The success of Indian sportspersons at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, should not be overzealously interpreted as the beginning of the country’s dominance in the international sporting arena. Rather, it proves that Indian athletes can certainly earn more laurels for the country if they receive necessary support from their respective federations. In other words, the success is a result of talent that we have in our country, rather than a coordinated effort between the federations and sportspersons. A testament to this fact is that one of the medal winners had to fight in court to be included in the national team for the Commonwealth Games. It reminds us of the incident when even after becoming the best medal prospect in boxing, late Dingko Singh was omitted from the pugilist squad. The story of how Dingko finally managed to be part of the Indian contingent in the Asian Games and created history by becoming the first boxer from India to win a Gold in boxing in the games is part of folklore now. The recent incident highlights that nothing has changed since 1998, the year when Dingko dominated the ring, as far as Indian sports is concerned.
If we take note of the sporting disciplines included in the latest Commonwealth Games, it will prove how hopeless we are in safeguarding the interests of the nation. While some disciplines have been retained in the games to allow certain countries to win a number of medals, shooting, a sport in which India is a strong contender has been dropped without any justifiable reason. Surely, the country’s medal tally could have been much higher if shooting had been included in the games. It is quite amazing the notwithstanding vociferous protests from different quarters, the shooting federation didn’t try to gather adequate support from other participating countries to force the organisers to change the decision. Similarly, disciplines like archery, tennis and Greco-Roman wrestling had also been dropped from the games robbing India of a chance to showcase her talents in these events. As usual, our sports officials were silent in these cases too.
But the most encouraging fact is that apart from weightlifting, boxing and a few other disciplines, India has unexpectedly done well in track and field events in the games. The icing on the cake was the Gold and Silver wins in the men’s triple jump event. This is why only sportspersons should be credited for the spectacular success in the Commonwealth Games, and not officials, who have at various instances proved to be a stumbling block for our athletes pursuing excellence. The sportspersons should not be disheartened as officials and governments will come and go, but their achievements will remain forever. Now, without focusing on hostile individuals sportspersons should concentrate on bringing the same amount of glory and more from the forthcoming Asian Games, where China will be our main competitor. One only hopes that the Indian contingent will show the same kind of zeal in all the forthcoming international events to make India a proud sporting nation.