The Hindu : Sport : A sad tale of apathy towards sportspersons

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jun 11, 2004

Sport

Sport - Sports : General

A sad tale of apathy towards sportspersons

By V.V. Subrahmanyam

HYDERABAD, JUNE 10. Former All England champion, P. Gopi Chand, says he was not invited for the Olympic Torch Relay in Delhi scheduled for Thursday. And he is not overtly surprised for he is used to such things in his sporting career. But the pitiable plight of the 68-year-old Mohd. Yousuf Khan, the 1960 Rome Olympian, presents a picture of contrast to the prevalent scenario of lesser mortals, taking centre stage while the real sporting heroes fade away.

An outstanding striker of Indian football from 1957 to 1966, Yousuf Khan is bed-ridden these days, suffering from Parkinson's disease, diabetes, heart-related illness and serious knee problems, with his daughter Yasmeen and only son Mohd. Ayub Khan attending to him virtually round-the-clock. "We never thought we would be witness to his deteriorating health. We always presumed him to a brilliant and brave soldier in life too as he was on the soccer field," says Yasmeen while helping her father to a sip of water.

For someone who was in the security wing of two former chief ministers, M. Chenna Reddy and Kotla Vijayabhaskara Reddy, Yousuf Khan stands out as a perfect example of the total apathy towards those who sacrificed their lives for the love of their sport.

Yousuf Khan does not even seem to be aware of the ugly controversy around some of the Olympians not being invited for the Torch Relay in Delhi.

His family of an ailing wife, his unmarried daughter and an unemployed son have to survive on his monthly pension of Rs. 4000 (he retired from the AP Police) and Rs. 2000 he gets as a token for being the 1962 Asian Games gold medallist. The biggest problem for this family is that it has to take care of his medical expenditure, which is proving to be very costly now. Despite no help coming from the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh and the All India Football Federation, the family members are averse to seek help. "We feel sad that we are forced to be in this situation," says Ayub Khan.

What the Olympian desperately needs is some sort of a gesture which should take care of atleast his medical expenditure. "We are getting him treated in the Owaisi Hospital, bearing the full expenses. We are in no position to take him to NIMS or any other big hospital," says Yousuf Khan's daughter — a sad story, which truly reflects how some of the great Olympians who donned the national colours with a sense of pride are now resigned to fate.

Yousuf Khan stands shining by the sheer weight of his spirit to fight on. His face lights up when reminded that his grandson, Majid Khan, plays for BDL in the local league. "Football is in the blood of this family," said the beaming Olympian. The 1966 Arjuna Awardee is perhaps one of the many examples of how the system ignores the real heroes and how the lesser mortals, most of them unconnected to sports, grab the limelight.

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