When India won seven medals at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, many sports lovers across the country were happy. After all, it was our all-time best performance in the prestigious multi-sport event: one in which we were placed 48th on the medals tally, below Venezuela and above Hong Kong. India had sent a contingent of 119 athletes to Tokyo. Yet, seven medals in the 2020 event were enough to write a new chapter in the nation’s sporting history.
Hardly anything has changed this time. India has sent 117 athletes to Paris for the ongoing 2024 Summer Olympics. Shooters have won three bronze medals, Manu Bhaker having won one of them in the women’s 10m air pistol event and partnered with Sarabjot Singh to win another in the mixed 10m air pistol team event, and Swapnil Kusale having secured the third medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. The worst news of the day is wrestler Vinesh Phoghat’s disqualification because she was found slightly overweight after she had entered the final of women’s 50kg category. There are other medal-winning possibilities though – Neeraj Chopra, for instance, has entered the javelin throw final, while the men’s hockey team will fight for the bronze – but nobody is hoping for a significant increase in the number of medals compared to Tokyo.
It is in the context of India’s performance that advisor to the Indian badminton squad Prakash Padukone’s criticism of our athletes in general, and badminton players in particular, must be understood. The badminton legend, who, most memorably, defeated the Indonesian great Liem Swie King to win the All England Open in 1980, reportedly said after Lakshya Sen’s defeat at the hands of Malaysian Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal play-off in men’s singles, “I and Vimal (coach Vimal Kumar) are not happy with the fourth position of Lakshya (Sen). He could have definitely gotten a medal. I know (Viktor) Axelsen (who beat Sen in the semis) might say that Lakshya is the next best, but that is not good enough because there was a possibility of a medal.”
It is easy to understand why Padukone is not a happy man. Sen, who had defeated Jia in four out of five matches before playing against him at the Olympics, lost his way in the second game after winning the first. Jia won the decider easily and denied Sen a precious Olympic bronze. Apart from Sen, whose gradual capitulation made the viewer wonder why he could not sustain his form throughout the match, PV Sindhu failed to complete a hat-trick of women’s singles medals after her loss in the round of 16. Chirag Shetty and Satwik Sairajrankireddy lost in the quarters of men’s doubles, while the women’s doubles team of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto crashed out in the group stage itself.
When Padukone said he was a ‘little disappointed’ with India’s inability to win a single medal in badminton, he shared the view of those who must have responded similarly after Sen went down in the semis and Sindhu lost even earlier. He added, “Like I have said before, we were contenders for three medals. So, at least one would have made me happy. But having said this, this time the Government, Sports Authority of India, and Sports Ministry, everybody has done their best, and I don’t think anyone could have done anything more than what the Government has done. So, I think the players also need to take responsibility.” After getting the kind of support they do, modern-day Indian sportspersons must start winning when it matters to bring more Olympic medals for the country. Isn’t that why they represent the nation?
“After Milkha Singh in ’64 and PT Usha in the 80s, we have had so many fourth-place finishes. I think that it is high time that the players also take responsibility,” Padukone said. The badminton ace’s matter-of-fact statement has originated from his observation of Indians, who have frequently faltered near the finishing line. The long list of fourth-place finishers includes Sen in badminton, shooters Maheshwari Chauhan and Anant Jeet Singh Naruka in the skeet mixed team event, Manu Bhaker (who deserves applause for her overall performance) in the 25m pistol final, archers Ankita Bhakat and Dhiraj Bommadevara in mixed team archery match, and shooter Arjun Babuta in the 10m air rifle final. Nobody wants to see so many sportspersons miss out on medals, more so when the Indian contingent has been able to achieve a podium finish only thrice. That’s very few, considering the size of the contingent sent to the Olympics from a nation with a population of more than 1.4 billion.
Padukone’s assessment must be accepted gracefully, although that may not be easy because he hasn’t minced words. He is in the know, and he says, “The players need to introspect and not just keep asking for more from the federations. They need to ask themselves whether they are working hard enough, because all of these players have their own physios and all the facilities. I don’t think any other country, including the US, has so many facilities.” The players cannot ask for more, according to Padukone, but what they do need is mental conditioning so that they can deal with high-stress situations. Padukone suggests the introduction of foreign sports psychologists, which our authorities must consider as India looks forward to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles after the present event ends.
The fact of the matter is, India must take a giant stride forward to become a powerhouse in international sports. As is always the case, numbers show the real picture. Medal tally leader United States has won 86 medals, including 24 golds, followed by our neighbour China, which has won 59 medals, including 22 golds, so far. Even a war-torn Ukraine has won seven medals, including two golds, whereas India shares the 60th spot on the medals chart with Tajikistan. Quite simply, in other words, we must fare far better as a nation. That will happen only after our average sportsperson competing at the highest level is hungry for a podium finish.
The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
Comments
0 comment