Why India is not able to excel in international Games like the Olympics?

Our Indian athletes have to face a lot of struggle to excel in the international Games like in the Olympics. That is because not only they need to train themselves, they also need to face a lot of problems to get selected to participate in the games. Here we are taking the Tokyo Olympics 2020 as an example. In other countries, it is relatively easier to participate in the games, than in India. This is because the government does not help the athletes in most regards. Hence, just a few of India’s hidden best athletes are able to come out, and we earn fewer medals. And because we earn fewer medals, the other nations think that India does not have a rich sports culture. 

Our country India has a very old, rich and vivid sports culture, but the thing is that the sports that are played in India are not recognised as international sports and so international games do not organize Indian sports like Mallkhamb, Kho-kho, kabaddi, etc. There are a lot of problems that our athletes face to enter the Olympic Games. Not only have they needed to practice to get selected for the Olympics, but they also need to face a lot of problems like not having a solid budget for participating in the games. Neeraj Chopra and Mirabai Chanu, the two athletes that have represented India in Javelin-throw and Weight-lifting respectively in Tokyo Olympics 2020, come from very poor families. Their families have worked very hard to make them accomplish their goals. And the surprising part is that the government did not help these athletes in many ways, be it financially or providing equipment for practice. 

This is the main reason that our athletes face so many problems in coming to participate in the Olympics because they are both struggling financially as well as the government doesn’t provide them with enough facilities so that they can be confident about their performance in the final day. This needs to be changed. The government should do its bit in order for us to succeed in the games. Another thing is that the people that are willing to participate in the games have to face a tough competition because in a country of over 1.38 billion people, millions want to participate and win at the Olympic Games. 

However, the State Government of Orissa has done its contribution in the Olympic career of India by providing the Indian Hockey team with equipment and support to win at the sport. Hence, this help from the Orissa Government has led both the men's and women's team of India to reach 3^rd and 4^th place respectively in the Olympic Hockey games. So, imagine if one state can do such a big improvement in the Indian team, then how much can the entire country do? And so, it is my appeal to the government and to our people that we need to change our mindset and make our athletes grow stronger in all regards—financially, physically and mentally. The State Government of Manipur has appointed Mirabai Chanu as the SP (Superintendent of Police). This is a very good recognition for her efforts because she belongs to a very poor family and so appointing her name as the SP by looking at her abilities is a very good help by the State Government of Manipur as she now can have better living conditions than she had before.

Apart from the government, we the people of India also don’t consider sports as a career and don’t think that someone should choose sports as his/her career as it has a very small chance of success. We need to change this thought-process as this is one of the many reasons our Indian athletes are struggling to choose sports as their career. When an Indian athlete wins a sport, then for a few months they are at the top of every news article, but after a few months no one does not even remember that which athlete won which sport. This respect only lasts for a few months after someone wins a sport, after which no one does not even care to know the names of the athletes who represented India in front of the whole world with their practice and struggles. 

For example, have you heard of Prakash Padukone? Most of you who are reading this might not know about him. He is one of the most famous badminton players of India. He has earned the gold medals in 1981 Kuala Lumpur Men’s singles and in 1978 Edmonton Men’s singles; a silver medal in 1983 Calcutta (Kolkata) Men’s team; and bronze medals in 1983 Copenhagen Men’s singles, 1980 Kyoto Men’s singles, 1981 Santa Clara Men’s singles, 1974 Tehran Men’s team, 1986 Seoul Men’s team, and in 1976 Hyderabad Men’s singles. He is also the father of the famous actress Deepika Padukone. He was ranked No. 1 in 1980; the same year when he became the first Indian to win the All England Open Badminton Championships. He was awarded with the Arjuna award in the year 1972 and the Padma Shri in the year 1982 by the Government of India. He is also one of the co-founders of the Olympic Gold Quest, a foundation dedicated to the promotion of Olympic Sports in India. Even with all of these awards and accomplishments that Mr. Prakash Padukone has, an average Indian wouldn’t be able to tell who he is. As they all just recognise the efforts just for a few months and after a few months, we all forget about them. This attitude towards our sportspersons should be changed and their efforts should always be recognized.

People in India also need to get better conditions so that they can also choose sports as a hobby and start working on it to make it into a career. Because, first if the conditions of our people aren’t good, they don’t have anything to eat or drink, then how are they going to get time for working on their ambitions? Hence, we must try to make our government and the other people realize that it is these people who will represent our nation and prove that our country has a rich sports culture.

The other thing is that some other people sitting in some other countries don’t want India to progress, and so they spend lots of money so that they can create negative publicity of India on the Internet and on other sources of information. So, whenever you see such a kind of news that some sites write that India does not have a rich sports culture, or India lacks this or that, note that then it is these people who don’t want India to progress and again become the richest country not only in the terms of finance, but also the terms of knowledge, wisdom, academics and sports. 

So, whenever you see that some site is displaying false things about India on the Internet, then ignore it and start working on the betterment of our nation, rather than getting furious about these sites. Because if we succeed then all of those people who are trying to push India down, will have to stop as we Indians would be way ahead of these kinds of rubbish that these people are spreading throughout the internet and other media.