Now that we have had our "best ever" Olympics performance, we are celebrating our champions - and rightly so. Given the margins between a podium finish and oblivion, we should probably spare a thought for the multiple contestants who missed a medal by a whisker. And celebrate them as well.
And as with every large sporting event, the public post-mortem into our Olympics performance has also begun. "Make sports a part of school curriculum" - says Gagan Narang.
"Corporate participation" , "Set up Sports Schools" - many others.
So, I tried to analyse the various solutions with a single goal: How do we win more Olympic Medals?
1. Sports Schools:
Great idea. But will you send your child to a sports school? A school that first trains your child in sport - and then covers academics. Most parents: Not really.
For the infrastructure and quality of training that is required, the cost of training (& educating) a child in a sports school will be at par with fees that some of the International schools charge in India.
So, you need rich kids. Or you need a government or a corporate sponsor.
Most senior sportspersons will tell you this: The critical ingredient for success in world sports: hunger.
Unfortunately, hunger to succeed in sports is typically inversely proportional to a family's current income level. Most athletes doing well in sports in India do not come from a financially comfortable family. There are a few exceptions - but not enough to draw a trend. And most of those exceptions are in sports that are expensive to play in the first place! So, we have a "sampling bias" - as they call it in statistics.
The Sports School idea will work onlyfor those kids - and parents - who do not have any other option. Education is either not an option - or they feel it is not really going to get them out of their current context.
Success in Sports has to be the only way out.
2. Corporate Sponsorships:
Great idea. But after the euphoria around Olympics and the angst about the level of Indian Sports has passed, the reality of business kicks in.
Corporates need an ROI. In an Olympic Medal context, there is no financial ROI. You can only have a goodwill and brand exposure if the athletes you support do well. And to get a decent ROI on the level of investment per athlete, you would need significant media coverage. This requirement automatically restricts the kind of sports corporates would invest in.
The athlete representation market in some sports - like football - present a better ROI opportunity for Corporate Houses but I am staying with winning Olympic Medals for now.
Some initial estimates suggest that it costs between 25 to 75 Lakhs to support a budding sportsperson over a few years - depending on which sport you choose. In some sports, these numbers are annual numbers. Of course, there are more expensive sports as well!
We should choose sports that probably require lesser investments.
Success in Olympics (as in other spheres) depends on so many things coming together at the right time. For every 10 kids selected and trained for the Olympics, we should only assume 2 will get a medal.
With these realities, The Chairman of the corporate sponsor has to be committed - and remain committed for 10-15 years before any results come in.
No Marketing Head can take such a decision.
3. Sports as a Career:
Sports as a career will make sense when it starts to pay well. Like it made sense for some of us to become engineers, MBAs, doctors, architects, entrepreneurs etc.
Note that we are discussing playing the sport as a career - and not careers associated with sports like sports marketing, sports events, sports coaching etc.
The sources of money into sports: a) Sponsorships. b) Government grants.
For Sponsorships: Refer point 2 above.
For Government grants: To be fair, jobs have been given to former players in PSUs, Banks etc. This is still a large incentive for the kids for whom sports is the only way out.
But maybe the folks most vocal about India's performance at the Olympics do not see this as incentive enough.
Most sportsperson peak between 20 and 26. In some cases (like cricket), they continue till much later!
At a time when most other professional careers are actually starting to mature (30-35 yrs), these folks have "retired"!
What job options does a player have after the sports career is done?
The "Sports as a Career" path is just too risky for anybody who has even half a better option!
4. Make Sports an integral part of the School Curriculum:
Guess what? It already is. Physical Education & Sports are already a part of the School Curriculum. Have been for ages. Remember the "compulsory PT" we used to have as kids?
The problem is the spirit and the quality of its implementation in schools wrt
- adequate trained PE/sports teachers
- adequate play spaces
- adequate importance given to the sports curriculum
- adequate focus on assessing every child
- adequate importance given by parents to their child's progress on the PE/sports front.
This will only change if parents demand better quality sports programs from the schools.
The school context - with its constraints on time and space - just does not lend itself to producing Olympians. The level of training, infrastructure, trainers, intensity, individual attention and focus required for sporting excellence always conflict with the inherent goals of a school system.
If we get kids in schools to play regularly, get fitter, pick up the right skills at the right age, we will have a larger pool of talent to choose from. And then we increase our chances of success. But that is a way to build a healthier, fitter nation. And the right way to build a system that will keep generating potential Medal winners.
But it is also a much longer route to winning more Olympic Medals!
5. Existing Talent:
During the London Olympics, if our athletes had performed to their personal best, they would have qualified for the semis. And on that day, "hey, you never know!". So, it is not that we do not have the talent, body structure, diet etc etc.
The talent exists. In plenty. It needs early identification and support to make that jump from an "almost there" to a Gold Medal.
