What is wrong with Indian sports & how to improve it

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 6:08 pm

The closing ceremony of the 2004 Olympics is about to start, the medals have been awarded to the athletes, and India with about 1.1 billion people earned a solitary silver medal.

What is wrong with Indian sports? What must be done to correct the problems? Can Indian sports ever reach the heights achieved by the American, Russian, or Chinese athletes?

Share your thoughts in this thread.

The talented Gurbachan Singh Randawa said, "We don't have any system in our country," lamented Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, fifth in the 110 metres hurdles in Tokyo in 1964."

On the subject of the government handing out big financial prizes to the few medallists, he said, "We water the branches, but the roots are dry,"

Another bleak show for one-medal India. By N.Ananthanarayanan

India's performance 'not bad' at Olympics: Dutt

nnipp · Post by **nnipp** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 10:39 pm

The only way for India to improve its medal tally and competitiveness in more sports is to forcefeed athletes in differerent disciplines at young ages in preparation for the olympics eight years ahead. Indian athletes need to be spoon-fed at a young age because natural athletes are few and far between in India. Of course all of this reqirees significant money from the government, which it can't spend. Things like weightlifting and going to the gym are completely foreign to many average Indians while they are common in most other countries. Not to mention, the average Indian does not eat beef and eats a very low-protein diet. We all know that you don't get muscle without protein. So India's athletes will have to be trained at young ages with the proper diet and excercise regime. The Female Indian athletes are making steady improvement with each new Olympics but the male athletes are always a sad lot (with the rare exceptions of Paes and Bhupathi). We don't see many Indian men succeeding in sports that require great strength and athleticism. This means that we have to work even harder to bring our physical standards up to par with the rest of the world.

suresh · Post by **suresh** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 2:26 am

I was one of the people who thought that India would win a medal or two in this Olympics unlike the 98% (in the rediff poll) who thought that India will win 10 medals.
That was not pessimism rather it was an acceptance of basic facts. So the one
silver medal is okay with me. What was good about this Olympics was that we did
have several people making it to the finals (archery, shooting, long jump, 4x400 and
so on). I think our aim should be to produce more athletes who are capable of making
it to the finals, achieve top 10 ranking in their event. Eventually, the medals will come.
There is no point in comparing India to much smaller countries (such as Cuba) who
have won more medals. We have to take what we've got and make the best of it.
I also think that the dietary aspect is over-emphasised -- there are more serious
problems than that -- a case in point being hockey.

sunnyd · Post by **sunnyd** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 1:20 pm

FIrstly we need to have infrastructure. Then we need to have talent identification & coaching right from the schools. It is a proven fact that the athletes which are very good at their sport started playing it at a young age.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 3:34 pm

I am asking questions to continue the discussion on important points made by our forum members. Slowly but steadily we can discuss the points raised by all the forum members.

nnipp wrote:

Things like weightlifting and going to the gym are completely foreign to many average Indians while they are common in most other countries.

Many Bollywood actors have been shedding their shirts to expose their bulging biceps, and more Indian children and their parents look up to them rather than our sports heroes.

Should some enterprising businessmen open some gymnasiums in India and get the Bollywood actors to promote their use?

Many Indian parents are opposed to their children doing weight-lifting for reasons that are not correct. How can India reeducate the masses about exercise and weight training?

Not to mention, the average Indian does not eat beef and eats a very low-protein diet. We all know that you don't get muscle without protein.

Many Indians especially in Punjab, Kashmir, and other states eat meat regularly. Is it lack of enough meat (beef) intake or is it lack of proper diet that is more important? When I visit India I see that many of my friends' children are eating meat but their food is very rich in fat and the balanced diet is lacking.

Could nnipp and other comment on what nnipp has written?

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 5:00 pm

Organisation, organisation, organization.
That is what is wrong with Indian sports.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 5:13 pm

How to fix it?

First, start now by identifying the sports in which we are near world-class. Ensure that these are organised with thorough professionalism, and that corporate sponsors are lined up to take the top contenders under their wing and nurture them through the next four years with a mix of carrots and (mild) sticks. (Shooting, archery, hockey, volleyball fall in this category, as does Anju Bobby George; hockey already has a sponsor, perhaps the Army should take care of shooting, with some earmarked funding and corporate co-sponsorship; private corporates and the larger PSUs should be approached to midwife/nurture archery through to the next Olympics).
Second, in sports where the potential exists but where world-class performances are some way away, top-class (and honest) coaches should be imported to run national sporting academies with world-class facilities and a strong single-sport focus (badminton, table-tennis, athletics, swimming fall in this category).
Third, and most important, throw out the politicians and bureaucrats who run our sports organisations -- and bring in a mix of athletes (as "chairman"/president) and CEOs professionally recruited with a clear mission and specific performance targets.

