What Ails Indian Sports
WHAT AILS INDIAN SPORTS ?
Sports; a passtime for students, a passion for players, a fitness solution for the middle aged, perhaps life for aficionados and more recently lucre for businessmen; has an equal significance for the country as a whole. It is a mirror to the professionalism of a country’s citizens, their dedication and the facilities provided to them by the government. Sports serve as a portrayal of the teamspirit among the players, a reverberator of the zeal to excel at any cost under any circumstances. George Sheehan rightly summarised the importance of sports when he remarked “ Sport is a theatre where sinner can turn saint and a common man become an uncommon hero, where the past and the future can fuse with the present. Sport is singularly able to give us peak experiences where we feel completely one with the world and transcend all conflicts as we finally become our own potential.” India has the second highest population in the world. A major portion of the most intellectual minds in the international arena are Indians. Demurring the field of sports, India has many achievements in its name to be proud upon. But when we talk of achievements in this field, they seem like a shiny oasis in the desert of failure. Its FIFA ranking at present is 134 . Its position among countries in Beijing Olympics was 50. It was even behind countries like Latvia, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, etc. Truth be told, bitter as it is, there are a myriad of problems, with sports and sportsmen equally, in this country. The major problem dawning upon its future is the mentality of parents. The count of succesful sportsmen, barring cricketers ofcourse, being on fingertips combined with painfully limited chances
Sports; a passtime for students, a passion for players, a fitness solution for the middle aged, perhaps life for aficionados and more recently lucre for businessmen; has an equal significance for the country as a whole. It is a mirror to the professionalism of a country’s citizens, their dedication and the facilities provided to them by the government. Sports serve as a portrayal of the teamspirit among the players, a reverberator of the zeal to excel at any cost under any circumstances. George Sheehan rightly summarised the importance of sports when he remarked “ Sport is a theatre where sinner can turn saint and a common man become an uncommon hero, where the past and the future can fuse with the present. Sport is singularly able to give us peak experiences where we feel completely one with the world and transcend all conflicts as we finally become our own potential.” India has the second highest population in the world. A major portion of the most intellectual minds in the international arena are Indians. Demurring the field of sports, India has many achievements in its name to be proud upon. But when we talk of achievements in this field, they seem like a shiny oasis in the desert of failure. Its FIFA ranking at present is 134 . Its position among countries in Beijing Olympics was 50. It was even behind countries like Latvia, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, etc. Truth be told, bitter as it is, there are a myriad of problems, with sports and sportsmen equally, in this country. The major problem dawning upon its future is the mentality of parents. The count of succesful sportsmen, barring cricketers ofcourse, being on fingertips combined with painfully limited chances