Indian leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi shares his profound experience at the Asian Games, emphasising the unparalleled pride of winning medals for the nation in a multi-sport event.
IMAGE: Ravi Bishnoi says representing India at the Asian Games and winning a medal offers a special feeling. Photograph: BCCI/X
Key Points
- Ravi Bishnoi finds representing India at the Asian Games for medals a unique and distinct honour compared to winning trophies.
- The Indian team is staying in a five-star hotel, arranged by the BCCI, rather than the official Games accommodation.
- India advanced to the Asian Games cricket semi-finals after their quarterfinal against Afghanistan was washed out.
- Players enjoyed travelling on Japan’s bullet train and hope to watch other sports despite their separate accommodation.
For Indian leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, the experience of representing India at the Asian Games is akin to a familiar feeling hitting differently as he believes standing on a podium with medals instead of trophies is a unique high.
Bishnoi is in the middle of his second Asian Games, having helped India to a gold in Hangzhou three years ago. Much like in China, the Indian players are staying in a hotel and not in the dedicated Games accommodation.
On Monday, India stayed on course for a back-to-back gold following a washout in the quarterfinal against Afghanistan. The Indians marched ahead on the basis of their high ranking.
The Pride Of Representing India
“Both (playing for India in dedicated cricket events and in a multi-sporting event) are the same in terms of representing India. Whether you’re winning a trophy or a medal, it means the same,” Bishnoi was quoted as saying by ‘Cricbuzz’.
“But here, you’re not representing the BCCI; you’re representing India. So there’s a different feeling when you get to stand on a podium. You don’t get many opportunities to stand on a podium, and here you get to do that with a medal around your neck. It’s a great feeling,” he added.
The players travelled to Nagoya from Tokyo in Japan’s iconic bullet train and loved every minute of that experience.
“We hadn’t come here before (Japan), so it’s been a good experience so far…We covered 400 kilometres in one hour and 13 minutes, so what could be better than that? You get to travel so quickly,” said Bishnoi.
Beyond The Cricket Field
While the other athletes struggled with their accommodation at the start of the Games, the BCCI did not leave anything to chance and put its players in a five star facility in the heart of the city.
Bishnoi said the players would love to watch other sports but have not had the time so far.
“The Asian Games are definitely a different experience from the other series and World Cups. You get to see different sports and experience them as well. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do that so far because we’re staying a little away from the village.
“But we’ll try today, as we have tomorrow off, and explore some other sports as well,” said the spinner.
