Olympics - Not for India

Yet another Olympics but the story is same as far as India is concerned. As in the past, few (read one or two) pleasant surprises, few positives here and there and loads of disappointment. While all Indians were hoping for a good performance through some miracle, most of us knew that the reality would be completely different. Yes, there were over a billion prayers. But you see, god only helps he who truly deserves; he who puts an earnest effort.

Don't get me wrong here. I didn't mean to offend any of the folks who represented us in the Olympics. When I said effort, it's not the men who represented us in the Olympics. I meant 'us'. The country as a whole. I know the players gave what they possibly could have. However they were simply not in the same plane as the others who took the glory.

A lot has already been discussed and one big reason you would hear often is that we do not get high-quality facilities or experienced trainers. I would say that over the years we have come out of that. Somebody who spoke for Doordarshan during the Olympics was very disappointed with an athlete who had been training in the US with an experienced trainer. His disappointment was understandable partly because the athlete wasn't even close to his personal best at the Olympics. The point is, things definitely have changed. All these people going to Olympics do have coaches, physical trainers etc. So, what is my rationale? What answers have I got? Well, actually I have a bunch of questions for you.

• How many of us have played some sports at a competitive level apart from Cricket?
• We all dream and hope that the country produce good athletes. We even wonder why we have not produced many world-class athletes. But how many of us want our kids to be one of them?
• How many of us went to a school where sports gets its due importance? Or how many of us have known or look for such schools for our children? How many schools don't have a proper playground these days?

So, have you figured out yet? Sports is only a theoretical form of entertainment for most of us. Be at any lunch with men and you will hear lot of English Premiere League or Formula One. And be prepared to hear hundreds of technical terms and advices for the players. However, it's anybody's guess whether they have played any of these at all. It doesn't cost much to sit in front of the television and learn the game. But to play? Remember the kid who got beaten or chided by his mom for coming home with bruises? After all we are the great Indians who never take the ugly-looking cheap plastic-cover off our mobile phones or the remote controls or the car seats. How can we possibly allow our kids to have a scar, for a silly game of football?

In the past few years, acaedmics (it's a different story that the 'study' offers no real value to the kids apart from money) has completely removed sports from our life. Well, what else can happen if the kids spend all their time with textbooks? Physical Training periods are given away to mathematics or physics or Chemistry. Holidays can be taken over by special classes. But to play? Don't even talk about it. Don't be surprised, it'll soon be a taboo.

Often we hear that we can't perform even though we have more than a billion people. But the truth is, only a very small portion get the exposure. And there is no guarantee that this bunch is the best or the most talented in the country. Result: They compete at a level that is much lower than what is possible; Lack of competition sets a very low standard.

This is worrying because it's a lot more than just an infrastructure thing. It's somehow gotten to our culture. It could be years for sports to become a part of our life, if at all it can happen. It might have been as easy to me to put it in a different way - like what India needs to do for a better Olympics show. However, I am not sure if there is 'the other end' of the tunnel. Pessimist me!