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Random forays | India needs a sports revolution
With the hoopla relating to our successes at Tokyo yet to die down, the time is ripe to strike the hot iron; revolutionary changes in the firmament of sports are needed before more mundane matters overtake our collective consciousness yet again.
The signs have been evident for a while now. India’s sportspersons have sparkled intermittently on the global stage. But the culture of sports in our land just hasn’t kept pace. Our gargantuan system, with its elephantine gait, has just not been able to trot along rapidly enough to allow Indian sports to truly conquer the world stage.
Happily, sport has briefly become one of the priorities of a large section of India’s populace, even if most people are bystanders and fair-weather friends of it! With the hoopla relating to our successes at Tokyo yet to die down, the time is ripe to strike the hot iron. Revolutionary changes in the firmament of sports are needed before more mundane matters overtake our collective consciousness yet again.
Sport has the potential to empower women, create employment opportunities, enhance immunity levels, nurture balanced mindsets among the youth, and also calm society as a whole.
Presented below are some ideas which can propel India to the forefront among sporting nations, instead of being an also-ran:
1. Changing the game: The very ethos of our society needs to be shaken and stirred by inspirational interactions with medalists and champions. Each district of our country needs to prioritise sports for the young, in schools, colleges, community centres, panchayat ghars and on village common land.
2. Elevating National Sports Day: In this era of clanging and banging, we need to make more noise about sports. And what better day than Major Dhyan Chand’s birthday, which is our National Sports Day, but which hardly anyone knows about. Let us as a nation, celebrate it with every family participating in local sports tournaments, in every nook of India.
3. More games periods in schools: Most children in India grow up having attended one games period per week, with one football available to a class of 50 kids. How can any of them become sports champions? In order to develop their interest in sports, there need to be more dedicated hours for all students in all schools, and maybe marks allocated for sporting excellence.
4. Encouraging the girls: The reason for a large percentage of Indian medals coming through the feats of women participants is not tough to fathom. Girls are more sincere and disciplined in whatever they pursue, sports or studies. What they need is coaching, mentoring, encouragement, support and guidance. They also need those pernicious influences in society who intimidate them if they play a sport, to back off and to stay away!
5. Neighbourhood schools to open their gates:One of the recommendations that our think tank, Suvichar, forwarded to the government, was the need for all schools, private and government, to open their fields and facilities to neighbourhood kids after school hours. Adequate supervision would indeed be needed, but children who live nearby should be allowed to play every evening at a nearby school on a regular basis.
6. Pumping in CSR funds:The government is always limited in its resources and outreach, in its expertise and levels of excellence. Sports departments across the states of India need a fillip in the shape of conglomerates from industry coming forward with finances, infrastructure and even coaching staff, to create a true impact at the ground level, especially in rural India where athleticism is generally superior to urban parameters.
7. Promoting team games: Sports like hockey, soccer and volleyball need to follow the cricket example, and develop a large catchment of players. The recent magnificence of the hockey teams, men and women, can be capitalised upon by organising age-group tournaments in all team sports at the state, district, block and village levels, with adequate prizes and incentives being offered to winners, and certificates to all participants.
8. Inspiring the whole nation: By inviting Olympic medallists and all noted sports achievers to deliver lectures and hold regular interactions in schools, colleges and communities as well as with defence forces and para military staff, the whole nation can be inspired to adopt sports as a passion.
The Olympic Games of Paris in 2024 are not far away, but let us start preparing for Los Angeles, 2028, and Brisbane, 2032, right away!
vivek.atray@gmail.com
