India’s search for a medal at the Rio Olympics continues. After the ‘record-breaking haul of six medals’ in the London edition, India’s archers and shooters were expected to create a new record in 2016. Don’t blame the Government. It’s us. Walk over to the nearest school and check out its playground — if it has one. If yes, is it big enough to hold a 200m track? In many cases, the answer will be in the negative. The search result would be slightly better in smaller cities. Come admission time, we stand in long queues outside schools with just a front yard passing off as ‘sports infrastructure’. We are concerned about the school’s academic record, not its sporting exploits.
In Karnataka, one out of every three schools doesn’t have a playground. In infrastructurally upbeat Gujarat, nearly 14,000 of its 30,000 schools don’t have a playground. In Maharashtra, another economically progressive State, the story is similar. According to CBSE norms, schools were supposed to have sports facilities, including a 200 m track. But the HRD ministry appears to have relaxed this clause under the Right to Education Act 2009 and schools are now allowed to send their wards to nearby playgrounds or municipal parks instead. China, on the other hand, has replicated its economic dominance on the sports field. However, that system centred on sports schools, wouldn’t suit us. Children, as young as four, are sent to these schools to train as future Olympics champions; in the process, they don’t see their parents for up to 10 years. Sport is about human victory against odds, and not about creating a factory line of medal-winners. Our government can channel the present anguish in the country to introduce reforms in sport.
Deputy Editor