Green and clean

World billiards champion, Pankaj Advani was in Mumbai recently to shoot an advertisement for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Green and clean

World billiards champion, Pankaj Advani was in Mumbai recently tou00a0 shoot an advertisement for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Bangalore-based Advani modelled for the campaign at the Cricket Club of India (CCI). He has reportedly always been a vegetarian.

You may not need Popeye muscles on a green baize but wrestling certainly needs plenty of brawn nothing though that cannot be acquired by the oft referred to ghas phoos, says brawny Sushil Kumar, Indian Beijing Olympics medal winning wrestler. Sushil did a pro-vegetarian shoot at a New Delhi studio. The advertisement wasu00a0 released earlier this year. When he takes the mat, it is not meat but 'mooli' that fuels his strength.

Because he is in a sport that needs strength, Sushil is the classic example of an athlete breaking the myth of a meat-eating medallist.

India's sheikh of tweak, spinner Anil Kumble went publicly green approximately nine years ago. Kumble did a pro-PETA advertisement in 2000. Over the years, 'Kumbles' as those Caucasian commentators call him, proved that when it comes to scalping wickets, 'paalak' is as deadly as pot roast.

The veg vs non-veg debate in sport has simmered for long. It isu00a0 interesting to look at the phenomenon even as the Indian Weight Lifting Federation is under a cloud with three lifters failing dope tests recently. While vegetarian and non-vegetarian cannot be compared to dope, what sportsmen put into their bodies has always evoked sharp and polarised reactions.

When a clutch of top sportspersons admit that they are vegetarian, it raises eyebrows. There is a lobby that believes one needs meat to get the nutrients to fuel bodies.

In a cynical world, there are people though it is never admitted openly who believe that today, one needs dope to compete at that level. A coach who remained anonymous once said, "Everybody takesu00a0 dope. Those who cannot mask it get caught."

Sport is the one bright sliver of sunshine in a dark age. People worship sportsmen because they embody all those old-fashioned valuesu00a0 like hard work, dedication, talent and yes, even being grace in defeat. Sport is a microcosm of a nearu2013perfect world.

So, it is time top sportspersons came together and endorsed a campaign which said: You don't need steroids to be a super athlete. The myth of the dope-taking medallist needs to be smashed.

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