The Time Has Come

Not long ago, the president of Indian Olympics Association, Mr. Suresh Kalmadi had told the press not to expect any medals from the India’s Olympic contingent and now when the euphoria is over, we have three to boast of. India- a nation of more than a billion, India - a nation of three Olympic medals. It’s so heartening and yet so poignant that even after 61 years of our independence all we get is a piece of gold and two bronze honors. Considering our track record, Beijing 2008 was the best Olympics for the motherland but is it apposite to credit these medals to India Inc? I dare say no. All we got were three individual medals, one because of impeccable training and planning and two because of sheer fighting spirit of those two athletes who punched their way to glory, fame and national reverence. Just three podium finishes have given us joy of a lifetime and India has marked its presence in sporting fraternity big time. But, is it because of our transparent sports policies? Or is it because the authorities gave athletes best possible exposure? Or is it because Mr. Kalmadi slogged really hard to ensure that these athletes were well trained? I leave it up to you to decide over this. Personally I feel that if IOA or any other authority tries to take credit for this, I would be snubbed.

I dare say that the Kings of Beijing are kings on their own and its time to concede that. None of the major players of Indian thought process i.e. the media , the authorities and the politicians cared for them even a fortnight before the Olympics and it was no exaggeration when the golden boy Abhinav Bindra said that he would be forgotten in two weeks. The statement reflects the agony and the mindset of a true Indian sportsman (not a cricketer….Yuvraj-Dhoni-Deepika were in news for more than three months!) who even after achieving the impossible feels that he would be forgotten in less than a fortnight.

It is an eye opener. Our system has always valued money and politics over the exuberance of the sportsmanship and the one game that we have mastered and are assured of gold medal if included in Olympics is the blame game. We have been so bashful that it would be really tough for us to feel ashamed of ourselves. Some things must be free from politics and sports are one such fraternity. How can individual interests and aspirations surpass a nation’s aspirations and success? Being a literate person, it’s really obscure to accept the fact that a talent hub such as India gets medals in single digits. Something somewhere is drastically wrong and I think the time has come that we begin to ram ourselves and the authorities to make amends. Let’s take up the challenge, let’s do the impossible. I know many issues will arise when we will try, but we have some of the brightest minds in the country. Rope in the corporate biggies; rope in the IITians and the management gurus from IIM. After all some will choose ‘country winning the gold fest’ over investing time and energy in disastrous soaps and channels or selling oils and toothpastes.
The idea is to turn this spark into a new torch, a torch that would cast away the darkness that had engulfed the Indian sports long back and has had shown no signs of fading away. But now we have a glimpse of hope and let’s work in a wholly professional and non political way to give this current system a jolt and shake off all the discrepancies. Lets Rock On !