Giant-sized dwarf

 India is a sports sleeping giant, with a population of over 130 crore but placed at the bottom rank among competing nations. India definitely has the potential to be among the top ten sports powerhouse of the world if only the government has the political will to bring drastic changes. This year, India has sent its largest ever contingent—120 athletes, who are competing in 85 medal events. However, India has been there before- winning hardly a handful of medals. In 2016, India sent 117 players to Rio, pinning hopes on winning between 10 and 14 medals but clinching just two. This time, till Friday, India won two silver and three bronze medals, taking its tally to five. India had expected to win gold medals in women’s badminton, women’s hockey, women’s weight lifting, archery, boxing, wrestling, shooting etc but one by one the hopes fell. The two silver medals won by India came from Manipur’s Mirabai Chanu(women’s weightlifting) and Ravi Kumar Dahiya( men’s wrestling). India won its three bronze medals from P.V.Sindhu(badminton), Assam’s Lovlina Borgohain (women’s boxing) and men’s hockey. The five medals won by India so far, placed it at 66 position out of 83 countries vying for medals at the Tokyo Olympics. India has the worst population to medals ratio at the Olympics. Since its first appearance at the summer Olympic Games in 1900, India has managed to score just 30 medals, including two silvers in Tokyo. It is not understood why the government fails to replicate the BCCI strategy of promoting cricket. Unfortunately, unlike in Britain where cricket enjoys high popularity but other sports have been given equal focus, it is not so in India. The government has gone gaga on cricket with so much attention and efforts to build better infrastructure for producing world-class cricketers but it forgot that there are other sports in the country too. How India treats its champions is tragic as teams and individuals who toiled hard with blood, sweat and sometimes tears to make the country proud, have been abandoned to their fate. There are at least 12 well known Indian Olympic medal winners who had to beg and borrow in their last days. Shanta Devi( Kabaddi player) has been forced to sell vegetables at Jamshedpur. Footballer and Arjuna awardee, Mohd.Yousuf Khan who led India in winning the 1962 Asian Games football died of penury. Sarwan Singh who represented the country in the 1954 Asian Games in the 110 meter hurdles event, where he won a gold medal; had to sell his medal to survived and died a pauper. Famous India hockey player, Major Dhyanchand is remembered as a magician of Indian Hockey. With Dhyanchand’s goal-scoring feats, British India won Olympic Gold medals in 1928,1932 and 1936. He was awarded with the nation’s third highest civilian honour of Padma Bhushan in 1956 but died penniless in 1979. Others who brought sporting glory to India also faced similar fates such as- world carrom champion Maria Irudayam ; 1958 Asian Games steeplechase winner Paan Singh Tomar; hockey goalkeeper Shankar Laxman who played for India to win the 1956 and 1958 Olympic medals and died in poverty. Doughty wrestler Khashaba Dadasahed Jadhav who won Bronze medal at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. He was even denied pension and later died in a road accident. If such is the way in which the nation treats those who bring sports glory, then it does very little to inspire development of sports.