The whole nation was left in a state of mourning due to the recent passing of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. One of India’s tallest leaders, Atal Ji was loved and respected by people from all walks of life, and age groups. While many of us were grieving the loss, a few decided to instead strive harder and give Atal Ji a fitting tribute with excellent performances at the Asian Games.
Indian Athletes are giving their best and consistently winning medals for the country. All the athletes who won accolades are now dedicating their medals to Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji. But there is one athlete who decided not to conform to mob mentality and instead dedicated his medal to India’s first PM Nehru.
Madan Chopra, a bronze medalist at Asian Games, shocked everyone by dedicating his medal to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. In his winning speech, Chopra got emotional and pointed out how Nehru had been an inspiring force in his life. “The message Chacha gave us all Indians is to put ourselves before the nation. It was only beacause of that ideology of self-centerdeness that I was able to focus on myself and my game. I dedicate this medal to his memories.”
However, the touching tribute and the moment of glory were shortlived as Chopra failed a dope test which was conducted hours after winning the medal.
Soon after the news of Madan’s dope test results emerged, social media users got another opportunity of mocking the Nehru-Gandhi clan. One of the users wrote “Madan got a medal and failed the dope test. Still a more ethical thing to do than awarding oneself the Bharat Ratna!” It was a dig on Pandit Nehru, who allegedly awarded himself the presitigious Bharat Ratna.
This incident rekindled various old debates like why was the Khel Ratna award named after Rajiv Gandhi? Or which sport was Rajiv Gandhi pro at? Some Congress supporters pointed out that Rajiv Gandhi aced at organised outdoor group activities and the 1984 Sikh Riots are a specimen of his team spirit.
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