India's record in all kinds of sports is pathetic. For a population of more than a billion we have accomplished so little that we go overboard about the few people who have had modest successes in world events. We lionise them so much that they don't perform in future. That is why we make heroes out of our cricketers. At least they are consistent toppers in the game, even though it is played in only fourteen countries. In the rest of the disciplines we scrape the barrel for performers. See the movie called Bhagh Milkha Bhagh. Good but too melodramatic. It glorifies an athlete who never won a medal in world competitions.
This shameful lack of achievement mirrors our low performance in other sectors of development- health, education, nutrition and minimum wages. Infrastructural facilities to promote sports are missing from most of India. China went from zero to hero in three decades. They constructed stadiums with hostels, stocked them with equipment, coaches and then trained and trained a fairly selected band. Their selection system covered nearly every school and village. And their sports facilites were easily accessed by every one.
Not like in India. In the few places that there are stadia they are closed to the public because of rules and the meanness of the bureaucrats. In 1964 I used to practice for 5000 metres. During our summer vacations I used to go to my home town Meerut. Here near the crossing of Ordnance Row and The Mall, and close to my home, was an Army Stadium. I used to practise there till I was told that it was restricted only for the Army. There was a civil stadium nearby, but that was closed to practice, as it is still today- 49 years later. This is the condition of most of our stadiums. They are restricted for use by silly rules.
Some do beat odds and the system and do well. But, consider how much better India would do if sports were encouraged throughout the land. Instead of being ransomed to undedniably mediocre leaders with petty egos, swollen heads, slimy politics, inescapable favouritism, unchecked corruption and total indifference to the needs of sports persons.
I have given below countries that won medals at the 2012 London Olympics. Their rank according to population is also given.
At the London Olympics of 2012 the countries listed below were the medal winners. (Some countries with a higher overall tally are lower in the medals tally table. That is because they have won less gold and silver medals.)
S. No COUNTRY Medals % of World Popln. Popln. Rank _________________________________________________________________________________ 1 USA 104 4.45% 3
2 China 88 19.11% 1
3 Great Britain 65 0.9% 22
4 Russia 81 2.02% 53
5 South Korea 28 0.71% 26
6 Germany 44 1.13% 6
7 France 34 0 .92% 21
8 Italy 28 0 .84% 23
9 Hungary 18 0.14% 88
10 Australia 35 0.33% 53
11 Japan 38 1.79% 10
12 Kazakhstan 13 0.24% 62
13 Netherlands 20 0.24% 63
14 Ukraine 20 0.64% 29
15 New Zealand 13 0.063 124
16 Cuba 14 0.16% 75
17 Iran 12 1.08% 17
18 Jamaica 12 0.038% 141
19 Czech Republic 10 0.15% 82
20 North Korea 6 0.35% 47
21 Spain 17 0.66% 28
22 Brazil 17 2.73% 5
23 South Africa 6 0.75% 25
24 Ethiopia 7 1.22% 14
25 Croatia 6 0.06% 128
26 Belarus 12 0.13% 90
27 Romania 9 0.28% 59
28 Kenya 11 0.62% 31
29 Denmark 9 0.079% 112
30 Azerbaijan 10 0.13% 92
31 Poland 10 0.54% 33
32 Turkey 5 1.06% 18
33 Switzerland 4 0.11% 96
34 Lithuania 5 0.042% 138
35 Norway 4 0.071% 118
36 Canada 18 0.49% 37
37 Sweden 8 0.13% 89
38 Colombia 8 0.66% 27
39 Georgia 7 0.063% 123
40 Mexico 7 1.65% 11
41 Ireland 5 0.065% 122
42 Argentina 4 0.56% 32
43 Serbia 4 0.1% 100
44 Slovenia 4 0.029 144
45 Tunisia 3 0.15% 79
46 Dominican Republic 2 0.13% 91
47 Trinidad & Tobago 4 0.019% 153
48 Uzbekistan 3 0.42% 42
49 Latvia 2 0.028% 147
50 Algeria 1 0.53% 35
51 Bahamas 1 0.0049% 177
52 Grenada 1 0.0015% 195
53 Uganda 1 0.48% 38
54 Venezuela 1 0.41% 44
55 INDIA 6 17.45% 2
56 Mongolia 5 0.039% 140
57 Thailand 6 0.93% 20
Some of these medal winning countries are poorer than India and with a population that is hundreds of times less than ours. And better not look at the last World Cup Final playing countries, amongst whom are Honduras (.11%), Paraguay (.013%) and Ghana (.35%).
Perhaps our performance in sports is doomed to be poor as other health indicators are also at rock bottom. After 66 years of Independence India is abysmally short of achievements in every field of human development. It matches the other criteria for judging a country's health- infant mortality. India is a shocking 144 on the list where Afghanistan is the last at 188. Sri Lanka at 64 and Nepal at 132 are ahead of India. (Source- UN Development Report 2011 & CIA World Fact book 2013) While corruption takes the front seat development is ignored.
India's middle class of about well fed 300 mln souls would still make India the 4th most populous nation. Yet there is no proportionate matching performance. The reason is also the Government's countrywide abhorrence to having a progressive policy for encouraging sports and lack of transparency. We have been rightly suspended by the IOA. There is a limit to tolerating corruption.
Never in the field of sports has such a large country achieved so little and so consistently.
Maybe our diet is also to blame a bit. Amongst all these medal winners India is the only vegetarian country.
Postscript: Yesterday, 11th of September, 2013, India was defeated by Afghanistan in the SAF finals at Kathmandu.
India's population is more than 1.2 billion. Afghanistan's population is about 27 million.
What made the loss so galling was that the Afghanis were, before the match, making fun of the Indians' poor physique, and predicted that they would win. They did.
Now, I am sure India will intellectualise this loss and say that they will come back stronger. It has not happened these sixty years. Yet, we live in hope that India's sports administration will be rescued from the paper pushers and politicians who are ruining it.
