Savyasaachi

There is a very important issue which is often swept under the carpet – is cricket the only sport in India? The answer is, theoretically, a firm no! However the ground reality is vastly different. India has always been a land of great sporting culture, though we may not really have suitable records at the Olympics to show. Sports like chess, kabaddi, etc. originated here and India has also played an important role in popularizing other sports through huge fan following. How then have we brought ourselves to this situation, where the entire sporting system looks so lopsided? Is it sheerly public sentiment? Or does the management of sports in our country have a role too? Let me even go to the extent of posing a laughable question – which is our national sport? I wish I could get a single answer from all 125 crore Indians, but I can say for sure that I won’t. In such a scenario, does it not make sense for us to analyze where we are going wrong so that we can aim for better performances from our athletes in future editions of the Olympics, Asian games, etc.? Remember, cursing the system is easy, finding a solution is not. Firstly, let us all be sure that there are many, many obstacles that hinder the inclusive growth of Indian sport. For instance, there are many sportsmen who have to work for wages and struggle to make ends meet in their family, while also supporting their sports careers. Though many news articles are written about forgotten sportspersons, the governments (central and state) have shown little interest in radically transforming the situation. The apathy and insensitivity shown towards accomplished sportspersons is even more baffling. I can think of many examples to validate my stand. How many of us even remotely know that there exists a Kabaddi world cup and Indians are world champions in the same? How many of us are made aware that the world champions of carrom are from India? One striking example is Major Dhyan Chand. He was widely known as the ‘Hockey wizard’ – a man of unparalleled skills and mastery which impressed even the proud Hitler. He never lost a hockey match and has never failed to score atleast one goal in a match. In fact many countries hesitated to organize hockey matches against India fearing a humiliating defeat. But then, how did Dhyan Chand spend his last few days? Any wild guesses? People failed to accept him as a hockey coach for a state team in India even as he got coaching offers abroad. He was even denied entry into an Indian hockey match! If that wasn’t enough, he barely got a penny from the Indian government. With respect to a Bharat Ratna award, the less said the better! Friends, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Numerous names which fail to ring a bell in our minds have won unprecedented laurels for our country at various events. Viswanathan Anand (who has 6 chess Oscars to his name), Leander Paes (14 grand slam titles across 20 years), Baichung Bhutia, Milkha Singh, Abhinav Bindra (the lone ‘golden Indian Olympian’), etc. deserve as much publicity and honors as given to cricketers,right? Many states in India lack the bare minimum when it comes to sports infrastructure (e.g. A well-equipped gym, trainers) and despite this, our athletes have been doing reasonably well on the global stage. Is it their mistake that they do not get the support to go that extra mile and convert potential into gold medals? Shouldn’t the lesser known sports also get proper remuneration for their survival in our country? These are some questions to ponder over. However, on an optimistic note, we can still feel proud about Indian sport in the fact that we have made giant strides over the past decade or so. Our athletes have entered the top brackets of the world rankings in almost every sport and it is a matter of great pride for us. If only we could mobilize opinions and support equally for every sport, we can surely rub shoulders with the likes of giants like USA and China on the biggest stage of sport in the near future. Keeping my fingers crossed!