7 Dominant Reasons Why India Fails At The Olympics!

Olympics, the biggest stage for a sportsperson to showcase their talent, to make their countrymen proud and to win not only medals but also fame and glory, has a very long history. It is every sportsperson’s dream to win a Gold at the biggest arena of sports in front of thousands of crowds and people back home. Olympic Gold is the highest reward sportsmen can get for all their hard work and labor. Almost every country, big or small, sends its contingent of athletes to the Olympics but not every country manages to win medals. India is sadly one of them.

Photo by Bryan Turner on Unsplash

With over 1.35 billion population, India sits at №2 in the list of most populated countries in the world, just marginally behind China’s 1.4 billion. Still, China manages to win almost a hundred medals at every Olympics, while India struggles to win one or two medals. The highest number of medals India won in a single Olympics is just 6 which was way back in 2012 when they sent for the first time, a record 83 athletes, to compete in 13 different sports. Interestingly there was still no gold out of those 6 medals. The last time India won a gold medal was in 2008 (first since 1980) at the Beijing Olympics when Abhinav Bindra won the finals of the 10-meter air rifle event making him the first and the only person to win an individual gold medal at Olympics for India. All the other gold medals India won were in a team game, Hockey, to be exact. So what is it that stops India from winning a medal at the Olympics?

Reason For India’s Failure At The Olympics

Photo by Claire Kelly on Unsplash

1. Lack of GOOD Infrastructure and Facilities : We fail to provide proper infrastructure and basic facilities that an athlete need during their training days. The lack of these facilities leaves them underprepared and incompetent to face world-class opponents from other countries. Surely our athletes can perform far better if their basic needs get fulfilled.
2. Lack of awareness towards sports : If you go to the rural areas of India, you’ll find very few people (almost negligible) who can even imagine sports as a career. People don’t even know what Olympic is! Around 67% of Indians live in rural areas, so you can understand where the problem lies. You may find these types of people in urban areas as well.
3. Lack of Funds : Despite being the world’s sixth-largest economy, India fails to provide the required funds in sports. The Indian Government spends only 3 Paise/day on each sportsperson contrary to the Chinese who spend 6 Rupees/day. This deficit clearly reflects in the medal tally at the Olympics.
4. The CRICKET Factor : Although we have read in our GK books that Hockey is the National Game of India, but that looks good only in the books because an average Indian doesn’t even know who is the captain of India’s Hockey Team. We as a nation, are truly obsessed with one single game, and that is Cricket. No one likes to talk about any other sports and it is only during major events like Olympics that we give some attention to other sports as well. The result is that these sports get fewer sponsors, less recognition, and hence very few people get inclined towards these sports.
5. Lack of Family Support : If you ask a typical Indian parent about what does he want his child to pursue as a career, they will tell you all sorts of government jobs or a doctor or an engineer, but seldom will you see a parent saying he wants his child to pursue sports as a career. In Indian Society, sports have a negative image in every parent’s mind. The general view about sports is that “If you play, you’re a bad boy/girl and if you study well, you’re a good boy/girl”. This mentality has destroyed many talented child’s careers and is likely to destroy more such. Children in India are discouraged right from beginning from pursuing sports as a career.
6. Poverty and Illiteracy : Even if someone develops an interest in sports and wants to pursue it as a career, they have to fight their way forward because not everyone has a good economic condition. While training, they also have to pay attention towards earning a livelihood and completing studies as well. Everyone has a fear of failing and has to keep a Plan B with themselves.
7. Lack of Good Guidance : Generally, the Central Sports Minister, allotted by the Government (Ruling Party) seems to be incompetent and has no good idea of the sports and its basic requirements. The result is that the athletes, who are motivated enough to do something in their field, also get demotivated due to the lack of support and guidance. How can we expect something extraordinary from these athletes with such incompetent leaders leading them?

Photo by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash

India’s athletes are no less than any other country’s athletes and have all the talent they need to succeed at the Olympics. It’s just that they need some support from each one of us. Maybe we can get over our obsession with cricket someday and cheer for these athletes as well. They are no less than MS Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar! They might have not won enough medals but definitely, they are giving their best each day. In future years to come, a bit more attention on their requirements and infrastructures for their hardcore training will do wonders at the biggest stage.