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The headline disappointment

I was quite shocked as I read the headline which said marathon runner OP Jaisha who ran 8kms and there was no one at the finish line to give her water. It makes me wonder – what on earth is really happening here? Do the authorities actually know how important olympics are? Or are these people just so hung up on the T20’s and those commercial adverts which makes them lose focus on the real sport out there!

It is incredibly shameful that olympians are not given the due amount of respect they deserve. We all know that Olympics is the highest level an athlete can compete on. It is a matter of immense pride and glory to even qualify for the olympics. Looking at all the other nations and how they have been sponsored, we can see how much it matters to be an olympian. BBC telecasts more than 8 channels to broadcast the Olympics, the entire world is watching. The entire world is watching these Olympians perform, compete and win medals for their country. The world is also watching the display of sportsmanship and inspiration these guys mean to them.

The guts and glory

Being a fan of badminton, it was a matter of immense pride to look at the Badminton match and see the coach so involved in the game as well. Each time something went awry, the coach was there right next to Sindhu to help her out. And in case of all the other competitors, the supporters were right there to help the champs out and make them know that they were cared for and the spirit of sportsmanship, the acknowledgement of representing a country and the love of a sport mattered more.

I set out on this post telling myself that I would try and avoid from making it is a whiny long post talking smack about the incredibly stupidity of people involved in the process. But as I stop for a minute and be honest with myself, I would say – I don’t feel like competing in such an environment, where people are not even respectful, nor do they recognise you and provide you the basic requirements. Of course we all love a medal to win, we all like to see ourselves in the winners circle, but how can someone be motivated if even the basics are not meant, no proper coaches are assigned, nor are they even catered to. It sure is a matter of shame.

Solution?

I for one have heard enough of these lackadaisical affairs from the bureaucratic set up. Maybe it is time to privatise these sports. There are plenty of sponsors out there to identify the real talent and these private industries do a bloody good job at training them. I think that the government should free itself from these details and start looking at the bigger picture. These people need to be trained and provided adequate facilities so that more champs are encouraged to participate and take the games seriously. They need to get out of things where they are horrible at and focus on the real issues instead of micromanaging these affairs which in the end doesn’t serve any purpose.