Beijing and beyond

The Games are over, and few will be happier than the men controlling Indian sport. The searching spotlight is off them, their 15 minutes of shame has ended and they can now get back to doing what they do best: run sport into the ground. Cricket returns to its prime position on the sports pages and in our consciousness and, till the Asiad rolls by two years hence, all8217;s well with the world. Yet this is the perfect time, as never before, for India to build on the very discernible advantages accruing from Athens 8217;04. For one, the satisfaction of seeing how our sportsmen have progressed, breaking records and setting standards in archery, shooting, athletics. Two out of these three are disciplines easy and inexpensive to spread and nurture across the country; the third, shooting, now has role models intelligent and enthusiastic enough to pull their weight.

On a larger point, the Games have shown that the Indian public is not, as famously believed, averse to watching sport other than cricket, providing it is credible, well-packaged and has sufficient star quality. An event as mundane as the women8217;s pole vault made for some gripping viewing simply because of the fierce competition between the two top contenders 8212; and the way it was telecast, with expert commentary and camerawork. Two cricket world cups and several other multinational tournaments have shown that India can play host as well as anyone else; why can8217;t we extend that same level of organisation outside cricket? Later this year, India will be host to the World Half-Marathon; if it can rope in some of the top names, it is halfway through the marathon job of selling the event.

The best news for India comes from the Chinese, and the lesson they have shown the world: that any country can win gold medals with planning and by defying stereotype. Their 32 gold medals did more than give them second place on the table: it sent out the chilling message that Beijing 8217;08 may well be a sweep. The huge squad 8212; which took part in 12 new disciplines 8212; largely comprised youngsters, sent with the aim of gaining experience for the next time. Yet it returned with gold medals from their traditional strengths of shooting, badminton and table tennis, even while breaking new ground with swimming, volleyball and, most significantly, athletics and tennis. Xiang Liu8217;s win in the 110 m hurdles disproved the notion that sprints must be dominated by black athletes; winning, once again, was all about the mind and not the body. And the story of the women8217;s doubles pair did anyone know of Chinese playing tennis? showed just how easy it actually was to win a gold: identify an event, pick the best players and train them with a sharp focus. In theory, easy enough to replicate 8212; if any of India8217;s sports bosses were taking note.