POLITICAL DIARY

New Delhi, 23 August 2008

One Gold, Two Bronzes

DOESN’T TOTAL SPORTING NATION

By Poonam I Kaushish

Sharp shooter Abhinav Bindra, boxer Virendra Kumar, and wrestler Sushil Kumar were nameless non-entities. Just a part of the Indian contingent to the Beijing Olympics 2008. Till a gold and two bronze medals changed their life for ever, paved their future in gold. And brought glory to India.

A billion-strong nation came out like termites out of the woodwork to laud and sing paens over India’s new sports wonder boys. But in the delirious cacophony of congratulations perhaps not many noticed that these three young lads reflect ‘Yuva Bharat, who have struggled and clawed to reach where they are. By sheer grit and determination. Believing in themselves, living their dreams and turning them into reality.

Today, as the Central and various State Governments open their coffers and dole out awards running into crores has anyone pondered to pause and think. What are they celebrating? That it took India 61 years to win one gold in the individual category? That these victories are no thanks to the Government and the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)? Or that despite all adversities these sportsmen did India proud?

Where was the Government when these lads needed them most? It is all very well for our netas and babus to justify their lack of support, monetary and logistics, to Bindra by stating that shooting is a very expensive sport and given the meagre funds and resources for dispersal to all fields it is not possible to earmark large amounts for shooting alone. Really? How do other countries do it? Or there too shooters have rich fathers? Clearly, this argument cuts no ice when daily stories of a corrupt polity and babudom abound.

Let’s take the case of Sushil and Virendera. How does the Sports Ministry and the IOA justify lack of funds and support for khushti, a favourite in  villages and mukke baazee the ‘hot’ sport for urban youth brought up on Mohammad Ali and Joe Fraser’s video games? Or are they merely trying to whitewash that these two players reached the top despite their poverty.

Heart rendering is their tale. Of how they walked the jagged edge of poverty and nurtured their talent. Both are sons of drivers. Both come from a lineage where there was never enough money for food. Of days when they had to survive on roti with water. Yet their families put all they had in their sons. Both lived in a tiny room with 25 other sportsmen with rodents and cockroaches as their daily companions, performed sans physiotherapists to beat all odds and win in the international arena. Where was the Government?

Scandalous also is how Manipuri weightlifter Laishram Monika was pulled out at the last minute from going to Beijing ostensibly on ‘doping’ charges. Or was it because the Indian Weightlifting Federation wanted to favour another player. The net result? The dope allegation had no basis but by then it was too late for her to go. Leading to the Manipur Chief Minister demanding a CBI enquiry.

Instances are a plenty. Take the case of a shooter, whose shooting career effectively ended when her pistol was stolen. The Sports Ministry couldn’t or wouldn’t buy her a new one. Ditto is the case of hockey. Shockingly, the Indian men’s team failed to qualify for the Olympics. Considering that hockey had brought India it’s first ever gold medal in its Olympic debut in 1928. It won seven more gold medals, the last in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. After which India's dream run in hockey came to an end.

Why? Mum is the word. Yet hockey is our national sport. Worse, we call ourselves a nation of sport lovers. Spoil sports is more like it. Clearly, some pressing questions need to be answered. Tragically, today sport has less to do with sport. It has turned into a game of power and money. Sports be dammed. Sportmen are branded according to their net worth and launched in the sports arena as ‘companies’  which market different products each according to their brand appeal and market acceptability.

Shooter Bindra hit the bull’s eye when he stated that India today is all about cricket, thanks to the IPL and its big bucks. But cricket can never be the true symbol of Indian sports as it is played only in 20 countries around the world. All youngsters wanted to play nothing but cricket. All wanted to become Dhoni, Pathan or Sehwag. Till Bindra and his two colleagues win wherein now corporate coffers are opening up for them like Aladdin’s lamp.

Less said the better of our various sports bodies.  Which are controlled and headed by faded politicians, who exist on five star consumerism and vested interest. Ambitious people with powerful connections who take a battalion of their high-flying socialites to international sporting does as cheer-leaders. While sportsmen languish in dormitories with a stipend of a mere US $25 a day.

See the difference between China and India. For the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics, China juxtaposed centuries-old civilization with a futuristic modern nation. Preparations were on for nearly 100 years for the 16-day razzmatazz were China made its debut in the Super League of nations. Sportspersons, past, present and the future, showcased China in all its manifestations.

What of India? Serious preparations for Delhi Commonwealth Games have yet to start. All are busy in finger-pointing and quibbling over who will handle the Rs 500 crores cash till. But if the show we put up at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Sydney is any indication then don’t expect much.

Outrageously, out of the Rs 44 crore earmarked, over Rs 18 crores was paid to a Mumbai event management company to produce an 11-minute capsule on India culture, read Bollywood. Saif Ali Khan, Rani Mukherjee and Ashwariya Rai were reportedly paid Rs one crore each to wave to the audience. It is another matter that Bollywood and its filmi jhatkas have nothing to do with sports akharas and maidans.

Much of the problem with developing Olympic champions here seems to be rooted in the very same things that make India a perpetual also-ran to China in economic development: poor infrastructure, entrenched political corruption and infighting, and chaos and disorganization. Money earmarked for Olympic training is often mysteriously sidelined, facilities for training are in poor shape and equipment goes missing. Any wonder that India has only won 25 medals in Olympic Games since 1928.

In this free-for-all vicious circle of avarice lies the forgotten Greek philosophy of sports: The health of a nation depends upon the proficiency of its youth in sports and games.  Sadly, our rulers are not interested in sports, but only in the victory of glistening gold on the world stage. And it is prepared to reward victors with goodies only when they have done the nation proud. The word nurturing of talent is no-existent in the Indian lexicon.

Finally, the million dollar question? How is the Government going to pull out the country from this sports morass?  For starters keep politicians and bureaucrats out of sports. It is plain that rescuing sport from the Octopus-like grip of vested interests, pathetic management, bad planning deceit and money across the country will be a long and painful process.

Nevertheless, a beginning has to be made soon. We have to be clear about what we want to achieve and how? The true legacy of the three medals will lie in whether money can now be made available to build the training superstructure for other sports and sportmen. The fear of the fall of our icons should not make us turn a blind eye to our own crime in queering the pitch for what India desperately needs: healthy sport. Or, else reconcile to being spoil sports! – INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)