The true picture of Indian Sports

At a time when the Indian cricket team is passing through its brightest phase and the IPL has reduced the term"economic recession" to comic proportions, there also exists a parallel world where some of the doyens of Indian sports are striving hard to get themselves known to the masses. This apparent reality is a beautifully crafted vice which has gained ground surprisingly with time . Indian sports today is no longer a one sport show.But recognition and money sadly still is. Cricket is not to be blamed here. The BCCI has build and marketed its own image. Neither the government are to be blamed. It is we, the people of the country who are responsible for this state of affairs .

Recently the governement declared the winners of the Padma Awards. Two Indian sportsmen,who some months ago had brought joy and pride to a billion countrymen , had hoped to be rewarded for their deeds. But when the awards are announced, they found themselves nowhere. The only consolation they gained was the sympathy of their fellow sportsmen. This is the story of Vijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar, two young men who managed to fight all odds and bag individual medals at the Olympics , only to find themselves in the same situation as they were before the Olympics when virtually no one knew of them. In contrast, one cricketer who even was not nominated by the BCCI was surprised to find himself awarded.I am finding no suitable language to describe this situation. As a person who has followed and loved sports, I can feel what those two jewels of our country might be going through.This is something that will make any Indian lower his/her head with shame. The history of Indian sports is replete with such "Glorious" instances.

Some time back , when four time world champion MC Mary Kom was for the umpteenth time ignored for the Khel Ratna awards, she had said" What more can I do to win an award". Seriously even I dont know.I hope if anybody knows.The saddest part is not that she was ignored, it is when the minister concerned said:" Mary Kom, who?". This sums up everything . In 2007 when Vishwanathan Anand, arguably India's greatest ever sportsman, said after winning the world championship in Mexico" I doubt whether I would get the same reception as the Indian team got when it won the T-20 world cup".The former India football captain and the lone surviving Arjuna awardee in football of Bihar, Chandeshwar Prasad is literally begging for a living.India's greatest archer,Limba Ram, who missed an Olympic medal by the narrowest of margins used to live in a garage till he was made the coach of the national team. After his arrival from Barcelona, he was promised a job by Hindustan Zinc,only to find himself given the post of cutting grass.The story of such valiant sportspersons just doesnt end here. It pains to write sad stories about our heroes but there has to be some solution to stop this impending and unforgiving vice.

We might not make them millionaires but at least we must give them their dues. If we cannot inspire them we have no right to dampen their spirits time and again. The corporates might differ because they need money which only glamour can bring. Hence when the undisputed queen of Indian chess, Koneru Humpy was replaced as the brand ambassador of an Indian bank with an Indian cricketer, the bank authorities said the cricketer sells more than her. At a time when we are projecting the growth of our country into a developed nation, this kind of an existing mentality projects nothing but doom .The economic disparity which had dominated India is still swaying at large.

It is we who can bring about a change, else many Vijender and Sushil would be destroyed and the birth of an indian sporting nation ,which now seems realistic, would be nipped in the bud. At a time when we are hosting the Commonwealth Games, these stories portray the intrinsic scenario that dominates the indian mentality. Sports is just another field which is sufering. Unless there is a collective stance against these, we can never dream to achieve . No parent can aspire to make their children a Vijender Kumar or a Sushil Kumar. This is because the constant threat of financial security would be hanging over their heads like a sword of Damocles.
The Mittal Champions Trust is one of the very few initiatives that has been taken by Steel Baron Lakshmi Mittal to encourage young talents from across the nation . Many such initiatives are to be taken if we want to dream a better future for our posterity. Who would have imagined a country like China , which won its first gold medal at the olympics in 1984 to lead the medals tally 24 years later. On the contrary , India which won its first gold in 1928 has not managed even 2 golds at a single olympics in the last 80 years. It is a strong will coupled with a system with its roots pinned towards a collective goal that can help the country prosper. Unless we change our mindset, a billion countrymen would be taking vicarious pleasures at the achievements of a Michael Phelps or an Usain Bolt every time. Its high time we removed this vice from our system and start sowing the seeds of a healthy nation which knows how to honour its heroes.