I’m anyways a ‘news’ person and after the Olympics got underway a few days back I’m constantly updating myself on the latest happenings in Beijing. Abhinav bindra winning gold in the 50m rifle shooting event has been a great inspiration for our medal starved contingent. Truly what he managed to pull off is great and is no mean feat!
But what’s more interesting is the way everybody reacted to the feat. Everybody who’s somebody wanted a piece of that gold medal, which actually belongs to Abhinav and his family. Not our sports ministry, not our system and certainly not our government. But like always the government has its ways of fooling our people and taking credit for the good that happens anywhere. No sooner than the news came in about the victory, state governments went into a frenzy and started announcing cash rewards for him. States like Maharashtra, Madya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh who had absolutely nothing to do with him started announcing exorbitant cash rewards. What’s the best way to congratulate a medal winner in our country? Shower him with cash rewards, even when there are millions below the poverty line, millions who don’t get a single square meal a day!
Just for the record, Maharashtra came up with a 10lakh reward followed by MP followed by a few other states. Then there was Punjab who obviously had to shower a bigger amount than every other state (since its Abhinav’s home state), so they plan to give him crore rupees as reward for his feat at the Olympics!!
These events took place a week back when he just got the medal. One would think that the rewards that he’s getting are a mere appreciation from the govts, but I doubt if that’s the case. From where I see it and from where most people see it, they are just trying to take some credit out of his performance and in some way trying to make it theirs!!
Then just today i heard that the Indian Olympic Association announced a 50lakh reward for him! What is he going to do with all this money? He’s somebody who doesn’t really need all this. He’s from an affluent background. His father is an industrialist and he’s got a rupees 200 crore hotel to his name. What will he do with this money? Probably play maintenance fees for 10 days at his Chandigarh mansion! Why don’t these people understand that this money that they are showering upon what they call their golden boy can be used to produce many such Bindras and Rathores. To start with its actually a good idea to use this money for sports, but why not use it for development of other important things? The IOA has numerous sporting bodies affiliated to it. Most of which don’t even have proper offices to work out of! Why is this money not being utilized for this? Why is the Punjab govt not using this money to build proper sporting infrastructure so that, there can be many more Golden boys? Why is this money not being used as a long term capital keeping ,may be the 2012 or 2016 Olympics in mind?
Many such questions come to my mind when I hear about all these cash rewards being pronounced. But let’s not take anything away from Abhinav’s achievement. What he has achieved is all because of his grit and determination. His focus is commendable! He’s probably one of the lucky few athletes in this country who had the right support and backing from his sposors and loved ones alike. He was determined to do well. Most importantly he was motivated and there were no financial worries unlike other less glorified athletes!
Okay, so what can exactly be done with all this money? Have good infrastructure, have more tournaments in and around the country, make your medal hopes perform in front of your own people. Let the masses know who they are. Have proper publicity for your athletes, make sure that proper coverage is given to them and they’re not overshadowed by the ever so glamorous cricketers. Use the money to employ top notch executives to bulid marketing strategies so that more money gets pumped in from sponsors. Glamorise Olympic sports!! See, if I can think of these ideas, I bet that if a few sane people sit together and chalk out plans India can emerge as a sporting superpower and not just a ” one medal an Olympic” country!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Sport, A way of life-a DREAM!!
One of the things most of us do when we are in school is play some sport or the other. We may not always play to compete but more or less we end up playing some game. Some play at their schools, some at sports clubs and some in their own buildings
So, how important is sport to our personality development? Most of us fail to understand the role sport plays in moulding our personality. Most children quit playing sport, when they get to 9th or 10th grade. The misconception is that sport will hinder their academic performance. Agreed that too much of playing won’t do your academics much good but, there needs to be a fine balance between the both. This is where good parenting and a good school come into the picture and takes you on the right path and gives you all the support you need to excel in both.
More often than not we can relate qualities like leadership skills, team work, man-management and quick learning with a sportsperson. More or less all of us have these qualities in us! What sport does is , it gives a platform to showcase them. A lot of the students want to grow up and work for multi-nationals, want to be the future CEOs and head of companies. We all dream of making it to the top! Now imagine how much more easier it can get if we have the above mentioned qualities, if we have worked in teams before, if we have been captains and if we have bounced back from setbacks before. This is exactly what sport does to your personality! So you don’t really have to play a sport just because you want to play at the Olympics, we all need to play sport, not for any one but for ourselves! We can all be sportspersons in our own right!
Endorsing this theory are the various multinationals which house facilities like gymnasiums, swimming pools and recreational centres in their very offices. There are plenty of people who have made sport a way of life and are scripting success stories. All you need to do is, look in the mirror and start! Making Sport a way of life at an early age is a certain advantage but then for the rest of us, It's NEVER too late!!
