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`Even today, there is no sporting culture in our country. How many schools even have playgrounds?'
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V.R. Beedu and Ashwini Nachappa: India's performance in Olympics has them worried.
ASHWINI NACHAPPA set the tracks on fire in the '80s, beating the unbeatable P.T. Usha. Karnataka's Sprint Queen, also dubbed India's FloJo, brought glamour and warmth into the sodden athletic world. The Athens Olympics and India's depressing performance prompts this former Olympian to discuss fervently with senior athletic coach V.R. Beedu on what is wrong with Indian sport, and it is badly in need of professional management.
Beedu, who is also a physical conditioner for cricketers, badminton stars and athletes, was instructor at the National Institute of Sports — Sports Authority of India in Bangalore from 1979 to 1986. A sprinter, long jumper, and triple jumper in his heyday, he chips in with the state of neglect Indian coaches face, in a discussion with BHUMIKA K.
Beedu: Ashwini, you have been part of the athletic team at the Seoul Olympics. After 16 years, you are seeing the Athens team now. What do you see in the Indian athletic team at the Olympic level?
Ashwini: I guess when we were competing way back in 1988, it was an achievement to even qualify for the Olympic games. But today, you know, people are talking of winning medals at Olympics! At that time, even qualifying and participating was difficult. But today, we have reached a stage where we can qualify and are aiming at medals. That's a small improvement, I can say.
Beedu: Do you see any particular reason for this improvement?
Ashwini: I guess today there is a lot of infrastructure for children to make use of all over the country and there is encouragement. When we were running, there was a single track and whether it was a hockey or football player they had to train on one ground. Meanwhile, educational pressure has overtaken everything — whether sports or extra-curricular activity. The improvement has come about because money and sponsorships have come in to some extent.
'Even today, there is no sporting culture in our country. How many schools eve have playgrounds?'
Beedu: But when you compare with cricket, where does athletics stand in the scheme of things in sports in the country?
Ashwini: We have to accept that cricket has taken over the country as the national sport. There's no doubt about it. The reason being that it's an autonomous body and it is marketed well. Similarly, sports has to be marketed well. Media too does not cover rural sport or any other game as much as it covers cricket, because they feel that if they cover cricket, their circulation goes up. Unless athletics, kabaddi, and other sports have an autonomous administrative body, and unless we have corporates coming in for sports management, we are not going to see any changes. You can't always put the onus on the athlete and the coach. The federation and government are as responsible for the country's dismal performance at the Olympics.
Beedu: I agree. But at the same time, I see that more sponsors and corporates prefer supporting cricket. If they come to athletics, will the level go up? I can give the example of the ongoing Bangalore Inter-School Sports Meet co-organised by Bangalore Sports Club and KPMG, where 200 schools and 5,850 athletes are participating. If students are encouraged and given incentives, we can tap the athletic potential and we can be no less than a country like America.
Ashwini: Yes, athletic standards will definitely go up. All that the Government needs to do is delink itself from sports. Government is there to tackle grave issues that the country is facing. Government is there to provide the infrastructure, in every state and rural place. But management of sports has to be handed over to corporate bodies; then there will be a sea of change. Today children and parents are at risk, because sports doesn't offer a career opportunity in our country. Unless we reach that level of professionalism, I don't think there will be much of a change. It's a big risk one takes today by getting into a sport. There are no jobs for these national sportsmen. Even today, there is no sporting culture in our country. Sports is not a way of life. Sports is not part of the education system where you get marks. How many schools even have playgrounds?
Beedu: Yes, I agree that we have to encourage a sports culture. Mass sports like athletics, football, basketball, and volleyball must be encouraged. Every school must have a physical director. There must be an improvement in the physical education teachers' standard. Tell me, are you expecting any medal other than the shooting medal that Rathore has won?
Ashwini: I think we had our hopes pinned on Leander, which crashed out. I think there is a lot of pressure on Anju Bobby George now. She is the only one we can hope for. But since the pressure is enormous, I really don't know whether she'll be able to handle it or not. Because I really don't know how well she has mentally prepared herself to handle this pressure. Ultimately, everyone is training hard at that level, and it's the person who's mentally strong, who gets the edge. I guess if she clicks, we have a hope.
Beedu: Yes, that's something — the pressure. The pressure to perform does affect the performance. But each individual athlete handles pressure in a different way. Tendulkar says he plays better under pressure. Some get nervous and fail.
Ashwini: That's where sports psychology comes into play. We have been advocating this to the sports authority ever since I went through Dr. Rupen Das' sports psychology programme that really did wonders. Meditation is one good beginning. But I don't see our athletes or our federations really promoting sports psychology. Today, sports is a science and you have to work together — the athlete, the coach, psychologist, and therapist — should be focussed on a long-term goal.
Beedu: If they have a personal coach, they can handle the pressure better. People like Sriram Singh and P.T. Usha have done their career best in the Olympics. They were under a lot of pressure. But they did their best, because of their coaches. And here, Ashwini, I differ from your opinion, because we don't have well-qualified sports psychologists. Coaches always have a problem in India. They are treated badly. In national camps, we are not allowed to handle athletes in our way. Foreign coaches are suddenly brought in. When something goes wrong, they always suspend the Indian coach. It's high time we opposed these practices.
'Mass sports such as athletics, football, basketball, and volleyball must be encouraged.'
Ashwini: I do agree that foreign coaches are brought in at the last minute... athletes are made to train the year through under one coach and then suddenly sent to a camp under a new coach. There's also still not much exposure for athletes. Very few compete abroad.
Beedu: Moreover, when an athlete wins, he takes full credit for the victory. Very few have the capacity to share the credit with their coach. And on occasions like this Athens Olympics where Pratima Kumari has blamed her coach, we must remember she's not a kid. She is 24. When some injection is given, she should know what it is. She is saying all this to shield her mistake.
Ashwini: It is also a known fact that drugs have come in a big way in our Indian sports. At the National Junior Level championships we see syringes all over. We see people taking it openly, and it is administered by the coach. But the athlete has the choice to say yes or no. After all, they can't be so naοve to say they don't know what they are taking. The federation is under pressure from the government to perform. The federation knows that drugs are administered. Athletes admit that they take "replenishments" once in 15 days, but they don't know what these are. I don't agree with that. Ultimately, they make the choice.
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