'What Ails Indian Sports?\r'

'One of the greatest” degradations that has occurred in our country during the second half of the 20th century, has been in the field of sports and games. The” still major implementation of note has been the gold laurel in hockey won at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 and the gladness at the 1983 & 2011 world cup in cricket,plus a few individual medals in Olympics and few victor in Tennis. But these occasional triumphs do not augur well for the future of Indian sports. A community of 1. 2 billion has not been qualified to produce a sportsperson or athlete of outside(a) standards even after 6 decades of independence.\r\nIn at present’s new climate of peace, a nation’s achievements in sports are valued remote above its arsenal or military might. We have, however, lagged roll in the hay in any field in contuse of a large potential manpower. What does really disturb Indian sports? With a few priseable exceptions similar cricket, deceiver and tennis (where, even at the opera hat of times, our performance has been erratic to say the least), our sportspersons and athletes identical the ‘ degraded Sikh’ Milkha Singh and the ‘Sprint Queen’ P. T.\r\nUsha have failed to experience a mention in the global medal tally, in spite of their best efforts and glowing eulogies at home. The chances of our doing well or making a key in the international arena remain b missened till date. At home also, the standard in regional, state-level and national-level games is fast deteriorating. The malady, indeed, is deep rooted. The first and the foremost ready is the poor state of our economy. We clearnot spot, nourish and nurture endowment fund even in the sign stages.\r\nWhoever hits the spotlight is, by and large, a fluke. He or she has done it on one’s own merit. For instance, our cricket triggerman Kapil Dev has come up’ against all odds to render a mark in international cricket. Privatis ation or sponsorship of the various games and sports is the only answer especially when we cannot refrain enough funds for sporting activities in the country. Today, when rough less than 25% of our population lives below the scantness line, the nation cannot spare funds from other developmental activities to sponsor sports.\r\nIn such a scenario, privatisation of sports and games is the only remedy. It is done in the United States and the rest of the certain world. We can also do this if we wish sports and games to curl in this country. The second stool of the fast-deteriorating standards in Indian sports is the politicisation of sports. Regionalism, linguism and favoritism are all visible, when any excerpt for a national or international aftermath is made. This coupled with the lack of basic infrastructure, has hindered any throw out in this direction.\r\nWhile we have gone in for huge stadia like the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in newborn Delhi, we have sadly omit building low stadia and arenas in the rural and semi-urban centers, to encourage sporting talent in the initial stages. And such talent, whenever it comes to the fore, is grossly neglected at the time of selection for any number because they do not fit into any caste, region, lyric poem or group considerations of the selectors. This is a major fault at the moment. Then, at that place is a lack of professionalism in our sportspersons; they lack the competitive spirit and are given to rest on their laurels.\r\nVery few of our sportspersons handle up the strict regimen in complaisance of diet and training once they have achieved around name and fame. A medal here or a medal there is all they can achieve in lifetime before attenuation away into oblivion. The acme of their achievement is the Arjuna Award. How many chess grandmasters like Viswanathan Anand or cueists of international repute like Geet Sethi has the country produced? Our sportspersons, who have kept up the initial promise, can be counted on fingertips.\r\nParental emphasis on studies, at the expense of sports and game, is another cause for the desperate straits in which Indian sports and games mystify themselves today. A sportsperson is considered no wide unless he or she is academically above par, if not brilliant. A good sportsperson, who does not fare well in studies, is evermore looked down upon as an idler or no-gooder. Added to it is the lack of sports consciousness in the Indian mind. Our duty is to make believe an awareness of sports and games in the minds of the people if things are to change in times to come.\r\nOtherwise we are believably to sink deeper into the morass with the passage of time. It is true our achievements in the sports have been negligible, but it is also true that there is no lack of talent in our country. If water-loving atmosphere is created and selections properly made we can do a lot in this field. Simply to honour the outstanding sports persons at functions o r staging international sports will not serve our purpose. We should extend every possible facility to our sportspersons and encourage them to take up sports and games more seriously.\r\n'