Congratulations, Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu! You inspire India to do better

During a recent social media conversation on our disappointing performance at Rio, a friend suggested that India needs to be raising metaphorically ‘hungrier’ children. He couldn’t be more wrong; the problem is not that our children aren’t hungry enough, in fact the issue is that they are too hungry! India’s malnutrition rates are worse than Sub-Saharan Africa: nearly half of our children under five years are underweight and 45% are stunted.  This staggering lack of nutrition has obvious implications for physical size and future muscle growth. So that’s the story of roughly 60 million of India’s youngest children. But we still have another 60 million, more than most other countries. Why aren’t we producing champions from that group?

Consider this. Dipa Karmakar, the girl who captured our imagination with her death-defying spirit, trained on vaults made from broken scooter parts. More often than not, she couldn’t afford shoes and a proper costume. Abhinav Bindra (our only Gold medalist in over 30 years) essentially funded his own quest for an Olympic medal by installing a shooting range in his house. India’s greatest Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan’s ticket to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics was paid for by crowdfunding and not the Indian government. 

As you read this, children in Ranchi are being trained by the Swimming Federation of India in a local dam. Yes, a dam. The dam is overflowing and dangerous but here’s what is really frightening — the locked-up Ranchi sports stadium (complete with Olympic size pools) is just a few kilometres away but officials haven’t bothered to turn the keys. That kind of apathy is truly terrifying. But despite this, girls like Rekha Kumari (currently training in the dam) say “I want to win an Olympic medal”. Rekha’s dedication is admirable just like Dipa’s commitment is inspiring but it is also frightening. Because when Dipa, Rekha and others like them reach the 2020 Olympics, they will compete with athletes who have received the best training in the world, with equipment and facilities that are worthy of their talent. Yes, part of the glory of the Olympics is celebrating people who have overcome great odds to reach there but don’t we owe India’s champions more than just celebration emojis on social media? 

Abhinav Bindra recently tweeted that each Olympic medal costs the UK £5.5m.

If that sounds expensive, that’s because it is. Ultimately facilities, equipment, coaches, technology, and physiotherapists all cost money. Perhaps, the best illustration of the importance of money in sport is India’s performance in Field Hockey. Up until the 1968 Olympics, India ruled the field, we were the crowned champions of this sport. But then something strange happened. In the 1970s, the Olympic rules changed from playing on grass turf to more expensive synthetic variety. Instead of making the investment in synthetic turf, the Indian Field Hockey team was forced to continue practicing on fields. Essentially, we priced ourselves out of Field Hockey. The result? A sport that we once dominated has only got us one medal in the last 40 years.

If Dipa Karmakar has to keep vaulting on broken scooter parts and Rekha Kumari has to keep swimming in a dam, they will be winning despite India (if they ever get to win). Abhinav Bindra’s biography sums it up neatly with a chapter famously titled “Mr. Indian Official: thanks for nothing”. We obviously need to increase our sports budget if we are to be seriously competitive in the Olympics. But while we wait for that to happen, we desperately need to reprogram our existing budget.  Officials flying to Rio in Business Class while athletes are in Economy are proof that we need a change in priorities. 

Speaking of priorities, let us remember that even as a people we haven’t consistently prioritised sports. Rio may have brought out some nationalistic fervour partially because Dipa’s somersaults were on the eve of Independence Day. But champions aren’t made in the Olympics; they are forged in the many years of gruelling sacrifice leading up to them. And very few Indian parents support their children sacrificing other ‘important’ activities for sport. To the contrary, ‘Kheloge kudoge to hoge kharab, padhoge likhoge to banoge nawab’ is something that generations of Indian children have internalised. But this can change — our children can be nawabs of sport too. They can be champions if we support them. 

Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu have decisively shown us what a child with a dream can achieve. But these champions would be the first to say that their medals would have been impossible without community support. PV Sindhu’s parents are volleyball players and her father is an Arjuna awardee. Over the last few months, Sindhu’s father took eight months of special leave from his job so that he could focus on his daughter’s talent and coach her mind for the game. Not all of us can understand sports like Arjuna awardees but we still need to support India’s hopeful — our children — in the years leading up to the Olympics, not just when the Games are on. 

But like it or not, the biggest determinant of Olympic medals remains GDP. The US at $59,000 per capita sees the biggest wins since many sportspeople can afford to fund their own aspirations. China has a lower GDP but has a terrible human rights record of how it trains champions (including forcing children into training camps). Neither of those models work for India — we have to come up with our own. An idea that is gaining momentum is public-private partnerships that revamp dilapidated training facilities or build anew if needed. We have also seen success with the IPL, the Indian Football League and can create similar models for Olympic sports.

Crowdfunding, HNIs and CSR budgets will also have to funnel their way into identifying and supporting athletes. 

As the world’s second most populous nation, India holds the world’s worst Olympic record in terms of medals per head. Before that dubious distinction becomes our only Olympic record, as citizens and government, we are the ones who have to get our game face on. 

Congratulations to Sakshi Malik and PV Sindhu, you inspire India to do better. 

The author writes for several leading Indian and international newspapers and magazines; @NJHiranandani