Beijing and beyond

Beijing 2008 will be remembered by the world for the two men who dared to play with history, only to emerge victorious- Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt. China's emergence as the new sporting superpower left many critics searching for alternate professions. We, Indians, will remember this Olympics for its special significance. Beijing 2008 will be etched in our memories for ever. This can be regarded as the biggest breakthrough for India after the liberalization of the Indian economy in the 1990s. The myth that Indians cannot perform at the world stage was broken. It has virtually changed the sporting landscape in India. In short, it can herald the start of a new era.

When a nation with a history of 4 individual medals in Olympics , searching for its first individual gold even after 61 years of independence, return with 3 individual medals in a fortnight , including the elusive gold and that too in 3 different disciplines, you ought to believe that India has finally arrived at the global sporting arena.

It is indeed ironic that a country staved of sporting glories, and accustomed to see their heroes jump in joy at the slightest glory at the international arena, got to see a calm and unruffled Abhinav Binrdra claiming the gold, even as the whole nation went into a state of frenzy. What makes it even more spectacular is the fact that Abhinav won the gold with a 10.8 in his final shot .For once, we were able to realize what  ‘nerves of steel’ meant. Abhinav’s   shooting success triggered unprecedented celebrations back home. India had never witnessed such euphoric celebrations for achievements outside the cricket field.

Indian boxers performed exceedingly well. Akhil Kumar stunned the world when he floored the world champion Sergey Vodopyanov. That raised hopes of another gold However, he was ousted in the quaterfinals. Jitender also met with a similar fate. I was dejected as I had watched both the bouts live. Earlier, Saina Nehwal had also missed the bronze by a whisker.Hopes of another medal began to disappear. But the magic of 20 08 2008 was yet to come. Sushil Kumar gave us one of the most unexpected medals ever. He rose like a phoenix, after losing the first match and went on to beat 3 wrestlers in a span of 70 min to claim the bronze.After my previous 2 mistakes in boxing (watching both matches live), I decided to skip the Vijender bout. Though I had to go through moments of extreme nervousness, the wait was worth its weight in ‘bronze’. This shocking news came even before we could digest the glory of Sushil Kumar.

The nation was gripped in the Olympic fever as the media went into an overdrive. Cash awards and honorary gifts poured in from all quarters. Efforts of the boxers made sure that Bhiwani became the capital of India for a week .Youngsters in India began to realize that sports can be multi-dimensional in nature

These three men have given us a feeling of existence in the world sports map. Just giving those huge cash awards and other honours can never do justice to their contribution to Indian sports. We can salute our heroes only by participating in the evolution of a sporting culture in India

My 7-point development dream

The ‘feel good’ factor prevalent among the masses must be utilized to produce desirable results. Each one of us must take up the responsibility of transforming India’s sporting landscape. For that, we need some concrete ideas that can be implemented. Here are few of my ideas that I wanted to share with you.

1.      The first and foremost is to try bringing sporting activities into our daily routine. Building parks and public stadiums, organizing marathons supported by corporate houses in more and more cities can be a good way to get started.

2.      The basic problem that sports persons in India face is the lack of funds. Government budget for sports is inadequate. The pay package of the Central Govt. employees has soared, thanks to the 6^th pay Commission. The govt. should introduce a Sports tax like the Education Cess , ranging from .5% to 1.5% depending on the income.

3.      Sports must be made a compulsory subject upto 10^th and be apart of the board exams. Performance should be evaluated by giving marks instead of grades. Marks can be awarded in a purely objective basis with a direct relationship with the on-field performance.

4.      Sports academies and institutions on the lines of the IITs and NITs should be set up. The best athletes from all over the country can be selected through a rigorous screening procedure with the help of professional talent scouts.

5.      Persons with sporting skills in rural areas must be included in the Rural Employment Scheme the problem of employment to unskilled labour can also be solved to some extent.

6.      All state govt. must be in charge of maintaining their respective state academies. Promoting Olympic sports in village melas with help of Panchayats can be introduced. Providing cash awards and giving tax cuts to the medal winners at international meets from their state can be thought of.

7.      The media can contribute immensely to this cause. It must be made mandatory for all news channels to broadcast weekly hour long bulletin focusing on sports(other than cricket) on prime time.

Sporting culture cannot be developed overnight. Nor can champions be produced in an instant. It will take years of hard work to reap the benefits. Govt., corporates, media and the aam aadmi should contribute to our dream of becoming a force in the Olympics. History will never forgive us if fail to make us e of this golden opportunity. This is our time. We must seize it with both hands. Let us make a pledge to work earnestly in order to help fulfilling our dream. There are numerous difficulties that will come in our way. However, we must give it a try. Can’t we?