Sustained Sporting Excellence is Round the Corner, If...

The games are still not over as I write this. And Shobha De is a much relieved person now that we have two assured medals, a figure that can only go up (hopefully). At least the twitterati have so much to be busy with. But a 2-week long wait for the 1^st medal got me introspecting on how we can go about for a better sporting future. So here goes my prescription:

Our athletes have been spoilt by the facilities available to them today when compared to just a few years back. We should make them travel in state transport buses & passenger trains within the country. And make them stay at the decrepit dorms in our stadia. This will not only make them tougher but also help them focus on their sport. Today, they only worry about economy v/s business class when they travel to mega events (http://www.indiatimes.com/sports/rio-olympics/rio-olympics-bound-dutee-chand-struggles-for-36-hrs-in-economy-wthout-rest-or-sleep-while-officials-enjoy-business-class-259549.html). 

The best in American sports are found in its universities. Our education system is no different, it has the students rushing from one tuition class to another. Make them do so on foot & we will see the next set of sprinting heroes & heroines wrapped in tricolor. But only if the banks & auto finance companies play ball on this front. Our schools also need to go back to the old practices of disciplining students (as in our days). Though not very effective (else, why did they drop it?), it at least made the kids tougher.

We need to get more officials accredited for the events so that our ministers can concentrate on the wellbeing of our athletes. If they have to spend all the time worrying about their chamchas (http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/rio-olympics-organisers-threaten-to-cancel-vijay-goel-s-accreditation-116081101524_1.html), how will they ensure proper lodging/boarding for our sportspersons? We can’t leave this task to the federation office bearers, they are too busy politicking at a global level.

Forget Lodha Commission’s recommendations, we need more career politicians in the sports federations as is the case with cricket. This will help us frame rules that are favourable to our sportspersons. And also manage tricky situations. Had someone like Sharad Pawar or Arun Jaitley been in IOA, would Narsingh Yadav be banned just a day prior to his bout? Maybe our netas believe the scale of corruption in apex international sporting bodies is beyond their caliber, but they also need to prove their credentials globally.

 

I hope the bulging biceps of Sakshi Malik could give rise to a new fad where our girls & their parents chuck the quest for a size zero figure (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Narendra-Modi-tells-US-daily-Gujarats-malnutrition-due-to-figure-conscious-girls/articleshow/15948509.cms) for a more muscular one. And if the advertisers give more endorsement deals to the well-rounded bollywood stars, beauty could have a new definition. Of course, with the gau rakshaks protecting all those cows our budding wrestling heroines will have all the milk & ghee they need.

Earlier, the best in combat sports moved to a sporting career, while the rest kept democracy alive. TN Seshan & his successors then detached the art from of our elections. Unfortunately, this cleanup robbed our brave youth of an alternate career & our wrestlers & boxers now return home empty handed (or dope tainted) from showcase events. And as Sakshi Malik’s stupendous show proved, our political parties now have a large cache of strongwomen to choose from. (At the time of writing, the male wrestlers were yet to take the mat, so some medals may be on our way.)

Just as we have training camps for the athletes, shouldn’t we also have a conditioning camp for the visiting officials? It is very demoralizing for our athletes when our leaders tweet about one but put in the picture of another (http://indianexpress.com/article/trending/trending-in-india/sports-minister-vijay-goel-confuses-indian-olympic-athletes-in-tweet-gets-trolled-2978614/). In fact, we should have ready draft of tweets & Facebook/Instagram posts to be posted online by the netas during the meet. Saves their time too.

This could have gone one & on, but our girls finally ended the medal drought & I would rather celebrate their performance. And that of the rest who went to Rio & gave their best. Bravo, girls & boys!! You are one of the best out there, whatever the soft porn writer may say!!!