The India Olympic story: My personal viewpoint – II

Continued from The India Olympic story: My personal viewpoint – I

Let us see what are the other things in the India Olympic story:

3)The role of Government– We expect so much from our Governments. True they have a lot of power and many a times, they misuse that power to benefit their near and dear ones and siphon off funds, and ignore development issues, and social issues too.
Yet, Governments have so much pressures too- they have to balance their revenues, and take into account what concessions to give and take care of emergencies etc.

And in a developing country like India where violence, health issues and food, shelter and clothing is still an issue, expecting the Government to spend liberally on sports could be questionable. Yet, as has been seen from the examples of some countries, achievements in sports can monetarily as well as politically too help the countries.
What if more and more youngsters and teams can start winning medals and Tournaments? Won’ it somehow financially help the state and central governments in form of taxes?
It can help them recover the cost of funding in longer run.
Moreover, if India can start winning more medals and bigger tournaments, India might get more chances to host Asian Games, or even the Olympics.

I do see some state Governments taking initiatives for sports development, but much more in terms of money, planning and implementation.

4)Private and Public sector sponsorship– Perhaps, the bright spot in last few years for sports has been in terms of private and public sector support. We have Special league tournaments that have come up for Hockey, Football, Badminton, Tennis, Kabbadi and more. Golf and cricket have got even further support.
The one area where the support still seems lesser are Athletics and Swimming. May be, we need to get some foreign players in a few sports to enhance those sports, as has been done by some other countries.

Well, as to why India is not getting more medals, do understand that Indian athletes have to overcome a barrier build over the years and compete with many European nations, United States, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Australian players who have much more superior technological, facilities and financial support.
So, the billion population country will begin to see a rise in sporting fortune too. But before that, please give that chap with an A+ in Long jump the same ovation and respect as the chap with A+ in English, Science or Mathematics.