When Bindra stole Tendulkar's thunder

Come every new year, it's time for verdicts of the slew of readers or viewers' polls on the media these days. A pleasant addition this year, conducted by the leading Indian TV news channel, was to pick the Best Sporting Moment for India in 2008.

Now, it came as no surprise that Abhinav Bindra's golden moment at the Beijing Olympics proved a surefire winner, but it's the list of nominations that gave one plenty to choose from - a rarity in Indian sport.

As the articulate shooter from Chandigarh ended India's barren run for an individual gold at the Olympics, it also proved to be the country's best campaign ever with three medals.

Meanwhile, Viswanathan Anand crowned himself as the world champion for the third time, the precocious Saina Nehwal showed the world that she was badminton's next best thing after Prakash Padukone and her own coach Pulella Gopichand and Baichung Bhutia and his boys won football's AFC Challenge Cup to qualify for the Asian Cup finals after almost quarter of a century.

All this without even coming to cricket, which, along with Bollywood, are the two things that unites Indians like nothing else.

The poll in question zeroed in on quite a few memorable moments - Sachin Tendulkar becoming the highest rungetter in Tests, India's remarkable Test victory against the Australians in Perth followed by the one-day series triumph at the Oz and lastly, their chasing down of 387 against England in the Chennai Test.

Tendulkar's record was voted the second best in the poll, while Anand's feat took the third spot. For once, the average Indian TV viewer, often riled for their addiction to cricket, have taken an objective view by keeping Bindra's achievement well ahead of our cricketing heroes - a fact acknowledged by the shooter himself when he learnt of the choice.

On returning from Beijing, Bindra ruffled quite a few feathers when, in a signed column, he criticised Indian sports officials, saying they did not deserve any respect.

While it was a sweeping statement, it was not far off the mark for our sportspersons provide the odd spark - to add a cliché - not because of the system in place but despite it.

And that's precisely why they deserve a big hand for an exceptional year. Here's wishing that 2009 can also do the same!