24 December,2020 10:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
The 1970 silver medal-winning Indian team. Avinash Sarang (extreme left), Tarun Goswami, Ashok Biswas, Piyush Mitra, Bharat Merchant, Samir Kapadia, Abdul Mutlib and Umaid Singh (extreme right)
In December 1970, the Indian men's water polo team won a silver medal at the Bangkok Asian Games, going down to Japan 2-4 in the final. That has been Indian water polo's finest moment internationally.
The waterpolo fraternity with the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) recently held a zoom meet, to celebrate 50 golden years of this famous silver medal win.
Mumbai's Pradeep Divgikar, sports history aficionado and water polo player, moderated the virtual meet. The Swimming Federation of India's (SFI) executive director Virendra Nanavati, Kamlesh Nanavati, vice-president, and secretary general Monal Chokshi descibed the win as a, "historic and watershed moment." The trio said it was vital to hold a separate National Championship for water polo, as it is currently overshadowed by swimming when both are held together.
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Bharat Merchant spoke about that goosebumpy feeling on the victory stand while receiving the silver medal, "I was 20 then, and I am 70 now but the cheers, the national anthem ringing out, still stay with me," said the Wadala native. "I remember the entire Indian contingent cheering as we climbed the podium. The Indian community in Bangkok was ecstatic. Sikh supporters used to bring food from the Gurudwara for our team in Bangkok. It was like home," said Merchant, reminiscing emotionally.
Raveesh Lilani, former water polo player, one of the organisers of the virtual meet, remarked, "we are looking at gold in the 2026 Asian Games. The champions will come from the interiors of India," said the Prabhadevi resident.
There was consensus that waterpolo would get a boost with a professional league like the Indian Premier League (IPL), as the two-hour meet wound down. In the end, all that glitters may be gold, but this was a silver celebration to behold.
. Avinash Sarang
. Tarun Goswami
. Ashok Biswas
. Piyush Mitra (captain)
. Bharat Merchant
. Samir Kapadia
. Abdul Mutlib
. Umaid Singh
. Chand Ram Rana
. Pattabi Raman
. DN Singh
. Dilip Mitra (coach)
