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Where there is a will
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It is vital for administrators as well as the players in the city to get their priorities right to give sports a fillip
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CLASS APART After Mukesh Kumar, Hyderabad has not produced another world class player PHOTO: MOHD. YOUSUF
Although Hyderabad now has top class infrastructure for almost all sports, the standard in some disciplines continues to languish. While there are several schemes and coaching academies being run both by the government and also former players and coaches, the number of sportspersons who have attained international success have not been many barring a few such as Gagan Narang, Saina Nehwal, Mithali Raj, Sania Mirza and V.V.S. Laxman.
In hockey, Mukesh Kumar was the only well-known figure that the region produced and much of his achievements can be attributed to exceptional talent rather than the existing system. Mukesh was in a class of his own and his feats on the hockey field have enriched Indian hockey. But after him there have not been any players who have displayed the same ability.
About football, the less said the better. The standard of the sport has taken a nosedive. Gone are the days when Hyderabad used to produce some of the best players in the country who earned name and fame in India and abroad.
While players and coaches blame the organisers and administrators for this sorry situation and attribute the lack of progress to the political wrangling of the officials, the administrators in turn point to the players who they say have no ambition and no eagerness for hard work. Once the players get a secure job and a good salary they forget about improving their game say many officials.
While it is true that political manipulation has thwarted the chances of many talented players, it is also true that often a good player uses his sport as a stepping stone to procure a steady job or admission to higher education under sports quota. And once that goal has been achieved, the sport becomes secondary.
If the standard of sports has to be given a boost, it is vital that both the administrators as well as the players get their priorities right. One solution that has been suggested by some experts (at the national level) is to make sports a professional set-up wherein a player can earn his living from the sport itself.
But for such a programme to succeed, there would have to be large-scale sponsorship of teams and individuals. And that is where the officials would have to do their bit by working selflessly to promote the sport and its players. In many cities across the country, sponsorship is flowing into sports nowadays and there is no reason why Hyderabad should be left behind. All it needs is planning and the will to succeed.
ABHIJIT SEN GUPTA
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