Our athletes are more confident now: PT Usha

On the day of CWG’s first anniversary, PT Usha tells DNA that government apathy during the event is a thing of the past.

It’s been a year since we hosted the CWG. What changes do you see?
First things first: New Delhi has changed for the better. We have some really good facilities in place.
 
So do you reckon the Games were a success?
Our infrastructure has definitely improved. Also, our athletes did well. We even won medals in events like gymnastics and relay. This was unheard of. According to me, the Games were a success. But I don’t know how others define success.
 
Do you think our athletes benefitted from the Games?
Of course, they did. Our athletes got a chance to perform in front of home crowds. They also did well by winning medals and finished second in the medals tally.

Will that experience help them in future, especially at the Olympics?
Apart from the infrastructure, I feel the athletes gained in terms of confidence too. They started believing in themselves. Also, the government has been paying more attention towards sportspersons over the last three years or so. They are now supporting the athletes in every possible way. Athletes are now getting funds to train abroad. They are now focussed on doing well in London. However, hosting CWG won’t guarantee you medals at the Olympics. It takes a lot of hard work to win medals at that level.
 
The CWG organisers copped a lot of flak…
We were organising such a big event for the first time. We still did a good job. However, a lot of work was done at the eleventh hour. That could have been avoided.
 
Should the organising committee of such events have more sportspersons than politicians?
To conduct high-profile events like these, you need all of them. Sportspersons alone can’t run the show. You need to have politicians too. It’s all about teamwork.
 
Do you think India is capable of hosting bigger events like the Asiad and Olympics?
On the infrastructure front, we are good. But that alone is not enough to host bigger events. You also need a strong field of athletes who will win you medals. The host country always wins the most number of medals. When we conduct an event, we should top the medals tally. For that, we should prepare our athletes to win more medals abroad.

What should be the step ahead?
We have the facilities. They should now be thrown open to the athletes.