London 2012 and the Global South – an Exploration

The foundation for Indian Olympic success was created at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) in Delhi in October 2010. ¹ With 101 medals, 38 of which were gold, and coming second in the medals table, displacing England for the first time in history, Indian Olympic sports and sports persons had made a statement to the world. Critics, however, drew attention to the relatively lower level of competition at the CWG ² and suggested that the real test was the Asian Games at Guangzhou in November 2010 – and as India’s shooters achieved modest success at the Asian Games, ³ this criticism was fast gathering strength. The CWG, the first week at Guangzhou was deemed to prove, was a false dawn. The national ritual celebrating failure was about to start and, coupled with the CWG scams, which were and still continue to be in focus, Indian sport was staring down the barrel.