Opinion Long-term,short-sighted
Uthra Ganesan<br> LTDP is the latest buzz word in Indian sport -- it stands for Long-Term Development Programme,a grand idea to make the country a sporting power.
LTDP is the latest buzz word in Indian sport — it stands for Long-Term Development Programme,a grand idea to make the country a sporting power at par with the best in the world. Except that there is many a slip between planning and execution. While long-term plans are being put in place,government regulations do not allow a foreign coach to sign a contract for more than two years. Even a one-year contract comes with the rider that it would be up for intermittent review. And the most common procedure remains to appoint people on an event-by-event basis.
Even in terms of preparations,the current craze amongst the administrators and sports officials alike is the grandiose achievement of hosting the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Everything is geared towards making the event a success,except in the medals tally. On that front,there has been little more than talk and only the incorrigibly optimistic would expect India to dominate their home games as Australia did in Melbourne 2006 (for the record,India returned with 50 medals,Australia bagged 221).
And so,when German hockey captain Maximillian Muller,age 21,says that everything they do in between two Olympic Games is secondary — with the focus staying solely on the Games — one realises what long-term planning actually means. Winning gold in Beijing has not been the end achievement for the Germans,rather,it’s only the start of four years of continuous pressure.
For the Dutch,it begins even before and goes even further. The process of looking at London 2012 began on August 25,a day after the curtains came down on the Beijing Games. More importantly,this process of constantly striving to be the best and working towards a long-term goal is not restricted to any one sport (So it’s no surprise that they’ve been part of a cricket World Cup as well).
In contrast,Indian athletes are still struggling for facilities,still in search of accurate and up-to-date information. The best shuttler in the country almost misses a tournament due to an official delaying her passport,the paddlers wait for their next coach to arrive,the archers don’t know whether the man who comes in will stay or not,football is a sport that remains confined to the EPL on television,and cricket isn’t part of multi-discipline events yet.
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