Marking the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, India observes August 29 as National Sports Day every year, highlighting the importance of sports and physical activities for one’s overall health. It’s a befitting tribute to the hockey wizard who brought laurels to the nation, scoring more than 400 goals in his career spanning over 22 years and being a part of the Indian team that won gold medals in the 1928, 1932 and 1936 Olympics. His legacy lives on as India celebrates his achievements and contributions of sportspersons by conducting sports events at various levels, including schools and offices across the country. It is also time to draw inspiration from the hockey legend and other sports icons the country has produced over the years. In the meantime, India’s performance at the international stage, especially the Olympics, is far from impressive, having won only 41 medals since 1920. The seven-medal haul at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, India’s best performance at the Summer Games, gave a glimmer of hope that the country might be coming of age in sports but the medal tally decreased to six, including Neeraj Chopra’s silver and Manu Bhaker’s two bronze. No gold this time. For a 1.4 billion population country, it’s certainly not a performance to be proud of. Many smaller countries have been repeatedly outperforming India at the Olympics. This is something the country should seriously ponder upon.
One common trait among medal-leading countries is early identification of talents and systematic training thereafter. Our neighbouring country, China, is a perfect example for this, as it is known for producing sports prodigies. For instance, at 11 years, Chinese skateboarder Zheng Haohao was the youngest Olympian at the Paris 2024. Diver Quan Hongchan, who won gold medals in the individual 10 meter platform and 10 meter synchronised platform at the Paris Games, is just 17 years; she had won the individual 10 meter platform event in Tokyo at 14 years, becoming the second youngest Chinese diver to win an Olympic gold medal after Fu Mingxia (13) won the same event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Swimmer Pan Zhanle (20), the current world record holder of the 100 metre freestyle event and double gold medallist at the Paris Olympics, is another prodigy who started competing in major events at the age of 15. What does this tell? To compete at the highest level, proper nurturing after identification of talents at a young age is vital. India should do just this to see more athletes on the podium at international sports events. The Khelo India programme is one commendable initiative in finding young talents at the grass-roots level as well as building sports culture. There are also other schemes to encourage young people to take up sports, but are we doing enough? Looking at what South Korea has been doing to consolidate its domination in archery for decades, it is apparent that India has a lot of work to do. To see more athletes on the podium, it is pertinent to catch them young and provide adequate platforms to hone their skills.