The London Olympics comes to an end today. Hmmm... for most of us, it's been merely watching a collection of sports that grab our attention once every four years. And some of those are really, really great to watch, aren't they? Great to watch, yes, but the results for us weren't really that great. Why?
Let's do a comparison. Britain has a population of 62 million, and they've won 64 medals so far - 29 of them gold. India has a population of 1,210 million. And we've won, uh, 6 medals. 0 gold. What do you possibly make out of this? That we Indians simply can't play well? That we're born physically weak or something, and it prevents us from coming even close to our counterparts around the world? Or are we simply too engaged in intellectual activities (many of the greatest scientists of the world are Indians, or of Indian origin), and we just don't have time for sports? Or is it something else?
The truth is, none of the above. We just don't let ourselves play enough sports. Yes, ourselves. There has been enough blame put on the government for not providing enough sports facilities in schools and colleges, lack of training academies, good coaches, sponsors, blah blah blah. Yet it is we who put so much of unnecessary focus on studies, treating it as the only criterion for a person's success or failure. Even the recent ad promos for a hugely popular reality show proudly say, "Sirf gyaan hi aapko aapka haq dilata hai". Seriously? The world couldn't care less about how many marks Michael Phelps had secured in his university exams.
That we don't let ourselves play enough sports is not the entire truth. There are hundreds, if not thousands of talented sportsmen in the country. The govt. doesn't support a majority of them. There are also their family, peers etc. who don't support or encourage them. We can achieve more gold when there's more support and exposure for our athletes.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that the government doesn't support athletes.. much has been said of that already. But that is not the ONLY reason we don't get more medals. There are world-class facilities for a lot of sports (badminton, for example) already in place. They would be worth only if a greater number of people were willing to use them.
ReplyDeleteThere are, but they are not available for everyone. And the cost of playing sports is very high. Not all athletes can afford them in India. I never said that was the only reason. But that is one MAIN reason.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. But the point of this blog-post was only to put forward a different line of thought, apart from the obvious lapses in the responsibility of the government and the high costs involved.
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