The Indian Sports Saga

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The Sports sector in India represents a vast chunk of under utilized talent. India is a huge country and our past clearly shows presence of immense talent lying in all parts of the country. In the past we have produced brilliant sportsmen that the world remembers till today, which clearly proves existence of immense talent in our country! But today, sadly, Sports is one field which is being neglected by citizens and government alike.

Let me quote the example of Cuba, a small island nation that has maintained its prestige among the global sports élite for the past three decades. This has been primarily due to the effectiveness of a mass, free physical education system which the government has supported through the ups and downs of the national economy.

Indian sports system on the other hand is characterized by lack of infrastructure, funds and inefficiencies. The Sports Authority of India, the apex body for promoting and managing sports activities in the nation is run by bureaucrats rather than technocrats! A peek into the Sports system in India shows that there are primarily 3 kinds of organisations working for the cause- one is the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, then the Sports Authority of India (SAI) and finally various Sports Federations. It is here that we encounter the first biggest flaw in our sports system-these three organizations function basically as separate entities with little coordination or accountability to each other.

Consider the much awaited Common Wealth Games for instance. Discussion is abuzz about various issues such as infrastructure for the games, roads, metro, tourism, hotels etc. But little importance is given to the thing most closely related to the Common Wealth Games-that is SPORTS. Not many know the state of those working in the SAI that has been caused due to these games. They have been displaced from the stadiums where they used to coach, naturally because of renovation work, but unfortunately without an efficient alternative plan of action. Some of them have been on deputation to schools or other Sports institutes or posted out of Delhi-however, a big majority is simply sitting at home and doing nothing! To add to that, a vast population of youngsters, who were earlier involved in sports, now do not have any place to go to! Of course the elite can still pay a bit more and join some camp-but what about the not so elite who used to come to SAI to nurture their talent or interest?

India lacks sports cultuer. Sports as a profession still does not have the social recognition it deserves. Being a sports coach is still not regarded in the same light as say a University lecturer though they both might be paid the same amount as salary. This problem lies is deep rooted in first-our minds and then in our system. Education and Sports are usually regarded as two things that are mutually exclusive rather than being two important parts of a bigger whole.

We perhaps have failed to recognize and nurture some things that we’ve always had. Hockey originated in India-our national game. In 1982 Asian Games, Hockey and Kho-Kho were used as our demonstrative games-something exclusive to India. Today these two games have not only lost their status but also have been forgotten over time instead of being promoted by us. Instead, after the Asian Games, specialists were called from India to conduct coaching camps in countries like Australia and Germany, where Hockey is now a popular sport. Though I am happy to note that Hockey enjoys an international status today, I am equally ashamed to know that we do not have a proper hockey team! Our players can not afford hockeys made of fibre glass because most of them are from the not so elite sections of society (and trust me this is not inspired from the movie ‘Chak De’-it’s a fact!).

Sania Mirza’s struggle to get sponsors for her first few international tournaments is known to most. We’re all proud of her today but I have no hitch in saying that Sania Mirza, Abhinav Bhindra and the likes owe nothing to the Sports system in place for their success. I can not help but wonder the immense talent that is suppressed in our rural areas because of lack of opportunities and money and the potential it possesses to take our country to great heights in the field of sports.

There have been some policies that our government took up in the past-one was starting a network of Special Area Games (SAG) where they targeted specific areas to tap talent. One major discovery was made in the tribal areas of Bihar. Under the SAG, people immensely talented in archery were found. They were nurtured, trained and as a result got our country great laurels. But soon, they were forgotten along with the SAG schemes. There is a similar plan under consideration where in the authorities plan to de centralize games to the Panchayati level which would help tap rural talent. This was being promoted by ex Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, Manishankar Iyer who was soon shifted to some other portfolio and like many other things-this plan too was forgotten.

I would love to see a day when Hockey enjoys the same status it did earlier and we win the International Hockey Tournament! That would require investment from the governments end and passion from those who have ever been involved in sports and would love to see it be respected. A passion that should be channelized into changing a mind set, supported by sound policies that genuinely aim to change the status of sports in our country.
gaurav sharma

Commonwealth Games 2010: Where is the Spirit?

