The new-found parentage of success

Success has many fathers, goes the adage. Change fathers to sponsors, circa 2016. No wonder entities from engineering coaching classes and fast food vendors to cab services and jewellery brands are laying claim to three Indian sportswomen from different corners of India — or at least the attributes that made them succeed at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Striking gold by drawing fortuitous associations, obviously, is their common objective. The girls, if indeed they are aware of exactly how many people, governments and institutions are making haste to establish connections, must be bewildered by the sheer diversity of interest in them, especially from quarters that hitherto rarely looked beyond cricketers and film stars when searching for some reflected glory.

Since success depends so much on sustained instruction, some of this adulation and glory should also rub off on their trainers. At the very least, the plethora of prosperous professional examination coaching centres in India should make haste to capitalise on the coaches’ success. Of course, it is unlikely that parents will start diverting their wards from Kota to Hyderabad, Rohtak or Agartala in search of success just yet. But the possibilities highlighted by the achievements of P V Sindhu, Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar have hopefully been noted by more than just success’ sponsors.