After a grand hosting of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010, in spite of its innumerable administrative loopholes, India has set its eyes on bidding for the 2020 Olympic Games. The outstanding performances of many of its athletes further strengthen its confidence in doing so. However, put bluntly and blatantly, India is still not ready to bid for the Olympics.
The mess that we created in organising the CWG 2010, which is far less complex and gargantuan an exercise than the Olympics, clearly shows that the bidding would be a waste of time, energy and money. A solitary individual gold medal in 88 years of participation proves that it is imperative that we use all our resources to nurture champions for the London Olympics in 2012. The annals of Indian sports writing have been full of complaints about the system, corrupt administrators and lack of talent among athletes. Every four years, it has become a collective national ritual to blame everyone else when found exposed badly in front of the global mirror of the Olympics, only to move on and repeat the same catharsis four years later.
A bid for the Olympics, to me, is another step towards clapping our hands in glee and return to our daily dose of cricket once the euphoria recedes. We should look to use the medals won in CWG 2010 as a catalyst to help correct years of frustration at India’s poor sporting performances and result in the creation of sporting infrastructure for future generations of athletes.
The Asian Games 1982 which was held in Delhi unfortunately could not leave behind a positive legacy in terms of nurturing an all-pervasive sports culture in India. Against such a backdrop, the CWG should stand up and set an example. We do not need another mega event on Indian soil so quickly, but we do need a set of champions across all sporting disciplines over the next five years, so that people do not deride us when we do bid for the Olympics sometime after 2020.
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