Those who are rather unknown on the world stage generate less global attention with their victories at the Olympic Games - but there is often no stopping them in their home countries.
So the chest swells with sheer pride in India about the bronze medal in men's hockey after 41 years of waiting.
The victory over Germany is "more important than any of the three World Cups in cricket," tweeted the old star Gautam Gambhir - which is like when Franz Beckenbauer rated a bronze medal in handball higher than three soccer world championships.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke of a "historic victory" that every Indian will remember.
Christoph Hein
Business correspondent for South Asia / Pacific based in Singapore.
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More than warm words are promised to the two Indonesian badminton players who won the gold medal against the duo from China. The head of the home province of Greysia Polii in Sulawesi promised "his" player five cows and a house. A burger chain promised Polij and her dominant teammate Apriyani Rahayu the license to operate one of their restaurants. Measured against the location of the largest Muslim country in the world, these are valuable prices: many of the young women are happy when they get a job as a domestic helper in the neighboring city-state of Singapore. President Joko Widodo declared that the duo's “hard-fought and exciting victory” was a gift to the whole country ahead of its national holiday on August 17th.
Widodo needs athletic success because he is under enormous pressure. The third largest democracy on earth is being overwhelmed by another corona wave, against which it can find no means. Corona is also the reason why fewer players than before in the badminton-crazy island state want to devote themselves to the national sport. The association expressed concern. And so the government offered at the very last moment also 5 billion rupiah (294,456 euros), which the winners will receive for their Olympic victory.
Indonesia won the first two individual gold medals in Barcelona in 1992, when badminton first became Olympic. "Thanks to badminton, Indonesia can become known all over the world," said Broto Happy, spokesman for the Indonesian Badminton Association (PBSI). “Badminton is the only sport in our country that has a national training center. There are also bedrooms there. This allows our players to practice non-stop all year round, even during a pandemic. All they had to do was concentrate on training, ”said Happy.
Indonesia's first gold medal at these games also has a hidden meaning in Asia: The two Southeast Asians not only won in two sets over Chen Qing Chen and Jia Yi Fan, they also defeated China. However, due to its expansion policy, this is controversial in democratic Indonesia. Widodo repeatedly emphasizes in speeches to his 270 million fellow citizens that he does not want to become dependent on Beijing. The fact that his players are now taking China Gold bears the political symbolism of a David fighting Goliath.