Coups bas from Cuba
- By Bhishmadev Seebaluck
- Published 29th August, 2008
History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats.
My dear Billy,
Our boy Bruno Julie had gone for gold but came back with bronze in his baggage from the Olympic bout. The judges in Beijing didn’t even allow him to touch silver. Bruno was defeated, not exactly by his official opponent, the guy from Cuba, but by a lurking judge, according to connoisseurs.
He received a few coups bas, no doubt, but the biggest blow apparently came below the belt from the judge who decided that the first Olympic medal ever to be bagged by a Mauritian shouldn’t be made of gold, not even silver.
But this doesn’t seem to have upset our national Bruno too much. He has taken the judge’s acrobatics quite stoically. The latter, it appears, had other interests to defend and protect, in the gambling dens. And where the Cuban boxer failed, the judge succeeded. Striking below the belt is quite common in boxing, they say. As you know, my dear Billy, I never comment on refe rees and judges, and I’m not going to break the habit of a lifetime because of these stupid blokes.
Bruno’s name will however be carved in letters of gold in the annals of sports in this country and abroad. It will appear in the list of questions of quiz masters for decades to come. “Who was the first Mauritian to win an Olympic medal?”
Personally speaking, I’ve never been very enthusiastic about sports, my dear Billy. In fact, I hate sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense. To tell you the truth, if Manchester United or Liverpool, or even ASPL were playing down at the bottom of my garden, I’d pull the curtains. And to me, watching sports on TV is the last resort of those who do not know how to idle. Never bet on the white guy – that’s all I know when it comes to boxing. I rather find boxing like ballet, except that there’s no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other. But who cares about my likes and dislikes?
All said and fought, Bruno has brought a matchless honour to the country, especially at a time when it was seemingly getting swamped in thick mire. The population’s faith in the institutions was being shaken and its morale needed to be boosted.
Bruno’s performance in Beijing has brought in a draught of fresh air and some much needed oxygen.
Our champ’s exploit is proof that the Mauritian soil harbours some Olympic mettle, and there is no doubt that our boys and girls are made of golden stuff. But medals, as we have seen, do not grow on trees, my dear Billy. Much effort, perseverance and hard work is needed to obtain them. I mean, you don’t climb a boxing ring on good looks and the people’s good wishes, and the government’s spurious concern.
It’s all very well to reward our winners, to increase the values of their prizes even. But we also have to look after their training. Comparing the type of preparation our boxer has undergone, the conditions in which he was trained, and the background he hails from, with those of most of the other Olympic contestants, it is clear that Bruno has had a steep, uphill task to face his opponents.
And this applies to all Mauritian sportspeople participating in Olympic and other international meets.
Many countries do put a heavy premium on athletic achievements. There are scores of training facilities in scores of cities and towns and competitors occupy the highest pedestal in public esteem. Athletes invest years of blood, sweat and tears in the Olympics.
Training leaders move around the schools in search of children of championship mettle; youngsters are sent to special Sports Schools for education and training under top teachers. In certain countries Olympic-calibre athletes are guaranteed a university education and the career of their choice. They also get spacious apartments, cars, expense-paid vacations at seaside resorts.
The importance that succeeding Mauritian governments attach to sports can be gauged through the type of people they hand over the Youth and Sports portfolio to. Judge for yourself, my dear Billy. When the young people in Rodrigues asked one Sports Minister for a swimming pool, the answer that they got was simply flabbergasting: “What do you need a swimming pool for? Don’t you have the sea all around?” Another Minister found nothing better than to give a good kick with his foot to the ball while inaugurating a…volleyball pitch.
If we want to shine on the international playing field, we need absolutely to be trained according to international norms and levels. We have a lot of talent and potential, and this applies to sports, to beauty queens, to artists, and all other sectors. Otherwise, we can well wallow in our own pool of mediocrity and stay home and watch performances by foreign participants on MBC.
My dear Billy,
Our boy Bruno Julie had gone for gold but came back with bronze in his baggage from the Olympic bout. The judges in Beijing didn’t even allow him to touch silver. Bruno was defeated, not exactly by his official opponent, the guy from Cuba, but by a lurking judge, according to connoisseurs.
He received a few coups bas, no doubt, but the biggest blow apparently came below the belt from the judge who decided that the first Olympic medal ever to be bagged by a Mauritian shouldn’t be made of gold, not even silver.
But this doesn’t seem to have upset our national Bruno too much. He has taken the judge’s acrobatics quite stoically. The latter, it appears, had other interests to defend and protect, in the gambling dens. And where the Cuban boxer failed, the judge succeeded. Striking below the belt is quite common in boxing, they say. As you know, my dear Billy, I never comment on refe rees and judges, and I’m not going to break the habit of a lifetime because of these stupid blokes.
Bruno’s name will however be carved in letters of gold in the annals of sports in this country and abroad. It will appear in the list of questions of quiz masters for decades to come. “Who was the first Mauritian to win an Olympic medal?”
Personally speaking, I’ve never been very enthusiastic about sports, my dear Billy. In fact, I hate sports as rabidly as a person who likes sports hates common sense. To tell you the truth, if Manchester United or Liverpool, or even ASPL were playing down at the bottom of my garden, I’d pull the curtains. And to me, watching sports on TV is the last resort of those who do not know how to idle. Never bet on the white guy – that’s all I know when it comes to boxing. I rather find boxing like ballet, except that there’s no music, no choreography, and the dancers hit each other. But who cares about my likes and dislikes?
All said and fought, Bruno has brought a matchless honour to the country, especially at a time when it was seemingly getting swamped in thick mire. The population’s faith in the institutions was being shaken and its morale needed to be boosted.
Our champ’s exploit is proof that the Mauritian soil harbours some Olympic mettle, and there is no doubt that our boys and girls are made of golden stuff. But medals, as we have seen, do not grow on trees, my dear Billy. Much effort, perseverance and hard work is needed to obtain them. I mean, you don’t climb a boxing ring on good looks and the people’s good wishes, and the government’s spurious concern.
It’s all very well to reward our winners, to increase the values of their prizes even. But we also have to look after their training. Comparing the type of preparation our boxer has undergone, the conditions in which he was trained, and the background he hails from, with those of most of the other Olympic contestants, it is clear that Bruno has had a steep, uphill task to face his opponents.
And this applies to all Mauritian sportspeople participating in Olympic and other international meets.
Many countries do put a heavy premium on athletic achievements. There are scores of training facilities in scores of cities and towns and competitors occupy the highest pedestal in public esteem. Athletes invest years of blood, sweat and tears in the Olympics.
Training leaders move around the schools in search of children of championship mettle; youngsters are sent to special Sports Schools for education and training under top teachers. In certain countries Olympic-calibre athletes are guaranteed a university education and the career of their choice. They also get spacious apartments, cars, expense-paid vacations at seaside resorts.
The importance that succeeding Mauritian governments attach to sports can be gauged through the type of people they hand over the Youth and Sports portfolio to. Judge for yourself, my dear Billy. When the young people in Rodrigues asked one Sports Minister for a swimming pool, the answer that they got was simply flabbergasting: “What do you need a swimming pool for? Don’t you have the sea all around?” Another Minister found nothing better than to give a good kick with his foot to the ball while inaugurating a…volleyball pitch.
If we want to shine on the international playing field, we need absolutely to be trained according to international norms and levels. We have a lot of talent and potential, and this applies to sports, to beauty queens, to artists, and all other sectors. Otherwise, we can well wallow in our own pool of mediocrity and stay home and watch performances by foreign participants on MBC.
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