No-Nonsense Reality Of Indian Sports

A fact that should be acknowledged is that the performance by Indian sportspersons is below potential and the reasons for that are mainly poor governance in sports, lack of professionalism, the absence of strong domestic competition structure, lack of strong talent identification and long-term athlete development system. Other key reasons for the poor performance of Indian sportspersons are non-integration of sports with education at school, college and university levels, inadequate support in terms of high performance coaches and other support staff, sports sciences and medicine etc.

Let’s dive into the deeper realms of this issue. Why exactly sports sector is underdeveloped in India and what are the shortcomings that don’t allow the sportspersons in this country to excel in their respective sports.

1.Governance of National Sports Federations: The involvement of politicians, infighting, lack of athletes and very low women representation in governance appointments, limited transparency and disclosure, no formal vision document on sports development and extended tenure of appointees are the major shortcomings here. In addition, sports federations exist to further the agenda of key personalities rather than develop the sport keeping the athlete at the center of all decisions. In this manner, the objective of these federations is itself at fault.

2.Athletes not being at the centre of sports Development: This is where the Indian sport system really makes things obscure. The objective on which the system works doesn’t places value on athletes at all. Athletes are at the mercy of Sports Federation and suffer their apathy as well as their lack of understanding of the nuances of the sport or the realities of being an athlete. Forget being treated as national heroes and icons; they face lack of basic institutional support and even a few words of encouragement.Rather, the federation controls the selection process to national camps, bilateral tournaments, and access to specialized coaching and selection to iconic international events.

3.Corruption and faulty management in sports federations: Corruption is now synonymous with sports administration in India. Whether it is the most popular cricket or hockey or weightlifting, most of the sports authorities in India have come under attack due to corruption charges. Involvement of politicians in the administration of sports bodies for a very long period and controversies surrounding 2010 Commonwealth Games dented the image of sports administrators in India.

4.Social and economic inequalities: Social and economic inequalities have a negative impact on the Indian sport. Denial of access to sports infrastructure due to poverty, concentration of stadiums and other sports avenues only in cities, lack of encouragement to girls to participate in sports, etc, have impaired the development of a positive sports culture in the country.

5.Lack of a policy: For the development of any sector, formulation and execution of an effective policy is necessary. This is true for sports also. Till date, the sports policy planning and implementation is centralized in the country due to the paucity of resources and the expertise by the State and local governments. Moreover, the absence of a separate ministry of sports at the union level reflects the apathy towards sports.

6.Dearth allocation of resources: Compared to other developed and developing countries, allocation of financial resources is meager in India. In the Union Budget 2017-18, Rs 1943 crore allocated for sports. While it is Rs 450 crore higher than the previous year, it is much below than the around Rs 9000 crore spent annually by the UK for the sports sector. And even this allocated budget for sports is not entirely spent for the welfare of athletes and sportspersons. The authorities take some share for their pocket too.

7.Poor Sports infrastructure, Access & Utilization: If India could just improve access to available sports infrastructure for the masses, one-third of the agenda would be addressed. If more people have access to sporting facilities at an affordable cost, utilization rates would automatically increase. And this would sort out another one-third of the agenda.

8.Covering up of illegal acts: Indian sports authorities generally allow a few illegal acts in sports and cover some other illegal acts by players and authorities. For instance, age fraud is one of the biggest hindrances to the growth of Indian football. It is incredibly widespread and is even more disturbing in reality than the severity with which it is generally portrayed publicly. “Over 95% of professional footballers in India have incorrect date of births,” estimates an experienced coach who has dealt with both Indian clubs and national teams. This is sadly allowed by the authorities which shouldn’t be the case.

Hence, these are the few reasons of the deplorable state of Indian sports and why Indian sports system falls short in comparison to other countries.