Sports is that element which carries the power that helps to regain the power. Now be it an individual trying to regain his or her physical power or be it an entire region trying to regain its financial power, sports caters all. But if we raise questions like: Are we truthful enough towards sports? Is the sports culture of our nation good enough? Are we satisfied with the government, federations, facilities, infra- structure, etc? Then where do we stand in celebrating sports? And if we ask ourselves whether India can become the best country in the world in sports, we all know what the answer to this would be.
We all speak of bringing about the change from the grassroots level. No doubt, we need that but that is not all we need. Just providing the athletes with the basic facilities will not lead us anywhere. We need to understand the condition of Indian sports, athletes, federations, government and every other stakeholder involved. We should use this time of coming back to action to hit the reset button and restart afresh. All the government bodies should work towards a common motive of success. The government should fund the national, state and district level associations as the sports sector needs these to rise higher. And the returns of every investment made, whether big or small, in terms of activities, successful athletes, etc. should be analysed regularly. Well- managed games and tournaments of international level should be managed regularly to provide the athletes with the exposure they deserve. This will help to strengthen the state-level athlete base.
Most important of all is to instil the culture of sports right from the elementary level. Sports should be regarded as important as any other subject in schools and colleges. Keen consideration is required when it comes to selection of school and college coaches. More former players should show interest in this front.
This is likely possible if the salary package offered to them is good enough that one can never refuse. This will help maintain their enthusiasm and hence better results. As we talk about hitting the reset button, we need to do the same with the stadiums and sports complexes. These need to be renewed according to the present international standards with ultra-modern and highly advanced facilities to prepare the athletes well and make them feel right at home when they go out to rep- resent the country to enhance their performance.
Without any doubt, every stakeholder here hopes for India to be number one in sports but this does not depend on a single aspect. Entire structure, right from the performance to the management, should be dedicated to this sector. A strong foundation of today will turn to a stronger display of tomorrow. Who knows if we work together with light-speed, we could even come double digit wins in the following Olympics. Games have a large following so we should even get the high-end companies to be involved in this mission. Everyone and anyone can help the athletes in several aspects and this way we’ll reach our goal faster. As sport is one such sector that interests all and will help foster a healthy and progressive culture for the entire nation.
The writer is a national level cricket player-turned- sports promoter and entrepreneur who runs several sports NGOs and organisations.