Let the games begin

We have surely come a long way since the ancient Greeks toughed it out in their Coliseum. Also some way from the first modern Olympiad at Athens. Man now runs at more than 10m a second and the number is as mind boggling as Usain Bolt's feats are. Beijing was a show of strength and London may be more elegant than in your face. It becomes the first city to hold the summer games for the third time and you cannot grudge that honor to the English capital. Its going to be a gender neutral spectacle for the first time and that means another glass ceiling is broken. Its a melting pot with a gene pool unparalleled for the Olympic contenders are just not prime athletes but also ones with the best mental acumen. Where else could you have breakfast with Federer, lunch with Phelps and dinner with Bolt. Its stuff of dreams and an arena fitting the legends that dot it. China took full toll at its home games last time around and left the traditional sporting super powers in its wake but it remains to be seen if it can replicate the sensational performance in the land of the queen. It is sure to dominate diving, table tennis, badminton but the fringe medals may not come along. Will Yelena Isinbayeva scale the heights that the "orbit" promises? Will Bolt repeat history and the 9.58s mark would be left behind in his run? Will Phelps become the most decorated athlete in the Olympic history? Can Liu Xiang put the Beijing tears behind him? Will the US and Russia regain their sporting pinnacles or the host would spring a surprise on the medals tally? Questions aplenty and that is exactly what makes these games one of the most anticipated in recent times.   It gave me goosebumps that morning when Abhinav Bindra shot down the 10m air rifle gold. A first individual gold for a country of a billion is skewed in terms of ratio but rates as one of the finest moments in the country's history. Expect him and Gagan Narang to be there again this time around. Also, boxers have shown that they can punch above their weight and I won't be surprised to see a couple of medals there. Deepika Kumari is the quintessential Indian achiever and that's the one medal I truly hope to see come along. The hockey wielders have not shown promise of late but then wishful thinking is not unlawful, is it? So, while the grand scheme of things unfolds in the three weeks starting July the 27th, I would be looking at some sub plots that make this congregation a theater of dreams and tears.