Courtesy: X
India, the world’s populous nation, is considered as a place filled with immense talent and ability in the field of sports. Although, it hasn’t quite translated into continuous success for India in comparison to some of the best sporting nations in the world at the Olympics and other big sports events.
The support for the top Indian athletes has slowly increased from the state and national governments since the Independence in 1947, which led to them earning some recognition from the public. At the Olympic Games, India have won continuous medals from Atlanta 1996 onwards, bringing the winds of change in the Indian sporting landscape.
In the last two Olympic Games, India has achieved a combined 13 medals, with a lot of athletes coming close to etching their name in the history books. With that, the future of Indian sports is bright, but only when the officials have a clear vision to nurture talent into prospects who can succeed the stars of the present, not only at the Olympic Games, but all the major sporting events across the world in various disciplines.
Cricket under Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is one of the prime examples for the various sporting federations in India to emulate, not only in terms of its finances, but also their success rate in terms of producing quality athletes year after year. Furthermore, it is vital for the state and national governments to usher in a culture wherein a child gets to play a variety of sports at a young age before shifting their attention to what they are good at.
The Youth Games, University Games, Winter Games, and Para Games under Khelo India is a great scheme from the Government of India to find the sporting stars of the future. But still, a lot of work is needed to be done at the grassroot levels to unearth talent across various sporting disciplines, to write the growth story of Indian sports.
In India, the enthusiasm for sports is continuously increasing with a record number of people following the Olympic Games. As an emerging sporting market, India has a long way to go to become a powerhouse nation in the world of sports.