nnipp · Post by **nnipp** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 5:56 pm

I don't really have any statistics on how many gyms are in India or the diet of our athletes. Its just that in my visits to India , I have never seen a private or public gym. In many American houses you will see an excercise machine or weights while I have never seen this in India. I don't expect low income families to be working out but I would expect suburban families to have some comittment to health. I don't think many Indians bother to find a gym and are educated in workout routines. I challenge you to walk the streets of a Bombay shopping center and just find two Indians with defined muscles who are not actors or PIO's. Their is also no healthy Indian dishes, most have little nutritional value and are full of carbs. Outside of Northwest India, being a vegetarian is very normal. I am sure our athletes eat a proper and healthy diet, but I don't think it happens until after their growing stages. We can't just look to Punjab for athletes because it is a small pool to pick from. All Indians should be adding protein to their diet even if it has to be soy.

I think that India will eventually catch on to the gym craze with better education in schoolbut. For gyms to be built, there needs to be more Indian demand. When I was in high school in America there was mandatory weight-training in the physical education class. Maybe India needs to follow the Chinese methods of success which are to use military discipline to all-out train kids when they are 6 yrs in a specific discipline.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 8:35 pm

I don't really have any statistics on how many gyms are in India or the diet of our athletes. Its just that in my visits to India , I have never seen a private or public gym.

People living in India:
Have private or public gyms sprung up in India? Does anyone have any statistics or general impression?

It does not cost a lot to buy free weights in India and older children can start working with free weights to improve their general physique. Even though my son goes to a gym regularly in USA but he also keeps free weights at home. (By the way, he is not a body builder or a big time athlete but does it for general fitness. He is kind of strange for a 19 year old teenager to prefer milk and juice over soda pop, and checks the fat and protein contents of food, and tells his mother how not to cook Indian food!).

Their is also no healthy Indian dishes, most have little nutritional value and are full of carbs.

I agree to some extent because we tend to use a lot of oil/ghee/butter in cooking, and use a lot of vegetables with low protein content. But Indian dishes can be modified to improve the protein content, reduce the carbohydrate and fat, and make them more balanced and nutritious. Even a vegetarian can eat a high protein diet (I am a vegetarian) and I do not agree that one has to eat meat to become a world class athlete.

Diet does play an important role in turning out champions, and it is important for Indian athletes to be properly educated about nutritious diet.

nnipp, it appears that you are a young person. How would you go about changing the dietary habits of youngsters living in India?

nnipp · Post by **nnipp** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:38 pm

I don't think there is any easy way to change the food culture of India and I respect the fact that many Indians are vegetarians for religious and ethical beliefs. However, I do think it is unnacceptable if an aspiring athlete is a vegetarian. Of course soy is a great protein-packed substitute for meat but I am not so sure how readily available protein bars and health food products are in India. Since many youngsters attend private schools and even boarding schools I think that the schools should be somewhat responsible for the proper eating habits.

O.T: To the point of religion and eating habits, many Indian Muslims eat diets that include alot of meat. The observation that I made while glancing at the Indian Olympic roster was that out of 78 athletes I could only find one Muslim athlete( Equestrian-Imtiaz Anees looked like a Muslim name to me and I am not completely sure). I would think there would be more than one Muslim in our contingent when over 200 million Indians are Muslim. I think that indirect prejudice and territoriality is costing us in developing alot of potential athletes. This is mainly the Government and Sports Ministry's fault for not creating programs to help and promote sports among young Muslims. In the U.S their are countless programs to promote youth leagues and sports among inner-city African-American and Hispanic minorities. It is sad that a large chunk of our population's athletes are not succeeding outside of Cricket Stars like Mohammed Kaif and Zaheer Khan. In the past, India has had many great Muslim athletes and they seem to be dwindling as evident from the Olympic roster and our football national team.

PKBasu · Post by **PKBasu** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 12:29 am

I don't think vegetarianism is an impediment to sporting success, although it is often perceived as being one. Interestingly, Javagal Srinath for instance became a non-vegetarian to enhance his diet -- but only after he had become an international star.
The Japanese did not eat beef for religious reasons until 1888 (20 years after the Meiji Restoration), when it was formally decided that the beef ban needed to be abolished in order for the Japanese to grow as big and strong as the Europeans.
nnipp's point about Muslims and Indian sports is not quite right. There were several other Muslims in the Indian team, including the only judoka -- but it was surprising that this time there was no Muslim in the Indian hockey team (which has had spectacular Muslim players in the recent past like the hero of 1975 Aslam Sher Khan, the mercurial 1980s striker Mohammed Shahid and 1982 Asiad captain Zafar Iqbal). Of course there were several (presumably beef-eating) Christians in the hockey team.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 2:07 am

Suresh raised a point about the speed with which India should produce world champions.

