For India to become a sporting giant, stop this indifference towards athletes - Hindustan Times
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For India to become a sporting giant, stop this indifference towards athletes

Hindustan Times | By
Dec 11, 2017 07:49 PM IST

Expecting out athletes to perform well at international arenas without backing them with international facilities, training and exposure will not produce the desires results. The sports ministry news initiatives are encouraging but bureaucratic red tape should not stand in the way of nurturing promising talent

Choosing sports as a career option in India has many pitfalls. This is because the gap between success and failure is considerable. If you succeed, more often than not, there is no looking back. Winners are felicitated, champions are put on a pedestal. Failures are ignored.

Sajan Prakash was the only swimmer to represent India at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He holds the current national record in butterfly stroke.(HT)
Sajan Prakash was the only swimmer to represent India at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. He holds the current national record in butterfly stroke.(HT)

Worse, success often involves battling significant odds, sometimes even the system itself. It also requires intensive and often expensive training, not easily available to every sportsperson.

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Take the case of Olympian swimmer Sajan Prakash. HT reported that Prakash, the current national record holder in the butterfly stroke with an under two-minute record and the only swimmer to represent India at the 2016 Rio Olympics, is considering auctioning his medals to finance his training for the 2018 Asian Games. This is after he had to personally sponsor his participation in international events in Dubai, Thailand and Singapore. One can only imagine the helplessness felt by the athlete. What is puzzling is that Prakash has been nominated for the sports ministry’s Target Olympic Podium (TOP) scheme but is yet to receive any financial assistance.

His is not an isolated case. There is a general, and unfortunate, indifference towards many sportspersons. Stories of how sportspersons are ill-treated and how talent is ignored do not reflect well on the sporting ambitions of any nation. Add to this bureaucratic red tape which prevents timely distribution of financial incentives. Expecting sportspersons to perform well in international arenas without backing them with world class facilities, training and exposure is foolish.

Sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, an Olympic medallist himself, knows all these problems only too well. He has taken a slew of positive measures since assuming office, holding forth the hope that sportspersons finally have a friend in the ministry. The Khelo India programme, which will identify 1,000 promising sportspersons and provide an annual scholarship of Rs 5 lakh for eight years, is an example of a shift in focus from infrastructure to the athlete. Mr Rathore’s promise to professionalise sports management and offer round-the-clock monitoring and assistance to athletes could bring about a positive change.

But the experiences of Prakash and others show how far we have to go before podium finishes become a regular feature. The sports ministry’s new initiatives are encouraging but it is important that they are executed effectively and swiftly.

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