So, how important is sport to our personality development? Most of us fail to understand the role sport plays in moulding our personality. Most children quit playing sport, when they get to 9th or 10th grade. The misconception is that sport will hinder their academic performance. Agreed that too much of playing won’t do your academics much good but, there needs to be a fine balance between the both. This is where good parenting and a good school come into the picture and takes you on the right path and gives you all the support you need to excel in both.
More often than not we can relate qualities like leadership skills, team work, man-management and quick learning with a sportsperson. More or less all of us have these qualities in us! What sport does is , it gives a platform to showcase them. A lot of the students want to grow up and work for multi-nationals, want to be the future CEOs and head of companies. We all dream of making it to the top! Now imagine how much more easier it can get if we have the above mentioned qualities, if we have worked in teams before, if we have been captains and if we have bounced back from setbacks before. This is exactly what sport does to your personality! So you don’t really have to play a sport just because you want to play at the Olympics, we all need to play sport, not for any one but for ourselves! We can all be sportspersons in our own right!
Endorsing this theory are the various multinationals which house facilities like gymnasiums, swimming pools and recreational centres in their very offices. There are plenty of people who have made sport a way of life and are scripting success stories. All you need to do is, look in the mirror and start! Making Sport a way of life at an early age is a certain advantage but then for the rest of us, It's NEVER too late!!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
A punch way,all three of them!
No great news for India at the Olympics this year except that Abhinav Bindra,the rifle shooter from Chandigarh struck gold!!this so far, at this year's olympics has been the only medal and it would'nt be unfair to predict that this is all we're going to get after all!
But then,there is hope.hope from the most unexpected corner.Boxing!.Yes,India for the first time at this year's olympics sent five boxers,the most number of boxers ever at the games!Out of five of them,three have managed to qualify all the way to the quarter-finals.kudos to our boxers!
Akhil kumar,Jeetender and Vijender,the three pluglists who have managed this feat,not surprisingly happen to be from the same academy.The Bhiwani boxing academy is located in a small town in Haryana.The academy over the years has been churning out international level boxers at a consistent rate.
the olympics is one stage that every athlete,motivated or not motivated,inspired or not inspired manages to get a high.It is the highest level of sport and with or without adequate training,every single one of them wants to be the best and wear that beutifull piece of jewellery around their neck!!But for our country to produce world class athletes we need to have a higly efficient system in place.we have to have the latest training equipments.we need to train smart and not just train hard.We need to put in place a system that builds customized solutions for athletes because every athlete is different.Every athlete has different streghths and weeknesses.we ought to pay attention to the minutest details.
What the olympic experience does to an athlete is great,its an overwhelming feeling.So,even if he fails after giving a decent shot,he knows he can work hard and do it next time around.but how long do you think this experience will motivate him?We need to keep in mind that the olympics come once in four years.After all the experience that you gained,you go back to the training ground with just one thing in mind,to win an olypic gold next time around.How long will that fuel your passion?
that exactly brings us to the solution,the thing we need to put in place to one day emerge as an olympic superpower(just like our asian neighbour) is provide adequate support and motivation to these athletes at the right time.Four years is a lot of time and if we can make sure that the athlete gets all the right training,mental conditioning and sufficient support there's going to be no stopping us!
Now,lets hope that these boxers go on to win a medal of two.But,we must understand one thing, they have already done us Proud!!
But then,there is hope.hope from the most unexpected corner.Boxing!.Yes,India for the first time at this year's olympics sent five boxers,the most number of boxers ever at the games!Out of five of them,three have managed to qualify all the way to the quarter-finals.kudos to our boxers!
Akhil kumar,Jeetender and Vijender,the three pluglists who have managed this feat,not surprisingly happen to be from the same academy.The Bhiwani boxing academy is located in a small town in Haryana.The academy over the years has been churning out international level boxers at a consistent rate.
the olympics is one stage that every athlete,motivated or not motivated,inspired or not inspired manages to get a high.It is the highest level of sport and with or without adequate training,every single one of them wants to be the best and wear that beutifull piece of jewellery around their neck!!But for our country to produce world class athletes we need to have a higly efficient system in place.we have to have the latest training equipments.we need to train smart and not just train hard.We need to put in place a system that builds customized solutions for athletes because every athlete is different.Every athlete has different streghths and weeknesses.we ought to pay attention to the minutest details.
What the olympic experience does to an athlete is great,its an overwhelming feeling.So,even if he fails after giving a decent shot,he knows he can work hard and do it next time around.but how long do you think this experience will motivate him?We need to keep in mind that the olympics come once in four years.After all the experience that you gained,you go back to the training ground with just one thing in mind,to win an olypic gold next time around.How long will that fuel your passion?
that exactly brings us to the solution,the thing we need to put in place to one day emerge as an olympic superpower(just like our asian neighbour) is provide adequate support and motivation to these athletes at the right time.Four years is a lot of time and if we can make sure that the athlete gets all the right training,mental conditioning and sufficient support there's going to be no stopping us!
Now,lets hope that these boxers go on to win a medal of two.But,we must understand one thing, they have already done us Proud!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
