The Olympic Dream

Dated : 27/08/2008

I have always been a sports freak and liked watching all sports, even those other than cricket. The problem has always been that the other sports don't have the media coverage one would like. Some years back, there was at least hockey, but even that has disappeared out of sight. So, it was kind of refreshing to watch the Olympics and I particularly liked the media coverage it got.
India - expectedly for me and unexpectedly for many of my friends improved its tally significantly over the previous editions. But is that enough, 3 medals for a country of a billion people. I don't think its enough, but its certainly an improvement and India should build on the success of these Olympics to become a nation with a decent haul of medals over the next couple of decades.
The best part about the current haul of three medals was that all the three medals came in different disciplines. So, now at least there can be three different disciplines in the government's radar for development. There have always been about 5-6 disciplines in which India had a realistic chance. Apart from Shooting,Wrestling and Boxing where we won medals, we came close in Badminton and Tennis too. Though the Archers failed to impress, they have the potential.
The role of the government is very important now. It should not forget the achievements of the medal winners. IT can use this opportunity to push for better popularity of non-cricket sports in the country. The country's sportspeople need to be treated well. India can do a lot better if the government provides better facilities and just support the talent India has.
I am in IIM-Bangalore and I had in my batch Kutraleeshwaran, who at the age of 13 swam across 6 channels and is a Guinness record holder. But he left swimming as there wasn't proper infrastructure in the country and the government didn't support him when he required it. He had offers from other counties to use their training facilities provided he represented them in the Olympics. If the other countries can see such talent why can't India? He refused and concentrated on his academics and India lost a potential sporting Icon.
I myself have seen small 4-5 year old children performing acrobatics at traffic signals in Delhi and Bangalore. Such children should be groomed from a young age as they can be future gymnasts. This is what China does best and look at their medals tally. If I could spot such children just in a couple of cities, I can't even begin to imagine the kind of talent that can be hidden across the Indian landscape. Its just a matter of spotting it and nurturing it.
A couple of private companies have come ahead to support non-traditional sports. I hope this trend continues. Its just that sports has to be made a viable profession in India. For that everyone's role is very important, from the government and private companies who need to build infrastructure and support the talent to the people who genuinely need to respect its sportspeople and not just start to memorize their names once every four years.
I have great hope in the current scenario and sincerely hope that this time we definitely don't miss out and see a bag of medals by 2020 or 2024 when I hope that India would be hosting an Olympics of its own.