At every Olympic Games, rivals China and Russia walk away with multiple gold medals. While for India it is an exercise in despair. The nation has managed only one gold medal since 1980 by a shooter Abhinav Bindra. This clearly reveals the fact that India does not have a sports culture. Unless there is a synergized sports culture we will never win a string of medals. Indian sports management doesn’t care either. Much of the country’s talent remains undetected; it takes a degree of privilege to be a serious competitor. One of the reason is women and girls are restricted from exercise and peer pressure on kids to achieve excellence in academics is a fact of life. Our India’s cricketers have risen to world fame from the slums and villages, but its athletes in other sports have failed to reach the same heights. Young Indians are given opportunity but the facilities provided to them are not enough, we still have to improve a lot. To win a medal in Olympics is more than just physical and mental capabilities. You also need other supporting facilities such as clinics, training facilities, peers, social pressure to win, and on top of that, your financial situation.
Vinod C. Dixit
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