With the commonwealth games right next door, and Delhi getting all cleaned up for the participants with apartments and stadiums being built, there is a hypocrisy that has very surprisingly not hit us yet. Do we, as Indians, who don’t even know about each local sport played in our country, have the right to acknowledge international sportsmen?

There are innumerable sports like Kayaking, Kabbadi, Korfball, Sepak Takraw, Bandy, Floorball, Lacrosse etc which haven’t ever been even heard by people, including the “well read” ones like you and me. Even I had to look up the Wikipedia to search for the relatively “local” sports of India. But the point that has been made here is not about the awareness we people have, but it’s about selective publicity of sports. There is a general trend that has been observed in sports, that the ones which are played in other sports and are known in other countries, are the ones which are given their due publicity, exposure and encouragement in India. However, my logic and rationality fails here to understand the reason for the same. Do we lack the courage to make our sport international by encouraging people in it, or are we too lazy to an amalgamation of both. We are scared to take the road less travelled.

There is another issue that needs to be highlighted here, about sports in general, whether the local or the international ones. Are we actually ready to take up any sport as a recognised profession, let alone publicizing our local sports? Before the IPL, how many of us had even heard of something known as a sports manager, before we could think about taking it up. How many of the parents suggest their children to consider sports as an option, when the child is confused about his/her career prospects. How many parents LET the child take up sports as his/her career when they insist for the same. The answer, whether we accept it or not, is very clear- Hardly a few! Majority of the students look towards being a MBA, an IAS, and an Army officer. But how many even consider the option of being a sports manager, or a sports man. And if it’s a group of people on the verge of extinction, then why is it so?

Then comes the point about girls being encouraged in sports. Now, as discussed above, even if a few people take up sports as a career in India, and out of those even a smaller section is females, then even those don’t have the social will and the sports infrastructure to initiate change in the status quo. This aspect is a long debated one, so I wouldn’t elaborate on it.

Hence from local sports to recognition to gender bias, India seems to be losing the sportsman spirit in all senses, both literally and metaphorically.

Commonwealth Games: Is it Good for India’s Economy?

India is a developing country. Focus on the word developing as India is not yet developed. Ironically, India is a country which is, on one hand struggling with the problem of poverty since the time of independence while on the other hand is spending millions on the commonwealth games!

Forty percent of India’s population is below the poverty line which clearly indicates that the booming Indian economy is still unable to feed a majority of its citizens.

Climatic change like global warming is causing an agricultural crisis for the peasants all over the country, worsening their conditions which, in turn, is leading to inflation in the economy, energy resources are getting depleted, unskilled and poor people are forced to get involved in unorganized employment with least possible wages and lets not forget the skilled and literate unemployed…but who really cares? India is too busy with Commonwealth Games!

India’s present goal should be the development of human resources, dealing with poverty and creating a healthy, wealthy and literate India. I believe that as a result of the approaching Commonwealth Games, India, especially Delhi is undergoing a complete makeover where the infrastructure is concerned. Lavish five-star hotels, better flyovers, etc, are being constructed. Better buses can be seen running on the roads of Delhi.

Why all this? Just to show that India is on its way to become a developed nation soon?

But can it hide those shabby and disguised slums behind the shimmering and glamorous construction? Can it suppress the cries of those million hungry stomachs? Can it? Unfortunately not!

And can anyone explain how modern infrastructure helps those million unemployed men who have to support half a dozen of their family members without any source of income?

I won’t deny the fact that may be these games will have an international impact and benefit a particular section of the society temporarily. But this is where the most significant question arises that if the games will benefit a certain strata of the society which is already rich and powerful then what happens to those strata of the Indian population which is below the poverty line? Who bears the responsibility of their welfare?

I also agree that the Commonwealth Games will usher in a certain amount of employment but will it offer employment to millions of unemployed? And by the way this is only for a temporary period of time. Then what? Back to square one? Thus, a country like India wearing poverty in the form of national shame cannot afford to conduct such games at the cost of its poverty stricken citizens. Therefore India should first win the race against poverty and then think of going international through such ventures.

Hence India’s poverty and the hosting of Commonwealth Games are not at all compatible as for a nation the welfare of its citizen is its first priority and not the conduction of sports and leisure.