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Free offer is the answer
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Making sports free is the only way to encourage children from all sections to participate, writes ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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The once talented Indian football team faced crushing defeat playing against Japan recently -- Photo: Sushanta Patronobish
THE INDIAN football team's loss to Japan by four goals to nil in the recently held World Cup 2006 Asian zone qualifier in Kolkata was yet one more disappointment for football fans in the country. Although the few hard core football fans in India who still follow the sport with great enthusiasm have become almost resigned to sub standard performances, every defeat, particularly one which is so one sided, always causes immense dejection. Japan had earlier won the first leg 7-0 and so after two matches Japan has successfully underscored its superiority by an aggregate of 11-0. India could not score a single goal. Old timers sadly recall that in the very first official match between the two countries, India had defeated Japan 3-2.
One among those who feels very unhappy about the present state of affairs is former Olympian S.A. Salam. He is of the opinion that it is not just football, which has deteriorated but all Olympic sports. One silver medal from the Athens Olympics is a sad reflection upon the country's status in sports he feels. To rectify matters, many more youngsters should be encouraged to take up sports and be provided with facilities to hone their talent.
Hyderabad's glory
He cites the example of Hyderabad, which at one time had produced some of the best football players in the country but was now lagging behind. Some concrete steps would have to be taken to bring about an improvement, feels Salam. He is of the opinion that the pay and play idea which was introduced a few years ago was detrimental to the interests certain sports particularly football, athletics, volleyball and some others.
"Most youngsters who take up football come from the lower income families. This is an accepted fact throughout the world, not only in India. Even players such as Maradona or Pele came up from humble beginnings while in India one of the best known cases is that of I.M.Vijayan who went on to become India's main striker. In our country, parents who can barely make two ends meet, would think twice before shelling out money so that their sons could play football. The parents would much rather spend whatever they can afford on the children's academic activities in order to make sure that the kids have a good future. But thereby, perhaps a talented boy's progress in the sport may be brought to a halt," says Salam.
Standards differ
"It is alright if a cricket or tennis or badminton player is asked to pay some amount since these sports attract players who are from comparatively better off families. But the same standards cannot be applied for those who are in sports like football, volleyball, athletics or even indigenous sports like kabaddi and kho kho," he feels. "If boys and girls who are from lower income groups are enabled to take part in sports without making a hole in their pocket, then only they will be able to keep up their practice and develop their skills."
"The reason why other Asian countries like Japan, China and Korea have overtaken us is because they have spent millions of dollars on sports. We too have to be prepared to make these sacrifices if we have to keep pace with them. The government should realise that expenditure on sports is not a wasteful expenditure. Sports involves the youth in a constructive activity, keeps them physically and mentally fit and provides a method to work off their energy which otherwise may be turned into harmful anti social activities. The Chinese government has realised this and has drawn the youth of the country into sports in large numbers and now we can see the results. It is time for all of us in India to also understand the value of sports in our society and enable children from all classes to participate in it. The only way to do it is to make sports free for all children from the poorer families," says Salam.
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