New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS): Seven is the number of medals won by Indian athletes in the Tokyo Olympics, the largest-ever tally in an Olympics, including the javelin gold by the new poster boy Neeraj Chopra, as per IANS-CVoter Issues That Dominated India 2021.

If you are a cynic, you might say New Zealand with a population of 5 million won 20 medals or that Australia with a population of just above 30 million won 68 medals.

Now that India has decisively won the first test against South Africa in their home turf, cricket crazy fans of India seem to be back to their old tricks. There is a danger that not much will be heard about athletics and other sports till the next Olympics if and when India manages to cross the current record tally of seven medals.

But the tally symbolically reflects a deep behavioural change in India, with cricket not the only possible option for families when their children express a desire to pursue a career in sports.

Pioneers like Vijay Amritraj in tennis, Prakash Padukone in badminton and Vishwanathan Anand in chess had already triggered a mini revolution of sorts by creating a new generation of champion players in these fields.

But now that revolution is spreading far and wide. Live telecasts and sponsors with deep pockets have ensured that even hitherto talked about but largely ignored and neglected sports like Kabaddi are getting their due share.

This is not to forget the Herculean efforts made by the central government and some state governments to encourage sports in a positive and sustainable way. A sporting culture takes a generation or two to develop. The good news is that it has already started happening now.