Sports in India: The way forward

India, a country of more than one billion population, is yet to emerge as a sporting nation, but the process of developing sports culture has already been started. The recent success of the Indian sportspersons in the Commonwealth Games, and in various other international events inspires the youth of the country to take up sports as a career option. The presence of sports icons, like Sachin Tendulkar, Saina Nehwal, Vijender Singh, Leander Paes, motivates them to follow sports.

Moreover, organizing mega sporting events, such as Commonwealth Games, Cricket World Cup, Hockey World Cup etc, helped India to secure a place in the global sports map. Now, the challenge is to take it to the next level. The objective of this article is to discuss few measures that can be adopted to provide a comprehensive direction to sports in India.

In India, sport is governed by amateur administrators who are either involved in politics or in top level Governmental services, and thus they hardly find any time to serve the sports federations of the country. Today, sport has emerged as a multi- billion dollar industry throughout the world, and professional managers are appointed to run the growing business of sports. Similar practices should be introduced in India.

Young, dynamic, qualified and professional managers should be appointed to serve the sports bodies in the best possible way. To incorporate accountability into the system, ‘Performance based Evaluation Method’ should be introduced where each administrator will be evaluated on the basis of certain parameters. This step will inculcate professionalism, and accountability in the sporting environment of India.

In sports, a player is considered to be a product while his/her performance is viewed as its quality. To ensure the quality of the product, flow of fund is essential. Therefore, the sources of generating revenue, such as sponsorship, broadcasting, gate revenue, merchandizing, should be exploited. Comprehensive policy decisions, like Tax Holidays, should be made to encourage the corporate sector to make contribution to sports. Sport plays a significant role in changing the socio- economic composition of a society and thus sufficient funds should be allocated by the Government for the development of sports. At the same time, it is important to understand the possible areas in which these funds can be directed.

The importance of developing infrastructure for the development of sports in a country can never be ignored. Therefore, infrastructure is an area where fund should be directed. The concept of dedicated land bank should be introduced to develop sports facilities. PPP model should be adopted in developing and maintaining these facilities where the Government will provide land and other necessary requirements while the infrastructure will be set up and maintained by corporate entities. Emphasis should be given on exploring the possibilities of generating revenue to make these properties self- sustained. These sports facilities will play a significant role in organizing various sports events, including mega sporting events, in future.

Multiple benefits can be derived by organizing a mega sporting events. These events provide an impetus to the economic growth of a country and also provide a platform to the athletes to exhibit their prowess in front of the home crowd. The success of these athletes enhances the acceptability of sports in the society which is essential in establishing sports as a comprehensive career option. Thus, to develop sports culture, India should prepare a long-term plan to host international mega sports events periodically.

To develop sports at the grass-root level, integration of sports with education is a must. Sport in India does not enjoy a permanent place in the educational system, especially at the school level. This is one of the biggest impediments to establish sports as a career option. Therefore, necessary measures should be taken to provide a place to sports in the school level educational system. Only a few states of India consider this issue, but most of the states do not realize its importance yet. If we wish to achieve excellence in sports, the grass-root level development should be given more importance and integration of sports with education is a step towards this initiative.

Sport in India is in the process of development. To accelerate this rate of development, holistic approach should be adopted. Organizing one mega sporting event or bringing international sports icons once, may create hype in the short run, but will not guarantee the sustainability in the long run. Thus, it is important to prepare a plan for the overall development of sports. Efforts should be made in developing infrastructure, creating sports talents, organizing mega sports events, generating awareness at the grass root level and introducing an environment of sports free from corruption. These steps will surely play an instrumental role in securing a permanent place for Indian in the global sports map.