Opinion Hitting the bulls-eye
Good for Abhinav Bindra,for showing up the red tape....
The last two weeks have brought to the fore the issues that ail emerging sports in India. First came the hockey debacle,with the Indian hockey team staging a walkout that was eventually resolved when private parties salvaged the situation by pledging funds to pay the players their past and current dues. Following that we were faced with the prospect of Abhinav Bindra not being allowed to participate in the World Championships or the Commonwealth Games due to his participation in international competitions and his training abroad. While the hockey episode was an eye-opener in itself,the episode involving Abhinav Bindra,the NRAI,and the sports ministry is a perfect example of how bureaucracy can come in the way of sports progressing in our country.
While the NRAI and the ministry have backtracked somewhat,allowing Bindra to use his international shooting scores as a method to qualify for selection,the very fact that an Olympic gold medallist the only Indian individual gold medallist was asked to disrupt his training and competition schedule just to be a part of domestic trials,is woeful at best. It also sends the wrong signal to all the stakeholders in sports in India.
India at present does not possess either the best training facilities,or the highest level of competitive events,especially for someone of Bindras calibre. This is true across numerous Indian sports,where the most promising athletes need to train and compete abroad just so they can be at a level playing field with athletes from Europe,the Americas and even other Asian countries. This need for training and competition is what sets apart the Indian world-class athletes from the also-rans who had the potential but could never compete with the best on a sustainable basis. For Bindra to be asked to return for trials when he had already offered a viable selection method via his international scores reeks of an archaic mindset,and one that we need to steer clear of. The fact is,the best athletes should be given the most opportunities to hone their skill and improve,rather than be subjected to red-tape and a disruption in their schedules.
Unfortunately,there is a dichotomy between the mindset of the Indian athletes,who have now progressed to a point where many are competing with the best in the world in sports like badminton,golf,tennis and shooting,to name a few,and the mindsets of the sports authorities for the most part. While this has been regrettable until now,sports in India have advanced to a point where if this continues,all the gains that one can expect from the improved infrastructure via the CWG 2010 and other such similar efforts,will dissipate unless something is done. It is telling that the two issues received significant attention from the media,and the support for the most part was for the athletes and not the federations.
India is at a stage where it is on the verge of imbibing facilities and training methods that would help it become one of the global hubs for sports. Unless the governing bodies and ministry also toe the line,all the progress will be for naught. 2010 and 2011 are likely to be seminal years in Indian sports,and as the sports infrastructure improves,so will the level of competition. Also increasing will be the number of private as well as government sponsored events at the new and improved facilities,as well as an increased focus on improved training facilities. These positive developments must be accompanied by a change in how sports are run and promoted in India,and this is something that must happen now,before other countries pass India by.
That our most successful Olympian and the entire team of our national game were subjected to the tribulations that they were is a travesty. However,there is a silver lining in that once they did decide to voice their disapproval,both had their voices heard,and eventually the tide turned their way. While this is hardly the ideal method to be employed,the very fact that these issues are being brought to the notice of the public at large,and that positive action is resulting,likely means that future egressions on the part of any stakeholder or concerned party will be harder to commit. Sports in India are set to enter an entirely new sphere,and accountability on the part of our governing bodies and other concerned parties is a necessity. Truth be told,these two episodes are the best thing to happen to Indian sports,hopefully paving the way for other struggling athletes who until now did not have a voice. Offence is truly the best defence.
The writer is a Delhi-based sports attorney
express@expressindia.com
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