Birthdays acquire new dimension for some

A birthday is always a special occasion, and for a sportsperson, it can be even more exhilarating if he gets to celebrate it with countrymen in the biggest of sporting arenas. Ajai Masand reports.

A birthday is always a special occasion, and for a sportsperson, it can be even more exhilarating if he gets to celebrate it with countrymen in the biggest of sporting arenas.

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Ask Sania Mirza or the lesser-known Asher Gusti Noria who would be celebrating their birthdays along with other teammates during the course of the quadrennial Asian Games, which kick off on November 12.

All would invariably say, they have waited all these years to celebrate the big day in the company of compatriots. A total of 17 Indian sportspersons --- as per the Games News Service (GNS) website --- will be celebrating their birthdays during the course of the Games, which conclude on November 27.

A GNS official not wishing to be quoted said the information had been provided by the respective national Olympic committees (NOCs) and there could be some more Indians who would be cutting the cake as information on participants from some more disciplines was yet to be provided.