India 2020. We used to dream with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and we are dreaming. Boom! And we are developed! We hope of leading exports, business, telecom and what not. Not to forget – Sports. Somehow, I feel that a country’s development has got something to do with the sports played in the country. USA was the world super power in the unipolar world, and it showed in how they always led the Olympics and the world championships. Today, it’s a multipolar world. Things are not the same. The medals at the topmost level are going to many nations – China, USA, UK, Australia, Germany, Russia, the list goes on. But it didn’t go unnoticed how China showed to the entire world, who is leading the sports in the world today. Equally noticed is how China has developed enough to become as good as a super power.
A very hardworking nation is ours too. Our Olympics ranking was 50th in 2008. A similar ranking we have in TDI (trade & development Index) at 90. Yet worse is the HDI (Human Development Index) ranking at 128. If we are amongst the toppers in any list, it is population or the “Human Resource” in more pacifying terms. By 2020, if not anything else, we can sure hope to achieve the top rank there. But, it surprises many people across the world today, how in a country of billion we find it difficult to produce 1 gold medal in Olympics. It badly defeats any kind of law of averages, if the world ever had one. Think of it – not 1 in a 1,000,000,000??
We are here today. We see people perspiring. Saina Nehwal, Gagan Narang, Samresh Jung... the list of hard working people is endless. But most are either in established sports like shooting, being sponsored heavily by the top companies in the nation or are putting in their own resources to practise for the game. The nation, as a whole has shown a lack of political will, to improve the condition of sports. We got an opportunity to host the Commonwealth Games this year, and yes, we saw the political will to organise it. Tremendous! For some time I thought, the nation is moving on the right path after all. Hosting an event as big as that would surely boost the morale of the sportsmen and they will go for bigger and better things in life. And here we are, today, with our Organising Committee’s chairman Suresh Kalmadi, with a completely mud smeared face. Crores of money involved in the scam now is showing us the clearer picture of the tremendous political will we showed to host the games.
Day after day, I see athletes working hard, trying to make a mark. And it pains my heart because their effort is in vain. The country has no respect for the sportsmen as such – yes, we do respect the medals and who wins them. A couple of them make it on their own – no one backing their efforts. They make history. But, the rest are lost, forever.
