It took me almost a week to figure out what to pen down, with the topic already in my mind. I knew there is a lot to write, ironically however, did not know what to write and how! So, this one not-so-fine afternoon on my way to Kanpur, I saw a whopping number of young lads trying their luck to get shortlisted for a district level sports – not too sure which one but it was some track and field event as could be figured out from the costume of the participants and the best glance available from the side window of the front seat of the car. Whatever best I could view of the field and the participants running around (practicing or giving auditions maybe), boys were doing their best. And what else could be a better start for an article on Indian Olympics!
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India and Olypmics
We have seen sports personalities like Kamlesh Mehta Karnam Malleshwari, Rajya Vardhan Singh Rathore and some more people (frankly speaking, I cannot recollect more names!) who at one point of time were the talk of the town in every Indian city and after that, at all times, have been bygone. There are also some sports persons like Mary Kom and Sharath Kamal, who still aspire to be the talk of the town. The similarity between the two sets of people is that the former set has had tasted success at the Olympics and the later set is still dreaming of it. They are dreaming of it because they know they have the ability to achieve it. They are dreaming of it because they have the temperament, perseverance and the caliber to make it big in the Olympics. And I am not exalting them because of some prejudice or bias. The facts about such people speak for themselves. To know more about Mary Kom and Sharath Kamal, you might want to visitsportskeeda.com (obviously, googling in is always an option)!
When I saw the young aspirants trying hard for selection at the track and field event, I knew that India has got a Mary Kom and a Sharath Kamal in every sport who can by sheer toil, proper training and apt administration be a Sachin Tendulkar (please don’t get confused, I am just trying to show a personalized analogy) one day. That one day would change the dynamics of Indian sports all together and that one day would be embossed as the golden day in history books of Indian sports and that one day would take India to the top ten table of Olympics charts and gradually to the topmost in that chart. However, as I earlier said, this one day cannot just be the outcome of burning the midnight oil by the sportspersons. Financial implications and Monitoring have a vital role to play in that.
In the present scenario, players lack inspiration. Everyone wants to be a medalist at the prestigious sports event but lacks proper guidance. Apart from few sports such as Cricket or Tennis, there are hardly any role models to find in any other sport, and if there are any, they are not as renowned. Given this, great Indian players of the past need to come forth, take the lead andeducate young, budding and talented players. They need to understand that a myriad of a talent is going un-noticed and without grooming, when it should be utilized and capitalized for the nation. Even the Indian Schooling system needs to take 180 degrees turn in their approach towards sports education and the importance of Olympics at the primary and secondary levels. Students are motivated and pressurized to score outstandingly in Maths and Science, however, no emphasis is given on Physical Education. Since it’s a part of the curriculum, then a pass mark is enough! With this attitude, which student can even get a chance to identify his/her talent, let alone fostering it? Right from the day a student holds pen for the first time, its inculcated in him that only being good at studies can fetch you a good job. People forget here that even a good sportsperson can get an equivalently good job in many government organizations. Railways and Oil Corporations to name a few.
Another significant factor to pay heed to is facilities and administration of the Sports Authorities. As an example, a small hall with 4-5 Table Tennis tables – with many of them either having a corroded surface or a worn out net, only one coach who never played beyond State level and no Racquets provided by the TT authorities might get one winning at National level. However, as far as common sense goes, such training and administration is heavily flawed for participation at an International level like that of Olympics. The authorities need to urge government to allocate higher funds for a better quality of tables, to increase the number of coaches qualitatively, so that better training can be imparted to the players and to organize more number of camps at national level, where upcoming players get to interact with high quality players. Proper gymnasium and aerobics facilities are a must for any sport and there should be a gymnasium attached to every sports complex, with modern equipments. Presently, you do find a small not-so-modern gym, however TT players also come there, Boxers also work out there only and Basketball players also cannot find any other player for fitness exercises. As a result, either they give up on fitness or give up the sport itself. Even the Corporates can be of great help in this regard. A firm like TCS or Infosys would not mind donating away few lakhs for improvisation of a sport. The problem is that either the authorities take administration for granted or Corporate firms are not aware of the facts. Sports authorities need to approach these big companies and these big companies then, need to provide succor.
It is imperative that people join hands and bind together – be it sportspersons, coaches, parents, corporate firms or teachers. Essence of sports in one’s life needs to be understood and the spirit needs to be fostered, if we want to stop grouching over India’s poor state of affairs at the Olympics. There is, unambiguously, plethora of talent in India. What is lacking is a road map to nurture that talent. If that is done, a day would come when India would not only overtake China in population basis, but also on the basis of number of medals won at the Olympics!
