1.2 billion people and only six Olympic medals? This has become a stock question, and every day there are debates about why India, with such a huge population, has only one Olympic gold medal to date. The answer is simple: India is not a sporting country.
There is an old Indian saying, “Kheloge kudoge hoge kharab, likhoge padhoge banoge nawab” (study is all one has to do, as sport will take you nowhere). Most Indians live by this idiom, and it is the main reason India has never made it big in sport.
Cricket is an exception. Beyond that, only a few sportspersons in the country have carved a niche for themselves, and the number is too small to boast of.
Whenever Indians perform badly at a global meet, critics across the country get together to humiliate the players, but they never try to understand the adversities these players go through just to represent the country. Even as things change socially and economically, there is still no end to the apathy towards sport.
A classic example is the case of India Under-19 captain Unmukt Chand, who played a marvellous innings to lead India to their third ICC Under-19 World Cup title. He made the whole country proud, yet his college, St Stephen’s, has barred him from sitting his exams because of a shortage of attendance. It is a rule, but the college authorities should have made an exception for someone who toiled day in and day out to bring the trophy home.
Unmukt has received support from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sports Minister Ajay Maken and HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, and the college may overturn its decision and allow him to sit his exams. But will this set a good precedent for someone like Unmukt, or for upcoming athletes who want to make it big through sport? Anyone will think twice before putting their education on hold for sport.
The issue caught people’s attention only because India returned from Australia as winners. Had it been otherwise, no one would have been talking about Unmukt, and he could have been left to choose between sport and education. If a boy who has brought laurels to the country faces the ignominy of being barred from his exams, one can well imagine the situation of an ordinary young person who chooses sport over studies. There is always the fear that if they do so and do not succeed, first the people and then their educational institutions will make their lives very difficult. This shows in the sporting spirit, which is hardly seen among most Indians.
Unmukt’s case is a classic example of why India lags behind in sport. Next time, before criticising athletes, everyone should look within and ask themselves how much they have done to make India a sporting powerhouse.
By Samikshan Dutta Choudhury
Indian Sports News