So, to summarise my formula for winning more Olympic Medals in Olympics 2020:
1. Sports Schools for those kids who have the hunger to succeed in sports. For whom sports is the only way out. Fully sponsor their education, boarding & training from 12 yrs onwards. Supported by corporate houses who have a 15-20 year vision.
2. Assured jobs for these kids after they finish their sporting career.
Interestingly, this is what the government tried to do. But failed at execution.
Question is: Can the Corporate Houses take up the challenge? And then execute better?
Till then, we should be happy with the successes that are coming inspite of the "system". And celebrate all the Olympians for the struggle they have gone through to reach this level.
And as with every large sporting event, the public post-mortem into our Olympics performance has also begun. "Make sports a part of school curriculum" - says Gagan Narang.
"Corporate participation" , "Set up Sports Schools" - many others.
So, I tried to analyse the various solutions with a single goal: How do we win more Olympic Medals?
1. Sports Schools:
Great idea. But will you send your child to a sports school? A school that first trains your child in sport - and then covers academics. Most parents: Not really.
For the infrastructure and quality of training that is required, the cost of training (& educating) a child in a sports school will be at par with fees that some of the International schools charge in India.
So, you need rich kids. Or you need a government or a corporate sponsor.
Most senior sportspersons will tell you this: The critical ingredient for success in world sports: hunger.
Unfortunately, hunger to succeed in sports is typically inversely proportional to a family's current income level. Most athletes doing well in sports in India do not come from a financially comfortable family. There are a few exceptions - but not enough to draw a trend. And most of those exceptions are in sports that are expensive to play in the first place! So, we have a "sampling bias" - as they call it in statistics.
The Sports School idea will work onlyfor those kids - and parents - who do not have any other option. Education is either not an option - or they feel it is not really going to get them out of their current context.
Success in Sports has to be the only way out.
2. Corporate Sponsorships:
Great idea. But after the euphoria around Olympics and the angst about the level of Indian Sports has passed, the reality of business kicks in.
Corporates need an ROI. In an Olympic Medal context, there is no financial ROI. You can only have a goodwill and brand exposure if the athletes you support do well. And to get a decent ROI on the level of investment per athlete, you would need significant media coverage. This requirement automatically restricts the kind of sports corporates would invest in.
The athlete representation market in some sports - like football - present a better ROI opportunity for Corporate Houses but I am staying with winning Olympic Medals for now.
Some initial estimates suggest that it costs between 25 to 75 Lakhs to support a budding sportsperson over a few years - depending on which sport you choose. In some sports, these numbers are annual numbers. Of course, there are more expensive sports as well!
We should choose sports that probably require lesser investments.
Success in Olympics (as in other spheres) depends on so many things coming together at the right time. For every 10 kids selected and trained for the Olympics, we should only assume 2 will get a medal.
With these realities, The Chairman of the corporate sponsor has to be committed - and remain committed for 10-15 years before any results come in.
No Marketing Head can take such a decision.
3. Sports as a Career:
Sports as a career will make sense when it starts to pay well. Like it made sense for some of us to become engineers, MBAs, doctors, architects, entrepreneurs etc.
Note that we are discussing playing the sport as a career - and not careers associated with sports like sports marketing, sports events, sports coaching etc.
The sources of money into sports: a) Sponsorships. b) Government grants.
For Sponsorships: Refer point 2 above.
For Government grants: To be fair, jobs have been given to former players in PSUs, Banks etc. This is still a large incentive for the kids for whom sports is the only way out.
But maybe the folks most vocal about India's performance at the Olympics do not see this as incentive enough.
Most sportsperson peak between 20 and 26. In some cases (like cricket), they continue till much later!
At a time when most other professional careers are actually starting to mature (30-35 yrs), these folks have "retired"!
What job options does a player have after the sports career is done?
The "Sports as a Career" path is just too risky for anybody who has even half a better option!
4. Make Sports an integral part of the School Curriculum:
Guess what? It already is. Physical Education & Sports are already a part of the School Curriculum. Have been for ages. Remember the "compulsory PT" we used to have as kids?
The problem is the spirit and the quality of its implementation in schools wrt
- adequate trained PE/sports teachers
- adequate play spaces
- adequate importance given to the sports curriculum
- adequate focus on assessing every child
- adequate importance given by parents to their child's progress on the PE/sports front.
This will only change if parents demand better quality sports programs from the schools.
The school context - with its constraints on time and space - just does not lend itself to producing Olympians. The level of training, infrastructure, trainers, intensity, individual attention and focus required for sporting excellence always conflict with the inherent goals of a school system.
If we get kids in schools to play regularly, get fitter, pick up the right skills at the right age, we will have a larger pool of talent to choose from. And then we increase our chances of success. But that is a way to build a healthier, fitter nation. And the right way to build a system that will keep generating potential Medal winners.
But it is also a much longer route to winning more Olympic Medals!
