Poor performance of India in Olympics. Why?
Why is India so pathetic in international sports events like Olympics? Why are we lagging behind in spite of having such a talented population? Why are the countries low on resources outperforming us?
The only answer to all these questions is the mindset of the majority. And lack of necessary facilities.
You might have known more than people who want their child to be an engineer, doctor or chartered accountant. They won’t listen to anybody and force child to pursue these professions even if he/she wants to be a musician, dancer, footballer, or something else.
Let us understand the scenario through a short story.
Raghav is an ordinary boy of 8th grade. He is regular in his studies and scores more than average marks in exams. He was average in all the activities until archery was introduced in his school. He found the love of his life. He joined archery coaching, and his performance increased exponentially.
Raghav passed class 8th, and in class 9th, his parents registered his name in an entrance exam coaching centre.
He did not question his parents much, as even he didn’t know how much time demanding coaching classes can be.
Within a few weeks after the starting of the term he was facing a hard choice; choose archery practice or entrance coaching classes. He wanted to go for the former but his parents didn’t.
He was asked to let go of his sport. He had to attend long and tiring classes.
In the end, he was physically present in the class, but his mind was in the sports complex. Now Raghav is a dull boy. In the future, he will be an unsuccessful engineer and increase the number of unemployed people.
If Raghav would have pursued the profession he loved, not only he would have been more successful and had never regretted his choice. Like the movie ‘3 Idiots’ gave the message, if you follow your passion, then success will follow you.
Though it is not right; this attitude of parents is not baseless. Parents want their child to live a decent life. For this, he/she needs a decent income and facilities. But because of the poor infrastructure, necessary facilities are not available at the root level so only a few can clear the obstacles and go to a higher level. There might be the case when a more talented athlete is not able to afford equipment, but the less skilful one comes from a well-off family. This inequality is highly dangerous. We should take this condition into account at the base level itself and sort it.
Now we have another million dollar question. What facilities do government provide after the retirement of an athlete (since they retire early)? There were cases in the past that once gold medalists are forced to sleep in the open because of homelessness.
Thankfully the condition is changing. More and more people and organisations, including governments, politicians and Bollywood personalities, are coming forward and funding the athletes. In Rio Olympics funds in lakhs were provided to medal bearers to motivate them.
Let’s hope the scenario will change at lightning speed and India will be in the top 10 in the coming years. A well said line by Helen Keller —
Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.