Indian athletes and sports persons performance at the Asiad where they have won the largest ever number of medals is a great moment of pride and pleasure for the country. Although the number of medals pales into insignificance compared to the number scored by smaller nations like South Korea, Iran and Kazakhstan, it has revealed many intersting facts which deserve serious introspection by the authorities and the nation. That our athletes have excelled in traditional sports which were our main source of pride right from the times immemorial but were deliberately neglected by the foreign rulers. Even after independence our rulers continued to follow the colonial legacy in sports and patronised games like Cricket, Golf, Tennis etc. In the world over Cricket is played only in a few countries with colonial hangover. It has now become a great money spinner mired in scams, cheating and corrupt practices.
2. The traditional sports like Kabbadi, Hockey, Football, Races Javelin throw have been relegated by the so called sophisticated class to the non-cognisable category of sports. Although we have a Ministry of sports at the Centre, all the funds are distributed to the non-traditional sports. The recent events in Asiad also indicate that most of the winners are from rural background who have achieved by dint of their own strength and without any largesse of the State. The rural youth have higher level of physical strength and are capable of out shinning in sports given proper guidance and training. One expects that the Government and people at large will give it a serious thought to encourage and promote the traditional sports in the country.
No comments:
Post a Comment