Opinion Seize the podium, but first look the air problem in the eye

India’s sporting ambition gets stronger by the day. It will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games and is bidding for the 2036 Olympics, amid dreams of gold medals and proposals of world-class infrastructure projects. Grand sporting spectacles and freeze-frames of the nation’s young standing proud on podiums are healthy markers of national aspiration. But India’s big dreams are in danger of turning foggy because of the toxic air that hangs over its sporting hubs. At the India Open badminton tournament in New Delhi last week, a top international player pulled out because of the capital city’s exceptionally high levels of AQI. Some have flagged their concerns to the International Olympic Committee. The problem is far worse for Indian athletes who live and train in the country.

Sportspersons across disciplines speak about pollution and extreme heat eating into their training cycles and causing long-lasting health problems. More worryingly, the unhealthy outdoors also cut the play time of children in the local park, reducing their physical activity and increasing the risk of illness. India’s unclean air is also being flagged in other sectors and arenas. At the World Economic Forum, for instance, economist Gita Gopinath, who has served as the first deputy managing director of the IMF, said that pollution poses a bigger threat to India’s economic growth than tariffs. The fact is, India cannot wish away the haze outside the window. Pitching for the Olympics requires it to confront the problem at home. It cannot continue to turn a blind eye to its own athletes battling harsh summers and toxic winters.

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This is a wake-up call. Grand dreams sometimes demand the making of hard choices. When Beijing — which wrestled with many of the same issues as Delhi — hosted the Olympics, a series of measures were undertaken and executed between 2000 and 2008 to improve the air quality. It included plant relocations and closures, traffic controls, and reduced industrial use of coal. India must find the solutions and methods that best suit its needs. Until that happens, the authorities must schedule events smartly, relocate international events, shift national training bases seasonally, rework competition calendars and invest heavily in indoor, climate-controlled facilities. In the end, the question is not just about medals tallies and hosting bids for events. It is also, and especially, about the will to protect the health of the next generation of citizens as they work and play.