Olympics and why does India have only one medal

getgopi1

I have to agree. I briefly played Soccer in high school. We had some fine athletes who then fizzled out when it was time for college and career planning. My friend Sam was excellent at long distance running, Suresh was an expert Kabadi player but...

Typical Indian parents want to see their kids become Doctors and Engineers. Well that explains how I became a Software Engineer myself (of course, I am also good at it ). I have worked with a lot of Indians here and in India and I can tell you that, despite their exemplary educational backgrounds, imagination and industry, 99.99% of them have to be told what to do. As an example, I had told an Indian friend of mine here how much I enjoyed my flight training. Later he expressed an interest in learning to fly. So I asked him what was stopping him. He said,

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly do that. My parents feel that it is risky and they would not like that at all".

Now this is a guy who was a Project Manager. At least he had had the courage to broach the subject with them.

Taking the initiative and the ability to question "authority" are two things that a lot of people lack by default. And, for a majority of Indians, this attitude starts building up at home as they are practically "bullied" by their own elders (I talk from experience; I have been there; So don't glare at me). I wonder how many pro athletes in India actually question a tactic or strategy set forth by a coach or do their own research.

So how about the Indian athletes of today? I guess we could consider their experience as a stepping stone to whatever India has to offer in future.

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- Gopi

maverick

actually its a very vicious cycle..poor country ...no infrastructure..therefore no sports culture as such (except for leisure activity in schools) ..hence no top atheletes hence no money hence parents dont want their kids to think of it as a career which explains why no sponsors ..no fame..no recognition..hence no infrastructure..no parents..i told u its a (vicious) cycle_lol the facilities provided during competitions like accomodation,travelling etc are humiliating if not pathetic!!n on top throw in all the red tape n common stories like "official meetings" taking up all the budget n officials making merry at athletes expenses who dont even get enough money to wash their clothes !!

and finally sports today is so competitive that you have to catch talent when its young n then give world class coaching to expect a medal in future! you cant send someone whos already 21 _25 years old to 1 months coaching camp in europe or usa before olympics and then expect medals!!!

btw a small world on sports culture in the country..i think many middle aged ladies in europe (i dunno abt usa) who go for regular jogs can beat even the youngsters (boys!! ) in india in stamina

p.s: why isnt chess an olympic sport ???? it certainly satisfies all criterias unless theres a rule which forbids board games or says that all sports must include physical activity!

SydneyKate

Actually, here in Australia we have the opposite "syndrome" - a population of around 20 million, and 16 Golds to date (plus many others silver & bronze. It's a cultural thing, people here are truly CRAZY about sport, (a bit TOO obsessed?) most kids play team sports from age 5, my 10 year old son has just finished his 6th season of competitive soccer. Cricket is just about to start and he will play or train 5 times a week.... His school has compulsory Saturday sport against other schools, for ALL kids.Being good at sport is highly valued, in fact NOT being good causes problems for some kids at schol.Aussies are obsessed with the Olympics and that takes some commitment as most of the "action" takes place in the middle of the night!Personally I find it all a bit much, but being a parent at least it keeps them off the Playstation Anyway, India has many other pressing issues to worry about.
BTW some new words have entered the Aussie English language "to Medal" and yesterday I heard "to podium"
Kate

timmy

Only in Channel Seven's vernacular. When they say someone "medalled" in Sydney, it makes it sound like they should have been disqualified.

As Kate says, Australia is obsessed, and the country descends into a frenzy of self-congratulation every time a medal is won. It's as if this nation's only measure of self worth is based on their placing on the medal tally.

getgopi1

Well, I am going to India in November. I am going to make it a point of "coaxing" some of my buddies to swim/run with me (we actually used to do that ). I will only be there for 2 weeks. I don't know how much I can accomplish but its a start. One of my buddies there was complaining how his kids were getting fat. This guy works at a big company that has its own pool...something of a rarity even here in the US. I believe that to get your own kids interested in fitness is to set an example of yourself. So I told him,

"Jump in, Dude, and the kids will follow."

volga_volga

look at some African countries (can anyone tell me where Eritrea is on the map? ) - the big sports companies focus their grassroots programmes THERE because they know that once they invested from their side they can expect a 100% dedication from the athlete. because an athlete (and we are prob'ly talking manly Track and Field which are VERY olympic sports) career in these countries is seem in the same way as a cricketer career in India.

just 2c more from me...

Apana

Time (Asian edition) 23rd Aug, 2004, has an interesting essay on India's Olympic bid by Alex Perry.

Unfortunately, it does not seem to be on their website.

Apana

Merchant

India's collegiate sports, except cricket and sometimes soccer, aren't very competitive or professional. American collegiate athletes have some of the best facilities, coaches, and competition available in the world.

getgopi1

I hate to say this...but Cricket is actually a major culprit. That game seems to get most of the fanfare. This has the unfortunate effect of robbing away "resources" put into the promotion of other sports. This is not an issue here in the US, despite several major leagues. Nevertheless, I think that concerned organizations in India are somehow doing a better job today than only 10 years ago. Schools for instance regularly conduct annual sporting events. But I wish that companies would also use athletes from non-cricket related sports to, for instance, market their products in TV ads and such.

rhytha

An Eternally Faltering Flame - BY ALEX PERRY

http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazi...682346,00.html

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Indian History, Politics, News, Strategic Security, Hinduism.

indiadreamn

VV - Eritrea is stuck in a corner between Sudan and Ethiopia along the red sea. I had a friend from there and its suppost to be pretty nice with the exception of land mines

getgopi1

They must be naturally jumpy people...enough to win a track & field medal

hanu-man

Indians don,t take sport as seriously as the rest of the world. unlike the uk they talk about other things. maybe thats part of the reason we all love india so much. If it had the same priorities as the rest of the world would we want to spend so much time there?

hanu-man

And when it comes down to it this kind of behaviour deserves a medal http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3590548.stm
mother carrying for China 08!!

getgopi1

Indians winning Olympic medals matters to a lot of Indians and hence the involvement shown by people like I in this thread. Don't worry India is big and complex enough that a lot of her charms will continue to pull people in from all over the world. Like the original poster said, there are close to a billion people. So even if a million of them prepared for the Olympics, there will still be quite a number of other interesting happenings around India because you could always trust the rest of the bunch to come with a new tradition or something like that. I was watching the Olympics tonight and I couldn't help notice how fair skinned athletes (Americans and Chinese primarily) ruled in diving while Blacks ruled in track & field events. So I guess India still hasn't found her "niche" yet