Catch them young is true for all sports and athletics in particular. Rio report revealed that scouting talent is the only option left to train youth and go about the task of building better prospects before the next Olympics. Why we fail in the field sports and why we are scared of big names instead of doing an encore and upset the applecart? Why we lack killer instinct as we saw in some of the events we finished fourth and just missed the medal by a whisker.
We do not have a proper plan of action to encourage sports in the right spirit. Some of our renowned national sports facilities are poorly run and maintained and thereby give less scope to hit the bull’s eye all the time. We do not pay much importance to the sports bodies which govern various sports. The sports ministry should join hands with National Institute of Sports (NIS) Patiala, National Sports Federation Indian Olympic Federation, State and District sports bodies should be able to spot the talent and be able to develop the latent talent available in the country and the skills in the best way possible.
How are radical changes in sports not needed when our National sports facilities are poorly run and maintained? Winning two medals for 1.2 billion of people is a bad track record and something serious should be done to prune up talent from the grass root level. I heard that the Swimming Pools in the country train children from the age of 5, whereas in Australia the talent is spotted from a very tender age. So by the time they grow up, they are ready to compete in major events like Olympics.
Training methods in India need a new look as we solely depend on foreign coaches to make their mark at the International games. Why can’t we rely on local talent in coaching department too? P Gopichand did make the difference to our chances in Shuttle Badminton at the World level. Let us have a broader outlook in producing champions at all levels. It is time to change our outdated and out modelled training methods, develop exemplary attitude, provide best food, medical care and Gym facilities to aspiring sportsmen and sportswomen. The major aspect of sports is to monitor the progress of the wards periodically.
Our sports bodies are defunct and spend only 0.3 paise per day per person and that is very meagre amount. When paralympics participants play pivotal role in Rio Olympics winning medals, why our much fitter athletes and sports personalities fail miserably in the finishing line? It is high time we pay heed to the fact that we lack in the build up to the big events and better council should prevail to include sports as a curriculum in our schools and colleges to produce more and more champions.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
