Parading the Goalless Endeavour

First of all let us highlight, admire and cheer the half a dozen torch bearers of Indian contingent who had gladdened and propelled the hearts of 1.2 billion nation waiting anxiously for the last two weeks with silent whispers, prayers and sleepless nights,  watching the rise and fall of Sportsindia in the quadrennial sports carnival on the banks of Thames. Even though they did not set Thames on fire, it did bring considerable relief, belief,  consolation and admiration to this otherwise mighty nation which has or had nothing to rave about save cricket and of course a few isolated individual achievements brought by a handful of dedicated sportspersons now and then.

A lot will be discussed in the weeks to come as to how to honour  these deservedly gallant heroes, only ways of doing so will differ. Showering heaps of adjectives as to who did this and the ways of showering gifts in quantitative terms to showcase their never so die interest in the welfare of Indian sports will be the order of the day. All said and done, victory  has many fathers and defeat  is an orphan. A lot of mudslinging will take place across the table as to find fault with what went wrong, who did the wrong and to add insult to injury, finding and nailing some foreign coach as to the cause of this shame and debacle.

But let us not forget to introspect ourselves. Where does the fault lie? It may range from  murky politics, mundane politicians, lack of facilities or lack of the will to win or a mixture of all in different ratios and proportions, all ending before a committee of persons who may know no more than the spelling of sport discipline. They judge as to what went wrong  and what to do next  to achieve the impossible again.

Let us rewind our Cricketing history. Are we not beaten umpteen times, by all nations till 1983 and all our foreign tours ending in a fiasco and disaster. For a nation to rise from nadir to the pinnacle of glory, there should be a catalytic pump. For cricket, it came in the form of 1983 World Cup. It was the victory of a dedicated group with the sole purpose of a will to win. So was 2011. Between 1983 & 2011, Indian cricket saw many ups and downs while Indian fans continued to patronize the game faithfully.

Need of the hour is some radical thinking. We have to have sports schools in every town, with the best in infrastructure ,facilities, coaches and all prerequisite. Sports and primary education should be hand in glove. The incentives should be based on performances strictly on merit basis not on bias. Teachers should be promoted on basis of their ward’s laurels than the yearly routine. The education should be result oriented rather than job. The whole system must be supervised by a dedicated bunch of organizers including the political bigwigs, corporate giants to monitor, guide and look after the trainee’s welfare and to unearth raw talents and sustain their tempo with all its sincerity.

Till such thing happens, though not a distant dream, we Indians have to look far down the long list of nations to track the name India and be satisfied that it is not first from the rear and let Bindras, Sainas ,Sushil Kumars, Mary Koms blossom in our hearts to pump faster, higher and stronger. Compare our neighbor China, first in terms of populace, second in the medal table. If such a miracle if you have to say so, can happen in China it can and should happen in India as well.

I still believe that all is not lost yet. I  perceive the light at the end of the tunnel.