The larger section of the indian sporting fraternity has always received a step-motherly treatment from india inc.; and though times are a changing, will sports india ever get more saharas? Niharika Patra & Gyanendra Kashyap blow the whistle...
From Tiger Woods’ troubles off the golf course which kicked-off on thanksgiving night a few weeks back, to the loud voices symbolising some thouroughly dissatified and ‘unpaid’ souls in the Indian Men’s Hockey team’s dressing room, when the clock ran past the New Year 2010 milestone, the world of sports has witnessed some glorious and equally inglorious events, of late. There is a common thread however, linking the two cross-continental incidents mentioned above – that of capital involved; in short, the business of sports. However, talking about both the affairs in the same breath sounds absurd, for while on one hand, Woods’ troubles wiped the pride off one individual, the unallocated funds to a rightfully deserving team India poured shame upon an entire sporting fraternity.
And the sad situation of Indian sports arises thus. It goes without saying that cricketers in the country enjoy so much spotlight that even the advertising companies primarily keep them highlighted in their books. The sad result is that the same zeal and zest is lacking in other sports’ formats in the country, and just one of the repercussions is that Indian athletes have won only nine gold medals, in a sporting event that features over 400 sporting events called Olympics (which was born 27 long centuries back). Clearly, other sports in the country like hockey, football, volleyball, kabbadi, badminton, athletics, tennis, kho-kho, wrestling, shooting, archery, boxing et al, are missing what they all deserve, both in the name of respect and financial recognition.
For the uninitiated, the most recent hockey impasse (which saw our Indian Men’s Hockey team begging for payment of dues) just a month and a half ahead of the not-so hyped-up ongoing Hockey World Cup 2010, is a point in case. A bigger disgrace was the initial reaction from the Indian Hockey Federation, which said, “We’re bankrupt”! Notwithstanding the truth and logic behind the Federation’s claims, it was perhaps for the first time that India woke up to the fact that besides cricket, there were definitely others sports that needed the likes of brand Sahara! For lack of other interested capitalistic outfits, it was the very same Sahara India Parivar (also the official sponsors of the Indian hockey team), which came to the rescue with its decision to release Rs.10 million in an effort to ease the agony of the Indian Men’s Hockey team.
From Tiger Woods’ troubles off the golf course which kicked-off on thanksgiving night a few weeks back, to the loud voices symbolising some thouroughly dissatified and ‘unpaid’ souls in the Indian Men’s Hockey team’s dressing room, when the clock ran past the New Year 2010 milestone, the world of sports has witnessed some glorious and equally inglorious events, of late. There is a common thread however, linking the two cross-continental incidents mentioned above – that of capital involved; in short, the business of sports. However, talking about both the affairs in the same breath sounds absurd, for while on one hand, Woods’ troubles wiped the pride off one individual, the unallocated funds to a rightfully deserving team India poured shame upon an entire sporting fraternity.
And the sad situation of Indian sports arises thus. It goes without saying that cricketers in the country enjoy so much spotlight that even the advertising companies primarily keep them highlighted in their books. The sad result is that the same zeal and zest is lacking in other sports’ formats in the country, and just one of the repercussions is that Indian athletes have won only nine gold medals, in a sporting event that features over 400 sporting events called Olympics (which was born 27 long centuries back). Clearly, other sports in the country like hockey, football, volleyball, kabbadi, badminton, athletics, tennis, kho-kho, wrestling, shooting, archery, boxing et al, are missing what they all deserve, both in the name of respect and financial recognition.
For the uninitiated, the most recent hockey impasse (which saw our Indian Men’s Hockey team begging for payment of dues) just a month and a half ahead of the not-so hyped-up ongoing Hockey World Cup 2010, is a point in case. A bigger disgrace was the initial reaction from the Indian Hockey Federation, which said, “We’re bankrupt”! Notwithstanding the truth and logic behind the Federation’s claims, it was perhaps for the first time that India woke up to the fact that besides cricket, there were definitely others sports that needed the likes of brand Sahara! For lack of other interested capitalistic outfits, it was the very same Sahara India Parivar (also the official sponsors of the Indian hockey team), which came to the rescue with its decision to release Rs.10 million in an effort to ease the agony of the Indian Men’s Hockey team.
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