Editorial: Run, think, shoot, live

As the curtains came down on the Paris Olympics, India exhibited a total haul of six medals – one silver and five bronze. Among the 84 countries that managed to bag a medal, we have occupied the unenviable 71st spot. The nation’s showmanship has markedly improved since 2008, when Abhinav Bindra won our first individual gold medal, and finally grew our medal tally beyond one. This year, we pinned our hopes on the 117-strong contingent, and pumped up the Games-centric outlay to over Rs 470 crore, dedicated to the Target Olympic Podium Scheme and other initiatives.

This is India’s joint-second best haul along with London 2012, and the one behind last time’s Tokyo haul of seven. At the Paris Games, India witnessed shooter Manu Bhaker serving up a surprise double-bronze, while the unheralded Swapnil Kusale ended our wait for a 50m Rifle 3P medal. Guided by the spirit of the legendary Dhyan Chand, the Indian men’s hockey team, which beat Australia, battled Belgium, and soaked the pressure against Britain and Germany, was buoyed by a spectacular run from warhorse PR Sreejesh. Neeraj Chopra who shouldered the burden of 1.4 billion dreams, had to make do with a silver against Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem who claimed the elusive gold.

India’s hopes for a double-digit medal tally were laid to waste by a series of near-misses, and unfortunate developments. Vinesh Phogat’s disqualification scuttled a potential comeback like no other; shuttler Lakshya Sen’s inexplicable meltdown in the bronze play-off, coupled with archer Deepika Kumari’s bungled shot against Korea in the quarterfinal, as well as badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s medal-less return had dampened India’s aspirations.

A recent news report pegged India to be almost 88 years behind the curve, when it came to sporting records set by the world’s best sportspersons. This year, the US tied with China for the most Olympic golds: 40 medals, while it blazed past the rest of the world on the net medal count - 126. Aside from the 40 golds, US athletes pocketed 42 silver and 44 bronze medals as well. China was runner-up in the total medal race with 91 pieces. Beijing’s sporting contingent boasted of 40 gold, 27 silver and 24 bronze medals, while Japan was a distant third with 20 gold medals, and 45 overall. Great Britain took home 65 medals, but only 14 were gold for an overall ranking of seventh.

Experts have extensively deliberated on the measures required to plug the gaps in India’s sporting infrastructure and training methodology. We need a bigger budget, and we require a checks and balances mechanism or an audit, to ensure that the allocations are optimally deployed. Scouting for the best talent nationwide, creating state-of-the-art infrastructure, provision of balanced nutritious diets, taking care of their physical and mental health needs, and equipping them with quality training gear, are certainly welcome measures. But the cause of our Olympic woes could be summed up even by a school student – it’s because the Physical Education (PE) period – 35 minutes at best, and once a week – usually gets subsumed by a maths or science class, as the teachers believe students should be making something of their lives – anything but sports. Nurturing the next generation of champions will require us to inculcate in the young – the importance of sports in everyday life, and not relegate its value to a quadrennial event.