What near misses and such few medals for having stayed in the race! None of gold and silver; so be contented with bronze if nothing else! But let’s soul search what’s wrong and why such poor paltry success for such a sub-continental country lacking nothing at all as proven in many other fields!
If Asian Games are something to go by and be positive about, the Commonwealth Games had painted everything dirty and black to negate hopeful approach. Sad indeed that we don’t seem to have learned anything over decades, only to boast about potential and fail to deliver too!
Controversies and complaints galore, the names and related events repeating sometimes! The focus doesn’t seem to be on promoting but controlling and managing with favouritism and diverting and syphoning funds for personal gains. Coterie and regionalism ever present to unbalance fairness!
Typical of argumentative Indians, questioning whatever doesn’t suit them and looking for legal remedies sacrificing reputations at altar of sportsmanship. Sports by its nature stays away from courts so as not to get befuddled!
Entourages that accompany participants in size and number to syphon off freebies, bureaucrats and managers included, are big drains, precipitates unwanted networks with nepotism and complaints.
Organisational apathies and controversies aside, challenge and need is to promote games and competitors with potential and mettle. There would be enough and more budding ones that need be spotted, promoted and trained with fighting spirits to last an Olympics or two. That some youth are being trained in Baseball, Football, Basketball etc to play overseas are evidence enough!
Diet and stamina are one thing, but commitment over other priorities a must. Sportspersons’ high-profile life with performance and earnings doesn’t last long, even if one turns professional and as such the dearth may be due to such drawbacks, high expectations or lack of sustained promotions that only committed stalwarts, pioneers, people, organisations and firms with funds can support. Isn’t it time and option that CSR -Corporate Social Responsibility- and focus on stakeholders etc also is channelled towards to raise competitiveness in sports fields.
Typically, Track and Field events are more challenging, promising and attention seeking than team games, as individual performances are held in high esteem. True, Relays in team events also steal the thunder. Thankfully competitors needn’t be gladiators or be like Ben Hur!
Tumbling records portray that human performance can steadily improve in all fields and thus the question is why we are stuck as also rans and not taking pole positions as earlier done by teams that brought home Hockey 8 Gold. Abhinav Bindra and Neeraj Chopra also won Gold in Rifle shooting and Javelin throw, totalling ten, with others in Tennis, Weightlifting, Badminton, Boxing, etc totalling to 41 medals in 25 games, by far very low though!
The best option is for successful sports persons who have earned name, fame and funds, to come together and set up training facilities and promote the meritorious one free of any other influences and let the best ones win to corner glories.
Oh forget cricket: it’s overdone! The loss to Aussies earlier and Lanks now, with only the American performance to brag about! Slowly but steadily other sports and games are getting funded though!
-Marex Media