Right policy to build a sporting power

There has to be a coming together of resources, talent, and structure to ensure that the policy does not continue India's story of underachievement in sports.

India dreams of becoming a major sporting power but at the moment, the road to achieving that goal is littered with roadblocks. The infrastructure is lacking, the coaches are not world class and there is a technological gap that gives the world’s best a clear edge. And we haven’t even got to the athletes yet.

For years, Indian sport has worked on an ad-hoc basis and individual genius, but for enduring success in the sporting arena, better systems are the need of the hour. (ANI)

To overcome this, India needed a new framework which is exactly what the new National Sports Policy provides. It lays out a clear path to achieve Olympic glory, ensure mass participation in sports, strengthen grassroots, school, and university-level sports and reform sports governance with accountability and transparency. In a sense, the new policy is the building block upon which India hopes of becoming a modern sports nation rest; a nation where sports isn’t an afterthought but very much a part of life itself.

But the key to accomplishing the goals will lie in execution. Too often have we seen sports administration fall into the self-defeating trap of self-preservation. The new policy will require professionalism — not just from the government and the administrators but also from the athletes.

For years, Indian sport has worked on an ad-hoc basis and individual genius, but for enduring success in the sporting arena, systems are the need of the hour and the new policy promises to focus on building “world-class systems for training, coaching and holistic athlete support”. If India wants to truly host the Olympics, it needs to find the right athletes and turn them into world beaters by 2036. It is a long journey but this is where it can and should begin. There has to be a coming together of resources, talent , and structure to ensure that the stated goals of the policy don’t just become a footnote in Indian sports’ perennial story of underachievement. The new policy could be transformational, but only if the cards are played right.