Nov 08, 2004 10:20 PM
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(Updated Nov 08, 2004 10:20 PM)
The 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens ended this year sending out signals to 100 crore Indians spread not only in India but across the globe leaving them befuddled and depressed.
OUR FRIVOLOUS ATTITUDE:
What?s so depressing? We did get a medal, didn?t we? A solid, sterling silver at that. We also, managed to tie for the 65th position among the 75 medal winning countries, with three other countries ? Hong Kong, Paraguay, and Serbia. Out of the 202 countries that participated in this year?s Olympics, only 75 countries could get into the medals position. Yes! We are lucky to be there.
A NATIONAL HERO:
Three cheers to Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore for bagging the coveted ?Silver? when our normal tendencies are to get enamoured by the ?Bronze?. For this act alone, Major Rathore?s name should be written in GOLD in the annals of India?s sporting history.
RESURGENCE OR INDULGENCE?
What irks me no end is the tall claims of the Indian Olympic Association and the powers that be in the Ministry of Sports, prior to the Games, that how we were about to see a resurgent India, or how the country was poised to become a regional sporting power.
Well, we did see a resurgence of the diabolical kind if you care to know - our weightlifters were either on drugs, or drugged by their unimaginative coaches. The truth is however left to your imagination, and to their conscience.
Countries which are nothing more than a dot on the map like Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Jamaica were ahead of us in the final medals tally. Okay, this is nothing new, every four years we raise these issues only to conveniently forget by the end of that year.
SHOULD WE HOST THE OLYMPICS?
There are reports that our Government in general and Ministry of Y A & S is toying with the idea of hosting the ?Games? in the year 2016 or 2020, and that brings us to the ?million dollar? question ? are we justified in even thinking of hosting the ?Games?.
One thought that comes readily to my mind is that, having performed so badly we cannot possibly think of hosting the ?Games?, at least, till our performances improve drastically. And this won?t happen like our five-year plans; it could take decades to muster some useful performances from our athletes or sportsmen. Moreover, whether we should allow such dismal performances to be repeated on our motherland and so become the laughing stock of the world?
The other thought that keeps pricking me is ? are we economically strong enough to absorb the huge cost of organizing such a gigantic event?
A CASE FOR HOSTING THE GAMES:
Negative thinking has never been known to help achieve anything worthwhile. It is said, ?It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, but it is because we do not dare that things are difficult?.
The contention that we cannot afford such huge expenditure is, to my mind, a logic that smacks of escapism.
Many countries that have hosted the ?Games? were in doldrums, but they eventually hosted the ?Games? which turned out to be a super success. The taxes might have gone up, but that is little in comparison to the pride and image of the nation. Every Indian worth his salt would be proud to be a part of that.
The Games can actually induce a new meaning and liking to sports and games among the younger generation. It acts like a chain reaction ? the hosting of the Games on our soil will have a lasting positive influence on budding sportsmen which will hasten their development and these results can be seen in the long run. If we wait for their performances to improve before hosting the Games, I am afraid that dream will never be realized.
We have organized Asian Games in the past, and we have recently shown the world that we are second to none in organizational capability, the First Afro ? Asian Games is a proof of that.
?A successful nation is one which can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at it.?
I believe the question should not be whether ?we can? or ?we can?t?, the question should be ?when can we host?? And I believe the time is ripe for us to host the 2020 or the 2024 Games.
So, friends, let us begin in right earnest and dare to dream today, a dream that may become the reality of tomorrow. A tomorrow that may allow us to witness our ?tricolour? proudly flutter in the blue and the national anthem applauding our victorious sportsmen.
© MB FAROOKH 11, 2004.
Comments on the topic are highly appreciated.
