Pullela Gopichand, who has earned the rare triple of being honoured with the Arjuna, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and also the Dronacharya, was all but lost to badminton had he cleared an entrance exam to an engineering college when he was a student.
“Had I passed that exam, I would have become an engineer and not a badminton player,” the former All-England champion said during a plenary session of a global sports summit, ‘Turf-2009’, organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
“That is a tricky age for a sportsperson...when your parents are worried about your career. Sadly, that phase of your life, when you are about to complete schooling or are in college, is also a crucial time for a sportsperson.
“Our education system lacks the flexibility to accommodate sports and till that happens, it is always going to be difficult to have a sports culture in the country,” said Gopichand, who coaches Saina Nehwal. “If our system were to allow a student to go out and give his best shot and come back to academics to become a doctor, it would have been different,” he added.
Former hockey captain Viren Rasquinha agreed. “Players from smaller cities are driven to sports because several of them get jobs which they would not have managed otherwise. Those from big cities have many distractions, as also the pressure of education,” said Rasquinha, who is now into sports management.
Asked by moderator Harsha Bhogle whether there was enough money to get people out in droves to pursue sports, Rasquinha said money was a relative term.
“For someone in the rural areas who is struggling for three square meals a day, a job in a public sector undertaking is a good enough attraction.”
Gopichand felt other factors too could be motivating for a sportsperson.
“I have seen many people who have achieved a lot in sports are not really rich but really happy with their lives. As long as they are assured of a decent living and get respect, it should be fine.”
He also felt the sports system in India gave too much scope of passing on the buck.
“We have the Indian Olympic Association, the Sports Authority of India, state bodies, schools, universities and leagues, all doing their bit but none of them are responsible on their own,” felt Gopichand.
Former golfer Rishi Narain said the need was to build neighbourhood sports infrastructure rather than those for international competitions.
“Unless you have children getting good facilities on a regular basis, there is no chance of building a good sporting base,” said the former Asian Games gold-medalist, who advised public and private investments for sports clubs.
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