Author: A Surya Prakash
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: November 2, 2010
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/293868/CWGs-social-dividend.html
Most of India's winners at the recent Games
are from Bharat. They have shown what commitment can achieve for them and
their nation
The collective sigh of relief at the eventual
outcome of the Commonwealth Games has once again brought to the fore the stark
reality that be it war or sports, the country's honour and prestige often
ride on the shoulders of unassuming young Indians from small towns who put
the nation before self as they aspire to be the world's best. That is why
it will not be inappropriate if we say that while India hosted the Games,
Bharat took the medals.
Overcoming the most trying social and economic
problems, young men and women from rural India came up with spectacular performances
in the just-concluded sporting event and redeemed the nation's image after
a bunch of corrupt and incompetent sports administrators brought ignominy
to the country in the run up to the Games.
These Games have thrown up dozens of heroes.
It will not be possible to name all of them for want of space, but here is
a sample. Among my heroes are Ravi Kumar of Behrampur, Odisha, who took the
gold medal in the 69 kg category in weight-lifting; Manoj Kumar (Kaithal),
Paramjeet Samota (Bhiwani) and Suranjoy of Manipur, the three golden boys
of boxing; and, Anil Kumar, Sushil Kumar and Sanjay Kumar, who took the gold
in wrestling.
Ravi Kumar trained at Veer Hanuman Club, a
ramshackle gymnasium with minimal equipment at Behrampur. The son of an Anganwadi
worker, he pursued his dream to attain glory in weight-lifting without sponsors
or Government support. Despite these shortcomings, his mother egged him on
to pursue his goal. The others in this list have similar stories to tell.
Many of them stayed in the field because of unflinching support from parents
and brothers and valuable encouragement from the State of Haryana after their
potential became known.
The stories of young women from small towns
who did us proud are even more heart-warming. Deepika Kumari, the daughter
of a tempo driver in Jharkhand, bagged two gold medals in archery; Renu Bala
Chanu of Manipur, who hails from a family of daily wage earners, trained to
win a gold medal in weight-lifting; and, Krishna Poonia, who took the gold
in discus throw, hails from a farmer's family in Haryana.
Krishna Poonia has had to overcome many obstacles
to achieve this feat. She too had no sponsors. Her husband Virender Singh,
who doubles up as her coach, funded her training in Oregon, US. She had to
stay away from her son for months during her training sessions and international
competitions.
Among the States, Haryana and Punjab account
for 40 per cent of the medals and this speaks a lot for the encouragement
that is available for sportspersons in these States. Haryana's efforts in
building sports infrastructure across the State and providing valuable scholarships
to sportspersons with national and international potential is worthy of emulation
by other States. The State's Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, was
first off the mark announcing cash awards for medal-winners, but what is noteworthy
is the cash awards he announced for the coaches.
This also brings us to the main impediment
to the growth of sports in the country - our obsession with cricket. Even
though the media offers lip sympathy to other sports, the media itself is
guilty of having a cricket fixation. The most glaring example of this was
the top billing that television news channels gave to India's success in the
Mohali Test match against Australia on a day when Indian sportspersons were
bagging gold medals in the Games. This was repeated yet again when India won
the Test series at Bangalore. That day India bagged three gold medals at the
Games but our gold medalists had to share space with our cricket heroes on
television.
The media was not wrong in focusing on the
corruption and inefficiency that plagued the CWG management in the months
preceding the Games. Mr Suresh Kalmadi and others in the Organising Committee,
as well as the other agencies, must account for the money spent on the Games
and the inquiries instituted by the Government must be completed at the earliest.
But what was ignored amidst the allegations
of corruption was the fact that our sportspersons were rigourously training
at various camps and participating in international events thanks to a special
allocation of Rs 678 crore by the Union Government to prepare them for the
event. This initiative eventually paid dividends but since the media was looking
elsewhere, everyone was pleasantly surprised when India bagged 101 medals
and took the second place in the medals tally.
Those who wish to crack the mystery of India's
medals' bounty may find useful clues in the last item of expenditure. As it
now turns out, the money allocated to sports federations appears to have been
a worthwhile investment. Those federations which used these funds judiciously
to hold training camps, hire good coaches, provide international exposure
to sportspersons and to buy equipment to enhance their training and performance,
have certainly given a big boost to sports in the country.
A post-CWG audit of the work of each federation
will enable us to understand the kind of sports infrastructure that we need
to put in place. Everyone is aware of the critical role that sports plays
in fostering national unity, but little has been done by way of public policy
to promote sports.
The creditable performance of our sportspersons
has given us an opportunity to correct this. If India is to become a global
sports superpower, the Government will have to go beyond ad hoc allocations.
The Union Government and the State Governments together make an annual provision
of Rs 1,000 crore or more for the promotion of sports. This is indeed a drop
in the ocean because the Union Government itself has an annual expenditure
budget running into several lakh crores of rupees.
When the CWG ended, as many as 21 women had
bagged gold medals. Since a majority of winners come from rural India, their
successes will have a significant spin-off on the future of the girl child.
A society that is grappling with the problem of female foeticide and a wholly
unacceptable gender ratio, especially in northern States like Haryana, must
grab this opportunity to ensure a better deal for the girl child. This is
the critical social dividend that will come our way if we were to pump in
more funds for sports.