5. Existing Talent:
During the London Olympics, if our athletes had performed to their personal best, they would have qualified for the semis. And on that day, "hey, you never know!". So, it is not that we do not have the talent, body structure, diet etc etc.
The talent exists. In plenty. It needs early identification and support to make that jump from an "almost there" to a Gold Medal.
So, to summarise my formula for winning more Olympic Medals in Olympics 2020:
1. Sports Schools for those kids who have the hunger to succeed in sports. For whom sports is the only way out. Fully sponsor their education, boarding & training from 12 yrs onwards. Supported by corporate houses who have a 15-20 year vision.
2. Assured jobs for these kids after they finish their sporting career.
Interestingly, this is what the government tried to do. But failed at execution.
Question is: Can the Corporate Houses take up the challenge? And then execute better?
Till then, we should be happy with the successes that are coming inspite of the "system". And celebrate all the Olympians for the struggle they have gone through to reach this level.
Thoughtful writeup. You should have been the sports minister for India, the current system wouldn't have allowed you to succeed as a minster too! I am interested to know how China is winning so many medals?! - Regards, Sudhax
ReplyDeleteSaumil very well written and IMO the analysis is very accurate. I also feel that we need to have "academies" with world class coaches where talent can be nurtured. These are the institutions that need to be sponsored and should have a sports "quota". US schools have a sports quota and that system has been very effective. This will also be misused by politicians to some extent, but overall results will be much better.
ReplyDeleteWhat about shifting the focus of sports AWAY from winning medal and to making the general population mote fitter and healthier. That will have an ROI and is a worthy goal for a government to work towards. Winning medals, if that happens, should be a side benefit, not the core goal.
ReplyDeleteThat was me earlier - Manish Gupta
ReplyDeleteSaumil - for various reasons, I have been thinking about this topic for months now already. Infact, it's the same reason I was trying to connect with you multiple times, but in vain.
ReplyDeleteI believe no parents are refraining any of their children to come up in sport activities. I also believe, schools are one of the strongest medium to promote this, but failed big time. Opportunity still exists and it's just that how we manage time for children.
The most sought of game for children is around cricket, football, table tennis, basket ball and volley ball - guess this is the order of choice. Not many children from urban area are shown path towards athletics and other sporting events. Predominantly, the ones who make to Olympics are from rural area (I may be wrong).
I have been trying to bring some interest in shooting and archery for kids. I have been practicing for couple of years now. I also enrolled in one of the shooting academy in BTM. The point is who brings in the interest to kids - is it at school or PT teacher or parents?
If there can be way in which some sports academy can be formed in association with schools who have space and ground for training, may be worth a try. A seasonal 4-6pm training, weekly and 8am - 1pm on Saturday or full time over weekend, can be kick start. If parents can shell out Rs. 500/- a month, must say it shouldn't pinch much. Atleast, this will keep the kids out from stupid idiot box, computer games and other gadgets :)
I truly want to start a sports Academy or atleast be associated to the best of my abilities. Let me know if I can be of any help to refine my thoughts and bring in some proud moments to India! cheers.....Chethan Raj
When 95% of Indian children are unfit,dreaming of increasing the quantum of medals is premature.
ReplyDeleteIt is not that we have no solutions, it is more about the will to implement those solutions which require effecting a quantum shift in the mindset and character of this country over the next decade or two.
Till such time we'll pick up the 4 and 5 medals excluding individual golds and continue to wallow in the disappointing narrative of India thrashed...crashed.. knocked out!
How did china do it. I am sure even Chinese parents want their children to excel in academics first.. Maybe there are something's which china did that may be worth experimenting.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments. Some responses below:
ReplyDeleteChina: From what I know (and they are not very forthcoming with details of their program), they have sports schools where kids are enrolled at an early age. There are some rumours of this not being fully with parents consent. And so, we don't really know the social costs and related downsides of their stellar Olympic performance.
And if that is true, it cant happen in India. That's why I mentioned the pt about kids who have no other option to get out of their current socio-economic context are the best bet.
Remember Gopichand's comment about "if you want medals, forget democracy"?
Wrt health & fitness as the primary goal: yes, that will help in the long run. But this post was about what should we do to get some faster results.
Recreational participation will keep kids away from TV/videogames - but will have a very poor corelation to winning medals. Kids who are good (or even half good) do get a lot of attention - but then stumble because of parents inability to fund the training and concerns about a career post their playing days.
Saumil, it is an uphill task. But I believe upper middle class parents are now encouraging children to go for serious sports pursuits. That these pursuits are limited to where money/ glamour is (read, Tennis and other individual sports) is a cause for correction.
ReplyDeleteBut then, will these give us medals? I agree with you that we need to identify those areas that may be a little lower hanging fruits. I watch Olympics to know the new games that I never heard of! I am guessing there may be a little lesser competition:)