However, because there were no golds, only two silvers and four bronzes, India ranked 55th out of 205 competing nations, compared with South Africa’s 24th. 

Jamaica has a population of just 2.7 million, placing 141st in the population stakes, yet it   finished in 18th position on the Olympic medals table.

  So what? Exactly. India, which like South Africa achieved only one medal at Beijing in 2008, is quite proud of its  record medal tally, while looking to improve by 2016.

There is not the same level of angst and recrimination as expressed in South Africa  about why we did not do better.

Yesterday some people were even demanding that Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula be fired and that Sascoc be held to account for the “failure” to bring home 12 medals.

 Seriously. Some perspective is needed.

    South Africa did very well to achieve its best yet medal haul since readmission to the Olympic movement. (In 1912 SA bagged  four golds and two silvers to finish seventh).

 No doubt sporting achievement has a positive effect on what could be called the national psyche.

We’ve seen that with Rugby World Cups and to some extent with our Olympians.

If South Africa  wins even more medals in Brazil that will be marvellous.

We can all cheer and welcome home our heroes and heroines.  But we must never let sport become an opiate of the masses.

It must not  displace the need for world class performances in other areas such as education, health,  housing and poverty alleviation.

 As long as severe backlogs and inequalities remain, we must not fool ourselves about being a winning nation.