Gold diggers...
Its the same story every four years.
Before the Olympics, people write/talk about India's medal hopes and how we will win 'at least' a couple of bronzes this time.
At the Olympics, we falter and don't end up with much. (Granted, over the last 3 editions, we have graduated from bronze to silver to gold.
After the event, reams of paper are spent on "Why is it that a country of one billion cannot produce a gold medal, and how we *need* to fix the system"
But, honestly - who cares???
Yes, significant investment in sports infrastructure could generate jobs and medals. But, will it generate substantial employment and results? What if we did infact pump in billions to create a sports infrastructure that created a few hundred or a few thousand jobs and generated a few medals? Is that a 'profitable' investment?
Yes, sports are key for a healthy body and mind. Let's keep it that way. Let's enjoy the game in our backyards and grounds. Why worry about medals at the Olympics? While today's barometer of social and economic progress is tied to Olympic medals, is it a barometer we should be concerned about? NO!
Instead, let's focus our energies on other sectors and aspects of the average Indian's life, to create and distribute wealth. As they say, one cannot achieve everything. If the UK, US, Japan and now, China are ahead of the curve in millions and medals, I suspect they did it piecemeal - baby steps. One thing after another...
Let's come to the realization and acceptance that sports and Olympic glory are not a priority for us. With a slew of issues from water to roads to electricity to poverty that need require transformational solutions, let's not channel our energies into a quest for golds, silvers and bronzes.
Thus far, our lack of Olympic medals has been due to apathy, not due to a conscious choice. Its time for us to make that conscious choice to be apathetic to medals and empathetic to social and economic transformation.
posted by woorkeri wittynathan @ 1:07 am
5 Comments
5 Comments:
you make a solid argument
but what of those folks who are made for sports and passionate about it like u and i won't ever understand? What if for some it's not just about fitness and fun but a dream and mission? those natural (or just nurtured, to whatever extent minus the facilities) athletes and other sports men and women? does everyone's scope of success have to be business or the arts? Or are they such a minority that we can choose to overlook their goals and talents in search of the nation's 'competitive advantage' ??
altho i agree with your last line...i think that the whole point of people cribbing about India's lack of achievement in the Olympics is somehow linked to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. So once you are done with physiological and safety needs (which readers of any major English daily would have met - by and large) social and esteem needs come up whereby u want to feel like you belong to a group and then u want to feel important and want recognition. In every major achievement such as a bindra winning a gold, a sense of national bonding and pride emerges. This goes beyond a mere individual winning an award...it directly relates to a sense of national pride and makes us feel important as Indians.
Hence conceptually altho you can do away with anything which does not directly affect or result in increase in productivity or income of the nation, certain things are important from a sense of pride standpoint, altho they may from a purely economic perspective be completely without value. Hence, things like Bindra, cricket and Bollywood are so imp to the Indian national psyche. Correspondingly, tennis becomes imp only when Sania or Paes does something which puts them squarely in the interntaional arena and leads to a sense of national pride.
So altho it doesnt put food on the table of a farmer in Vidharba, its importance doesnt get diminished in economic terms. An additional point in this regard would be that by and large only developed countries do well in sports as they have the social security and requisite infrastructure to ensure the development of sports (this can again be related back to the motivation of developed countries to satisfy their esteem needs). It would hence possibly lead to the perception that India's infrastructure is improving and thereby lead to increased confidence in India's stability and potential as an investment destination and thereby lead to increased investment in India.
Its a long shot...but hey wat the heck :)
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So what about the billions pumped into cricket currently?? I dont see that generating jobs or creating social and economic progress! If they are spending all that money anyways, they might as well spread it across the various sports and support, recognize and build talent in other sports as well - which may have more of an international exposure than cricket might!
I enjoy watching cricket...but it sux that it's the only sport really that's given any real exposure in India!
So r u saying aye or nay for Delhi 2020? :)
Mito - At the current stage of our country's development, I think it is OK to not place a high premium on sports and sportspersons' dreams. The really talented and driven ones will make it happen anyway. Of course, I do agree that we need to support them. We just don't need to focus too much on it.
Antara - I think you hit the nail on the head. Mr.Maslow was spot on. My contention is that once 80% of our population gets to the stage where their physiological and safety needs are being fulfilled, we can place a premium on other needs. It's just a matter of relative priority at this time.
Charanya - I am opposed to the cricket 'industry' as well. Although I do see it generating some employment. But, with way too much fanfare though...
Interestingly, I am a 'yay' for Delhi 2020. Because it will create infrastructure and jobs. The fact that the ROI for host cities is typically not attractive is a concern though.
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