The Sports Authority Of India every year spends a huge amount of money on a scheme called TOPS. This means Target Olympics Podium Scheme. For the Paris Olympics, this scheme doled out crores of rupees to 300 sports persons who were identified as probable medalists at the Paris Olympics. The mission scheme was decided by experts in different sports and recommended by the individual federations.
Everyone knows from results over the years we are winning a maximum of 6 to 7 medals. First question to be asked is how wrong could the committee be to identify 300 and only 6 of them return with medals. The first stage is to build a base and get more people involved in sports. The base of the pyramid is more important. This it is the athletes at the bottom who deserve the attention.
Taking an individual federation example, the athletics federations were paid Rs 90 lakhs for the support of athletes expected to win medals. This while any athletics expert would tell you that Indian athletes would win only one medal courtesy the celebrated javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra.
This does not mean there were excellent performances from others like Avinash Sable, who reached the finals of 3,000 m steeplechase and Parul Chowdhury, who improved her personal best and the 4×400 men relay team who clocked a creditable timing. The point is never were any of them expected to win medals.
At India’s stage of development of sports we need to look at the base in schools. If schools are provided with world class coaches there is no doubt that India has the potential to win at least 25 medals at the future Olympics. Also the expenditure will be much smaller and the result manifold. I sincerely hope there is a debate on the way forward.
