with the 10th Battery Parachute Anti-Aircraft Regiment. A month later, he would send his final letter home to Gisela, who, by this time, was heavily pregnant with their second son, Wolfgang Matthias.
Gisela received notification on 30 July that her husband was missing in action, presumed dead. It was only after another seven years that the details were confirmed and his grave, in the German section of honour at the American military cemetery in Gela, was found.
One widely repeated myth involves a vivid letter supposedly written by Long to Owens from the "dry sand and wet blood" of north Africa. It calls on Owens to return to Germany to find his son if Long fails to make it home.
One of the lines reads: "Tell him, Jesse, what times were like when we not separated by war, tell him how things can be between men on this earth."
Unbearably poignant, but almost certainly untrue.
Long never served in north Africa. Neither family have seen such a letter and both question the likelihood and logistics of it being written and delivered.
Both their grand children now share especial bonds.
Fast forward to some 80 years later...
Hitler was promoting Aryanism when Jesse Owens happened! History is repeating!
Like brothers we now have Arshad Nadeem and Neeraj Chopra . One from Pakistan. Other from India. A motherland divided in 1947 into two countries which are now at loggerheads.
Arshad Nadeem was spectacular with an Olympics record of 92.97m & another monster throw at 91.79m.
Arshad Nadeem was Born to a mason in Khanewal, Punjab. He Underwent training in his backyard. Villagers used to donate money for his competition expenses across the world
He had no assistance from Government of Pakistan for Tokyo Olympics and no major sponsorships recently. He requested on Social Media to replace his Old Javelin
Finally, smashes the Olympic Record and is an Olympic Champion.
Neeraj narrative is of dominance and assertion, of winning and achievement. It is positive rather than negative, overtly national as opposed to the covertly anti-national. Neeraj is India’s answer to questions posed at us, a retort to every kind of probing in the sporting realm. Of consistency, and working under pressure. His parents were agriculturalists in Haryana. He enrolled himself in a gymnasium in Panipat after locals teased him about his obesity. While training there, he saw few javelin throwers practicing at the nearby Shivaji stadium and took up the sport and started his training in 2010.
With the weight of expectations on his shoulders, Neeraj Chopra channelled strength to leap beyond the pressure and bring home silver. A true warrior's spirit! He is from Indian Military.
Pressure of a billion plus fans every time he has walked in to throw the last few years and an ordinary Olympic campaign forcing him to carry the burden almost alone. No sporting great has overcome so many challenges. The pressure of a billion plus, performing at a Games where a loss is similar to a criminal conviction with a billion sitting in judgment. Neeraj plays a passion and one that drives the world’s most populous nation.
Now we have social media, and world can see and read what is happening, indeed true
If mothers ran the world, this world would be safe and sweet place to live in. This is what their mothers said after the match:
Arshad Nadeem's mother: "Neeraj Chopra is like a son to me. I prayed for him too."
Neeraj Chopra's mother: "We're happy with silver. The one who won gold (Arshad Nadeem) is also my child."
What does it teach? Not just grace, humility, respect and peace but also that:
- One need to focus on hard work and not the result, give the best and be content.
- Your competitors effort is just as important as yours. Be graceful.
- Do your best and be happy with your performance.
- We are all siblings.
May the bond of friendship and understanding build countries.
And the news after:
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