Chariots of Fire

Should sports bodies be headed only by sports persons? And if that sports person also happens to be a politician or if he holds a stake in a multi-million dollar franchise, will you accept him/her to be the head of the sports body?

A country of billion plus which aims to be a superpower by 2020—but cannot get one gold medal in Olympics—where even the tiny countries on the map, walk away with the glory! The story remains the same year after year! A nation which is obsessed with Cricket, cannot make a winning team, and after each success falls like a pack of cards!

Soul-searching after every single disastrous performance still does not change the end result; and forces us to hang our heads in shame after every event of international standing where our teams participated. The reasons are many but some which immediately come to mind are as follows:

1.      Crass favoritism in selection process based on caste, area, and the clout.

2.      The sports bodies across the country are managed by politicians/appointees and power brokers who treat them as their fiefdom with scant concern of objectivity.

3.      Lack of focus and preparation for any event.

4.      Nurturing of talent from the early stage is very rare and the infrastructure is extremely poor and lacks even basic facilities.

The recent lackadaisical preparation for Commonwealth Games and the shame associated with aftermath will not be easily forgotten. This happened when the highest leadership in the country was involved right from the word go! Large scale bungling, corruption, and mismanagement were glaringly evident.

The idea of highlighting these issues is to stem the rot and also understand whether involvement of political leadership or money bags support really helped?

India is not a sporting nation compared to countries like China, Australia, and even Ethiopia or Cuba! The only game which captures the imagination of the youth is Cricket, due to the increased commercial benefits and visibility associated with the game. Even in this sport, the constant tug-of-war between various sporting bodies, high profile businessmen, movie stars, et al have only brought to surface the power play and very little fame and trophies. It has become a national pastime to spend million of rupees just in one sport where eleven sportsmen play and another eleven million fools watch!

Indian hockey lost its sheen with the passage of time due lack of funds and encouragement. The other games are played more on a club level than as a national team. A small country like Holland which never played hockey till a few years ago, fields one of the best teams in the game, which they learnt and mastered with dedication.

In case India has to emerge on the global arena as a country capable of playing world-class sports and vying for medals, it is pertinent to address some of the following issues on priority:

1.      Sports should be a part of curriculum in mainstream; and those showing promise must be identified early and trained at national level by dedicated sportsmen.

2.      As most sportsmen play only till the age of 35 years they should be given employment just for participation in sports.

3.      Sports venues should be upgraded with facilities of international standards.

4.      The sport venues should only be used for sporting events and not be misused for non-sporting /cultural events

There are many qualified management graduates who have excelled in the field of sports and they may be inducted in sporting bodies with attractive remuneration to acquire the best talent. Diego Maradona, an eminent player of Argentina led the national football team in a World Cup event. Jackie Clark, a footballer has been heading as the Chairman of Australian Cricket since 2008. Vicente del Bosque González, the Spanish Soccer team manager has been a player of eminence and successfully lead the team in World Cup and Euro Cup since 2008. He had played 441 times and scored several goals. All the major Baseball team mangers in USA are the players who once played the game and brought laurels to the country.

Worldwide, the phenomenon of having representatives of the game heading it, helps the cause, and also brings the true spirit of sportsmanship. It is very rare that a sportsman of eminence is a politician, and holds a stake in million dollar franchise for charitable reasons, for bringing glory to the sport. It is more of a business venture with an end objective of swelling coffers rather than love for the game; as has been witnessed on many occasions. Hence I would not like to see such a person being at the helm of the affairs! Sports bodies should only be headed by sportspersons.

PS- Image Kind Courtesy Google

"This post has been published by me as a part of IBL; the Battle of Blogs, sponsored by WriteupCafe.com. Join us at our official website and facebook page.

www.indianbloggersleague.com
www.facebook.com/IndianBloggersLeague “