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The Olympics Conundrum

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Gagan Narang
Vijay Kumar
Saina Nehwal
Mary Kom

These 4 have been the medal winners for India at the 2012 London Olympics. Hopefully, there would be a few more on the podium by the time the event winds up this Sunday. And once the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka starts in September (followed by series with England and Australia), the names above will just be forgotten - with the possible exception of Saina Nehwal - for the next 4 years until Rio 2016 comes around.

I could not be any prouder of our Olympians, medal or no medal. Specifically, I loved the way P Kashyap (Badminton Quarters) played against World No. 2 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. True that Kashyap did not have a chance against the much experienced Lee, but the World No. 20 played a superb game and even held the lead against his much celebrated opponent. Has a great temperament and has terrific gaming skills to match. I was glad that he was also felicitated in Hyderabad along with Saina (deservedly) and India coach and former All England Champ, Pullela Gopichand.

A nation of 1.2 billion and a handful of medal winners. Why can't we do more? Seems like a very interesting and valid question. That simple question means opening a Pandora's box in terms of facilities, training, diet, administration, capabilities, organization, schedule, tournaments, support and many more difficult necessities. Thankfully, India has always been oppressive towards the untouchables, and these above requirements are just that for the Indian Olympic Association.

A nation which prided itself on a successful scam-filled Commonwealth games and completely ignoring (and insulting) our champions such as Pinki Pramanik (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-11/india/32632238_1_pinki-pramanik-tuhin-roy-police-and-jail-custody) and Santhi Soundarajan (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-24/off-the-field/32826736_1_santhi-soundarajan-brick-kiln-gender-test) doesn't actually deserve any medals. What a shame that of the next great super-powers, commonly called as BRIC, India is the only one with no Olympics hosting ability and prowess. In fact, we are ages away from hosting any significant non-cricketing events (Commonwealth games be damned, it is forever scarred because of Kalmadi and gang). The corruption in every aspect of our livelihood is not the only reason, but India's got a hell lot of other priorities and rightfully so. This is where private enterprises/conglomerates need to pitch in. Please stop showing Kareena Kapoor dancing with a Sony Vaio laptop (how does that show what the product does). That is just one example of what is wrong with India and where its Corporate priorities are. Show some guts and support the Olympians. How many people truly buy a product because a Movie Star or a Cricketer endorses a product? Showing an Olympian might show a sensitivity towards them (and more importantly their achievements).

And please don't ask (nor expect) the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) to do anything for the Olympians. They are not the Government of India. BCCI can choose to ignore the frequent calls for felicitating the Olympic champions and instead choose to flex their financial muscle in not using the DRS (Decision Review System) for matches/series featuring Team India and most importantly, play a series with Pakistan in India ignoring what happened in November 2008 (all comments are true, if you are keeping count).

To close out this post with what is truly wrong with India and its non-cricketing sport icons, here is an example - http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-2012-opening-ceremony-india-gatecrasher-357067.

Proud to be an Indian!!

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