The rise of sports culture in India
The success of Commonwealth Games and the best ever performance of India has confirmed that a sports culture is taking shape in India.
WITH THE 19th Commonwealth Games (CWG) turning out to be a huge success, many are now asking is India ready to host the Olympics, the biggest sporting event in the world. The question gains its importance from the premise that if India could put up a grand show conducting by CWG, then it could, with some more effort, host the Olympics as well. Though the question looks a bit premature, it is not misplaced at all. The country must be proud of not only the successful hosting of the Games, but the best ever performance by our athletes in CWG. The country stood second in the medals tally with 101 medals, including 38 gold medals. What makes this effort memorable is the fact that the country won some rare medals, especially in athletics and gymnastics.
In fact, India had a clean sweep in women’s discus throw. Of course, as expected most of our medals came from shooting (30), wrestling and boxing. But two medals (silver and bronze) in gymnastics by Ashish Kumar are indeed historic. To be frank, most in our country were pleasantly surprised to know that India had athletes taking part in gymnastics as well. The achievement of Ashish Kumar also marks a new beginning for Indian sports culture.
Should sports be a priority for a country like India, with over 70 per cent of our people living with just 20 rupees a day? Eyebrows were raised when it was known that over 30,000 crore rupees would be spent on CWG. Many felt that a poor country like India must not ‘waste’ money in this magnitude. But if there is one country that needs to give greater importance to sports, it is India. This is because, as the 19th CWG have shown, sports can build relationships and unite us better than any other element or activity. We thought only cricket made us forget our differences. But CWG also spurred that feeling amongst us.
When, for example, the Indian women’s relay team won the 1600m relay, one thought, among other factors, it was the deafening cheering and support of the 40,000 odd crowd at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium that drove them to run for gold. A communally sensitive country like India with innumerable communal clashes needs a sports culture to bring people together and nurture a secular feeling among all.
Another important factor that helped such an exceptional achievement in the CWG was a systematic planning and preparation in the last couple of years. As India was the host, our sports authorities were indeed under pressure to make sure that we put up a decent performance. And they did it with great aplomb. Of course, the home factor did help our athletes. But that does not take away the credit for their hard work.
For the first time, we see signs of a sporting culture taking shape in our country. The fact that the citizens took notice of our medalists augurs well for a cricket loving nation. Indeed, many of those who won medals come from humbling backgrounds. It is their grit and determination that made them to win laurels for the country. If Olympics come to our country, that would further boost this sporting culture, as it happened in China.
However, the government should first make sure that it chooses the right people in the Indian Olympics Association. Also, India requires a visionary sports minister who will make sure that sports become an integral part of every school going child. It may take us a few years before we bid for Olympics seriously, but we have much home work to do before that.
 | Previous Post |
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
Not finding what you are looking for? Search here.
