THE INDIAN PSYCHE - IN RELATION TO SPORTS!

Here is my advise to the SPORTS PROMOTERS from India and outside. Howsoever well meaning your efforts are it wouldn't do any harm to know what is THE INDIAN PSYCHE - IN RELATION TO SPORTS. I don't want to jump up and say YOU - YOU - and YOU are responsible for the Indian sports mess. I hope I can give an objective view. I love India too much to do otherwise.

The percentage of people who participate in sports on a regular basis [other than hobli - taluk - district - state level] is very low. So, if you go to the playground regularly YOU ARE ALREADY A FREAK. There is no question of encouragement. There is - of another type. The present generation parents or grandparents are TV SPORTSMEN - they like their sports, on TV, and when they see Sachin Tendulkar - they willingly send their children [paying HUGE AMOUNT of money] to `branded' cricket camps [name of some past cricketer is used as a brand]. And when they see Sania Mirza, they scout for the nearest Tennis academy. What type of fitness these `camps' provide is very well known. They provide participation in `pre-arranged' matches and ensure that the child gets a medal, cup or a certificate to prove that HE IS A SPORTSMAN.

We all know the story of how parents are encouraged to PAY MORE MONEY so that their child can become a member of a divisional team. Selection of players for teams leaves lot of heart burning for the genuine players. I am sure everyone has a story to tell. Parents are pro-active in offering considerations in cash and kind so that somehow their child can MAKE IT. Who wouldn't be tempted?

IT IS TIME I APOLOGIZED TO ALL THOSE BRAVE-HEART SPORTSMEN, COACHES AND ADMINISTRATORS WHO ARE DOING THEIR WORK GENUINELY - they are the ones who provide an occasional SILVER LINING to the dark cloud of Indian sports. For them sports is a religion - and I bow my head to them.

When competition at the top is of a low level - the teams can win only with HELP from different sources. Unfortunately, it is practically impossible to get this clandestine help at the international level - the real test has begun. Most of the genuinely talented players have no god-fathers and the system discards them early on, in effect, shutting up the GENUINE GRASS ROOT SELECTION. Games like basketball are a typical example of this.

So what is the answer. Many experiments have been tried. The infamous SIDDHI TRIBALS fiasco [when everyone thought people having African origins] would become world class champions. The sports schools which are run pathetically - as of a Govt. department. Talented coaches are shunted to far off desolate places and those who are stationed at PLUM PLACES enjoy the fruits. NOW WITH THE SUCCESS OF IPL, everyone wants to `clone' the system to their game. So suddenly everyone is talking of having professional leagues. There is a rush to jump on the bandwagon. THIS IS NOT THE ANSWER.

The answer lies within us. GIVE RESPECT TO SPORTS AND THE SPORTSMEN. Do not treat them like freaks. They bring glory to the country and are due that respect. I oldly state this - IN OLDEN TIMES WE CONQUERED COUNTRIES TO SHOW OUR SUPERIORITY, in the modern world IT IS ABOUT WINNING MATCHES. Spain is a world superpower in sports with the winning of the world cup. AND NURTURE THE COACHES TOO - they are the hen mothers without which no success is possible. The sports administrators have to OVERHAUL THEIR THINKING in a revolutionary way. There is too much of dead-wood in the organizations - it is time to cast it away. SPORTS IS SLOWLY BECOMING BUSINESS - all these years it was treated in a very shabby way. Sportsmen want larger pay-checks, which is their due. The real thing is to promote sports at par with academics - parents, schools, sports organizations - must work towards that end. THE COMPETITION should begin at an early age and MERIT should decide the winners.

I am no fool. Utopia won't come in one day. But let us at least recognize the problems and then go ahead and solve them. It will not be easy - there are going to be many battles - BUT THE WAR MUST BE WON! At stake is our national pride!