How Satnam, Sumit and Shubham teach India a hundred lessons
It turned out to be one of the most memorable journeys of my life. When I started, it was the allure of similar names and backgrounds that drew me to Satnam Singh, Shubham Jaglan and Sumit Nangal. By the end of it all it was the sheer determination of these kids and the hardships of their families that caught my attention.
India's first import to the National Basketball Association (NBA) league, Satnam Singh Bhamara is all of 19-years-old and comes from a village in Punjab that even the locals don't know exists. It was a herculean task for me to locate Ballo Ke. But once it was within touching distance, it wasn't the village that people pointed me to, but Satnam's residence. "You have come to see Satnam Singh", was the reaction of an elderly villager. My camera had caught his eyes. It had been long since I had been to a village. Satnam's house was a typical farmer's dome. It had buffaloes and tractors. Fresh harvest was being cut and his father, Balbir Singh, was supervising it. One look at his dad and you know where Satnam gets his mammoth 7ft 2in frame from. By that time the family had got used to cameras and the theatrics that went with it. They enacted each scene with impeccable precision. Back home for the first time after his run at the NBA, Satnam hardly got time to spend at home. He went from one felicitation ceremony to another and was declared a state guest in Punjab. All this attention and media frenzy caught Satnam off guard as well. From hoping to get a job and secure his future with basketball, Satnam created history for a country starved of sporting stars.
Let's now move from Satnam's phenomenal achievement on the basketball court to Sumit Nagal's exploits on the tennis lawn. The sport had changed, but Sumit's story followed a similar trajectory. His father is an MCD teacher in Delhi and a sport like tennis was not easy for this family to afford. Suresh Nagal still remembers the early years, when the duo of father and son went on a bike in the Delhi winters to get Sumit on the court. The journey was difficult and there were times when the family had to scrape through with mere pennies, but they never gave up. Sumit's talent was spotted by Mahesh Bhupathi and as they say, the rest is history. In 2015, Sumit became only the sixth Indian to win a junior Grand Slam title, when he clinched the boys' doubles title at the All England Club. Sumit laughed when I asked him about Bhupathi. He said the chemistry is there, but it started because he was jealous that Mahesh had picked his friend and not him. Today, Sumit is one of the brightest young prospects in Indian tennis.
And finally, over to the young sensation, 11-year-old Shubham Jaglan. The kid has a remarkable story. He hails from Panipat and his father is a milkman. But, if you speak to Shubham, there is no way you can place him in that background. Even his Haryanvi today has a slight English accent. His maturity will strike anyone. It's not just that he plays amazing golf and has won titles across the globe, it is also that he speaks flawless English and speaks with a maturity that is hard to find in even 20-year-olds. I met Shubham at Ambala, where he was playing his first tournament after his return from the US. He did not have a good day on the course and was pretty upset about it. There may have even been a hint of a tear in his eyes as well. But, when I went up to him to ask for an interview, he was a professional. He kept his feelings aside and sat down for the interview. Who would have thought that an 11-year-old was capable of doing that. Amit Luthra, the man whose foundation supports Shubham, shed some light on this mature nature of Shubham. Travelling to the US at a young age, with a father who was more of a dependent than a guardian, Shubham had to deal with everything, from visa interviews to coordinating their travel. Surely, this is just the start of great things that this kid will achieve.
These three kids have made the country proud in their respective sports. But, it is not the achievement on the courts and courses that makes their stories special. It is the hope that their stories give to millions across the country that makes them so spectacular. Their success proves that dreams can be achieved and desires fulfilled, and all one needs is the patience and hard work to back it up.