Are we a selfish nation?

The news headlines read

Gurgaon-based low-cost carrier SpiceJet Ltd announced on Thursday that freestyle wrestling champion Sushil Kumar, who won a bronze at the Beijing Olympics, can travel free on the airlines all his life.

The Haryana government on Wednesday announced a cash reward of Rs 2.5 million for Beijing Olympic wrestling bronze medalist Sushil Kumar.

It is a great achievement by Sushil. He is the new icon for Delhi and I will give him a cash award of Rs 5 million. His coach Satpal will also get promotion,"

Proud nation cheered the Olympic hero with Cash awards to the tune of Rs.1.65 crores with many more to come.

But the question is - where was the nation when they required it the most? The founder and head coach of Guru Captain Chandrup Akhara Captain Chandrup uses his Army pension and farmland resources to maintain the place. The akhara houses 150 pehelwans, who have to share the small hacks — 13 to a room. In fact, wrestlers at this akhara are lucky as it is part of a stadium and uses equipment supplied by the Sports Authority of India. Still, the wrestlers do not have proper access to weight-training facilities!

The situation gets more outrageous considering the fact that Kumar had to grapple with absence of a masseur as survived bout after bout to win India's second medal in Beijing Olympics.

Sushil reveales...

"Going into my fourth bout of the day, I was really tired and there was hardly any time to relax in between. I badly needed the rubbing and massaging. We did not have a dedicated masseur. I asked a masseur 'Do you have time to attend me?' and he said no. "So team manager Kartar Singh had to do the job. We did not have any idea about the doctors either, who had been attached with the contingent,. .

By the way, it may be be a minor fact that Sushil Kumar hails from the same neighbourhood as that of Virender Sehwag, the crowned Nawab of Najafgarh.

Have we become a nation who celebrates only success? Is there no support for people who are striving for success?

Go Vijender Go... Get to the top of medal podium

Olympic Controversies: Sweet 16? Really?

After the Chinese women’s gymnastics team won its first Olympic gold medal, Martha Karolyi, the U.S. national team coordinator, continued to question the ages of some of China’s gymnasts. Concerns over eligibility on the team surfaced before the Olympics and have continued all week.

“One of the girls has a missing tooth,” Karolyi said, suggesting that the gymnast was so young that she lost a baby tooth.

The grin of Deng Linlin, a Chinese gymnast who is listed as 16, indeed revealed a wide gap. To be eligible for the Olympics, gymnasts must turn 16 this year.

Olympic controversies: Spanish photo sparks controversy

Players on Spain’s Olympic basketball team defended a photo in an ad showing the players using their fingers to apparently make their eyes look more Chinese.

The photo, which has been running as a newspaper spread in Spain since Friday, shows all 15 players making the gesture.

I personally think it was really insensitive and distasteful picture amounting to racial insult.

Did “Space-Age” swimsuit help Michael Phelps reach his 8-medal dream?

Eight records in swimming have ben broken by improbable margins in Beijing Olympics. In the men's 4x100m relay, the record was smashed by an astounding four seconds. All these record-breaking swimmers had one thing in common. They were wearing Speedo's new swimsuit, the "Fastskin" LZR Racer.

The LZR Racer breathes high tech. Speedo designed the suit with input from NASA, ran tests on more than 100 different fabrics, and conducted body scans of world-class swimmers. The ultra-thin suit material repels water, reduces muscle oscillations, and lowers hydrodynamic drag by up to 10%. The individual panels are ultrasonically welded together, rather than stitched. Speedo even claims it increases a swimmer's oxygen efficiency. It can take 30 minutes for a swimmer to struggle into it and, once on, shoehorns the body into a more aerodynamic shape.

Ad of the space age swimsuit -

Olympic Torch Gets a "CarPark" sendoff in Japan

It was supposed to all start with a gala send-off at one of Japan's most venerable and majestic Buddhist temples, the 1,400-year-old Zenkoji.

However, Zenkoji Withdrew at the last moment citing security concerns and unease among its monks and supporters over China's treatment of their fellow Buddhists in Tibet.

Adding insult to injury, Zenkoji announced Tuesday that it will co-host a prayer ritual for Tibet on the morning of the relay.

Zenkoji's sudden about face forced organizers to conduct a last-minute search for an alternate site. On such short notice, they found only a vacant lot in a Carpark!

The result the Beijing Olympic torch made its Japan debut in a parking lot.