Neeraj Chopra’s Gold Medal winning performance at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest comes as another reminder that India is beginning to realise its vast potential in sports. Being the world’s most populous country, it should obtain proportionate results in a domain that basically involves physical activity by human beings. The fact is that, for many years, the actual number of persons taking part in any particular sport was less than that of even the smallest European nations. So, while India’s population is projected to be over 1.4 billion people, it has not been able to leverage this advantage anywhere near the extent required.
It is not that the governments have not been making the required effort over the years but these have not been anywhere near the level required. This was partly because of the lack of a vision based on understanding of how sports could be promoted and, of course, the lack of funds. It is only with the rise in the level of people’s incomes and quality of life that have brought about greater involvement. The kind of economic model that has nourished Cricket, for instance, is required in every discipline. This would ensure that achieving excellence even at the district level should not go unrewarded in monetary terms. Not even the most gifted sportsperson can afford to give time to a sport beyond school and college levels at the cost of making a livelihood and taking on the responsibilities of the average Indian household. The stories of so many Indian achievers involve not just parents putting their faith in their children’s abilities, but also making huge monetary sacrifices in the process. While the top level achievers’ may be recompensed for the effort, how many other will have lost what little financial security they had in the effort to make it big? So, like Cricket, the financial returns should go down to the grassroots for not just athletes but also coaches and other support staff.
Then there is, of course, the development of infrastructure and training facilities. For very long, much of this was provided almost exclusively by schools and colleges, as well as some private institutions, the Armed Forces, etc. The situation in this regard has improved considerably as ‘coaching centres’ have become a lucrative business for private investors, with the middle-class customer base expanding. Of late, programmes like ‘Khelo India’, ‘Fit India Movement’, ‘Target Olympic Podium Scheme’, ‘National Sports Development Fund’, SAI schemes, ‘Mission Olympics’, various Award Schemes, special initiatives for the disabled, games for tribal and rural communities, and a plethora of others have helped to identify talent at an early stage and provided avenues to move ahead. This is bound to have the necessary impact, which is becoming visible on the international stage. In Javelin throw, for instance, Chopra has a couple of colleagues that are also performing well at the topmost level.
This is only the beginning and much more is to come if the efforts continue with the same level of commitment, beyond the tokenism of the past.
