Gold diggers or go-getters

But then, it has happened in France, it has happened in many European countries, so what8217;s wrong with Qatar? They didn8217;t light the fire!

The history of athlete migration is as old, perhaps as human migration. Discount the African 8216;gladiators8217; in Rome, or the Russian Jewish athletes in Israel, you are left with the basic urge of humans for his or her abilities to be recognised, to be respected. Today it could be a lot about money, but it didn8217;t start that way. There was honour and personal valour too. And a deep regret inside that their country doesn8217;t provide adequate succour.

A senior support staff in the Qatari athletics squad puts it all in perspective. 8220;What we did was give a chance to many athletes who would have otherwise died sad in the lack of recognition. In the process they have been able to share in Qatar8217;s glory. What8217;s wrong in that?8221;

There is little shame in accepting your limits, and in adding to your strengths, says Ahmed bin Khayal, an officer with the Qatar Bank. 8220;We have the oil and the money, you have the expertise. We complement our efforts, we both win.8221;

Possibly as easy these days, when this personnel-starved country imports even its domestic help. But possibly in sport there is more of the heart working. 8220;No, I have no problem in cheering an African-Qatari athlete. After all, he is wining it for Qatar,8221; says the white collared man. And they discuss their athletes and players in tea meetings and when they gather around television sets. But they can also cheer their own soccer players: 8220;I don8217;t see anything different,8221; says Wahid, a visitor to the Aspire Zone. 8220;I love to see all play.8221;

8220;No they don8217;t,8221; says Majid Ahmed, a Pakistani settled here. 8220;It8217;s a bit like patronising your adopted child even as you write your property to your own. There is a very palpable difference.8221; So what happens when their athletic careers are over, when they are as useful to Qatari society as other absorbed aliens? 8220;Look, we are a new-emerging economy. Even our constitution is brand new. Do we really know?8221;

Martina Navratilova would not have been this great a player had she stayed back home. That8217;s a point that comes into focus. But migration of athletes, as of skilled workers, is an accepted phenomenon.

Last year, at New York, the Nigerian International Athletes8217; Association NIAA had its fifth convention and fund-raising programme. Interestingly, the fund-raising banquet was held at Flushing Meadows 8212;the venue of the US Open. And what is the NIAA? It represents a 8220;collection of sports achievers spread across the globe, who have at one time or other have had the experience and privilege of representing Nigeria internationally,8221; says their website.

The website says how, at the turn of the century, some top athletes decided 8220;enough was enough8221; and took up the responsibility of doing something. The association wants to install scholarships for athletes in Nigeria to prosper, but more importantly, they are searching for recognition and respect in their own country.

8220;So what8217;s so wrong with Qatar? Why should this be an Afro-Asian Games and the Sri Lankan national meet not a Tamil-Sinhala Games?8221; asks one. Or is there a China-Tibet sporting consortium? Or how is Pan-Arab sporting meets identified?

That8217;s the new world order, and shall be so. Humanity and its migratory nature shall evolve. There will be Chinese players in Swedish TT teams, and Indians in French soccer sides. No path has been broken at the Doha Games. It8217;s just the confirmation of the fact that it8217;s a smaller world now.