Stop the medal count, start doing justice to the talent we have

But I am happy there were at least two occasions when we came close to fulfilling our long-cherished dream: once when the all-time great Flying Sikh Milkha Singh gave a glimpse of what our athletes are capable of at Rome in 1960 and, 24 years later, when P T Usha lost the bronze by one-hundredth of a second in Los Angeles in 1984.

Even by recent records, the gap seems to have been narrowed down, thanks to Leander Paes and Lt Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore because our first Olympic medal was way back in 1952 when K D Jhadav won a bronze at Helsinki. Since then we have come a long way and when I say we have narrowed the gap, I mean that Paes’ bronze winning performance came in 1992 at Barcelona while Rathore won the silver last year at Athens. This itself is an achievement and goes on to prove that we have the talent and are right up there.

We can reach the height but there are some hurdles on way: lack of infrastructure, training facilities, dietary concerns and sports medicine expertise. It’s easy to criticise that despite facilities athletes are not winning much but no one realises the hard work an athlete puts in to reap the benefits of long hours on the track and field. Similarly, the hard work by coaches and support staff does not even get a mention. One failure is taken as the end of the road for athletes while the cricket team—mind you, it’s a team game and rarely has it won because of an individual’s performance—even if it chases 150-odd runs against a mediocre team, we hail it as something out of the ordinary. But in an athlete’s case, winning a medal is what counts; not cutting off a fraction of a second or improving by a millimetre. In fact, the difference is just that between winning and losing a medal.

Now coming to facilities available in the country, let me tell you about my problems. I am allergic to dust and can catch cold. But unlike most, I can’t go to a chemist and buy any medicine to cure myself.

I have to consult a doctor and his prescription has to be precise—the medicine that I take has to be without any banned substance. But we don’t have the luxury of such sports medicine experts in India.

Every time I cannot run to Delhi or another city searching for the right kind of doctor. In fact, I suffered for three months early this year before getting the right medicine from abroad. Well, I could do it because of my contacts but what happens to those who cannot afford that?

I’ve also been lucky in getting the Sports ministry help for training abroad but there are several who can’t even approach the ministry officials.

I had some problems abroad when I lost my passport and money during training a couple of years ago. But some good friends in the media, Sports and External Affairs ministries helped bail me out of the worst situation before a major meet.

These are impediments that need to be taken care of, particularly at ministry level, so that the athlete can go about his or her training without hindrance.

Luckily, my husband Robert and the entire family has been behind me in what I have achieved thus far. It cannot be possible in everybody else’s case. Today, the George family has every bit of information about me —from my first medal at school to the last one in World Athletics Finals.

My only disappointment so far has been not winning a medal at Athens despite being at my peak. I’ll strive hard to make amends at Beijing.

Meanwhile, if we could only create a right environ for the athletes, the day is not far when we will see India reaching the pinnacle of glory.

And that’s the day when we can feel proud of India being fully empowered to achieve whatever goal we’re aiming at.