Author: Rahul Tewari
Publication: India Today
Date: April 14, 2008
URL: http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=48&id=6575&Itemid=1§ionid=23
As the most famous face in Indian football,
skipper of the national team and one who stood by his players, Baichung Bhutia
has been known in soccer circles as "Captain Courageous".
Last week, there was more proof that the sobriquet
sat comfortably on the Padmashree winner, the only Indian to have played first
division football in England. Selected by the Indian Olympic Association to
carry the Beijing Olympic torch on its Indian leg when it reaches Delhi on
April 17, Bhutia, a Buddhist, refused the offer saying he "sympathised
with the Tibetan cause. I abhor violence in any form. This is my way of standing
by the people of Tibet and their struggle".
He said he was not pressured by Tibetan groups
and insisted it was "a personal decision. I feel what is happening is
not right and I should show my solidarity in my small way". Though Bhutia
rejected the offer to carry the torch in a fax message to Suresh Kalmadi,
the IOA president denied having received it.
Bhutia's principled stand on the issue is
in stark contrast with some of the other sportspersons who have been similarly
invited to take part in the torch relay ceremony.
A top golfer said he too had been invited
for the function and confirmed that he would indeed be carrying the torch.
While admitting that he was aware of the goings on in Tibet, he justified
his decision to go ahead with the marathon relay with the amazing explanation
that "the Indian government is not protesting, so why should I?"
This left many wondering if he was a Politburo member in the garb of a golfer.