.....So the one silver medal is okay with me. What was good about this Olympics was that we did have several people making it to the finals (archery, shooting, long jump, 4x400 and so on). I think our aim should be to produce more athletes who are capable of making it to the finals, achieve top 10 ranking in their event. Eventually, the medals will come.

The Russians and the Eastern bloc nations started a campaign to produce world champions in the 1950s and 1960s, and it was one way these countries could compete with and beat the western countries. They raised their sports standards in a short time although many have questioned the way they went about to produce Olympic medalists. More recently the Chinese have used excellence in sports in an effort to reach super power status.

The question is should we develop sports in India gradually as Suresh has proposed or should India follow the Russian model (perhaps it is not possible in a democratic country or a society like India) or should India find another way to raise the sports standards over the next 15 to 20 years?

Which model should India follow?

kathiresan_v · Post by **kathiresan_v** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 3:54 am

I would love India to develop our own programme for success in sports on a long term, which exactly suit us Indians in terms of diet, fitness or else. I suspect the European / Russia culture of developments as dunno where they will be after 10 or 20 years from now? In fact India has our own historical heritage and we have the brain to develop and reach the highs wherever we desires to reach. However, peoples mind are now fogged with things uncertainties, so we need people who can really take up to mind and lead each of the sports organization with great national pride and not the dirty selfish groupie politicians who leads most of the sports organizations now.

I agree with what PKB said on ‘how to fix it?’

Kathir

kathiresan_v · Post by **kathiresan_v** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 4:07 am

Something related to our discussion...funny;

The Navhind times article, Sad State of Affairs

Kathir

Kumar · Post by **Kumar** » Tue Aug 31, 2004 6:07 am

Article in Hindu reg. India's performance in Hindu..
http://www.hindu.com/2004/08/31/stories ... 911700.htm

What ails India?

The Indian contingent was one of the strongest, at least in terms of number, with 140 participants — 65 officials and 75 athletes. Actually, that is the order of priority in Indian sports — officials first, athletes next.

How can indian team with 16 hockey players have almost 1 to 1 ratio of players and officials. This is what ails India... We don't have accountability at the admin. level. Selectors are not accountable in any of the sports.. They have fixed term (win or lose).
If I had been the president of IOA/ sports minister, I would not have allowed anybody other than Anju from athletics to participate in olympics. What I am saying may sound harsh to you guys, but we are not so rich that we can send an athlete just becoz he/she will make the finals. Our Contingent should not have been greater than 30 (and at the most 40 athletes )..

To me the optimism of people who voted in Rediff poll shows that " We don't learn". Four years from now, we are going to discuss the same issues that we are discussing today. I have seen it happen the last 5 olympics (from 88) and I am sure will see it in future. Already ridiculous to see Our HONORABLE Sports minister say that "We did not do badly", as if thatz a big achievement. We probably did okay, if we had 10 athletes and came back with '1' medal. I won't be surprised, if we have the worst ratio for number of athletes to number of medal (for all those nations that sent at least 30 athletes).

As to the question of how do we fix this?
No: 1) Identify the sports in which we can do well and concentrate on them. We are probably never going to win a olympic gold medal in 100 m dash, so instead of spending millions and millions of money in sports not tailored to our physique, we should concentrate on other sports. Not every sports require us to eat meat .. Do you need to eat meat to shoot a bull's eye in shooting / archery? My guess is no!!! How about Gymnastics / Diving/ Fencing / Volleyball? may be we don't have history in this sports. But instead of a bad history in sports like Swimming/athletics, I would prefer no history in sports like Diving / Fencing. Diet is important, but meat is not everything. We can easily manage well balanced diet without taking meat.
2) Identify some very good coaches, who have had success and are clean (not dope tainted). Send them out to countries like US and have them trained. In india, it is not possible to send all the athletes aborad for training, so we need to send a pool of coaches abroad for training. This coaches should train more coaches..
3) Selection committe should be results based rather than time based. Their wages / tenure should be strictly performance based.
4) Importantly school/college sports is practically non-existent in india.HOw many school / colleges have hockey team(national game of india). I can safely bet that on an average there would be 10 college hockey teams per city. In my school days, we play for couple of hours once a week and that too cricket. So we definitely need to encourage school admin. to spend some time/money on sports.
5) In future olympics / Asian games, the qualifying standards should be fixed by IOA to be at least 5th place finish in previous world championship / olympics. This is to reduce the burden on tax payers.
Also Whenever any team goes out to participate abroad in Asian games/ olympics, the respective federations should guarantee how well their team would perform. If the team fails badly, president of the federation should be sacked.
Probably lot of what I have written may not be feasilbe and too unpratical, but I can safely predict one thing.. We will still be discussing our non-performance four years from now (after celeberating 5 /6 golds in Asian games)...