As the London 2012 Olympics is starting to show the reality of Indian sports in the global sports context, questions about why Indian with its population has not been able to win medals have resurfaced again.
This cycle happens every time there is a large sports event: The media hypes the Indian participants, the public builds expectations ("A billion prayers" "The nation wishes them" etc etc) - and finally we get a performance that, unfortunately, is more often than not, unimpressive.
At the same time, there are ongoing media reports of how "society" has ignored so-and-so Gold medal winner and so-and-so World Champion.
Which brings me to the point of this post: Why is there an expectation that society or the government should take care of former athletes?
Each one of us chose a career based on options we had. These options were a function of our performance (in academics, sports, dramatics etc) and our skills (analytical, relationship-oriented, detail-oriented etc).
Some chose sports. Others chose engineering, medical, accounting etc.
In many cases, the loans taken to fund a medical or an engineering seat are equivalent if not much higher than the total cost involved in parents ensuring their ward gets trained in sport.
Some of the kids who chose sports as a career turned professional. Some played for the country. Some won medals. Many got jobs in the government because of their performance on the sports field.
If it was just another career choice - as much as engineering, event management, medical etc, why do former sportspersons have this moral high ground about how the government & society have forgotten them?
Is it because of all performing arts were once supported by royal patronage? And we are seeing a hangover of that era continuing in today's "democratic" context?
Sports heroes are a society's real heroes in some sense - after the armed forces. Their actions can lift an entire society. Their values (dedication, focus, teamwork, performance etc) are fantastic and every society would like them to be ingrained. So, the hero worship when they perform is understandable.
Maybe the problem is that the "hero" definition is based on performance. So, hero worship depends on performance. And when they do not perform - or cannot perform once they retire, society needs to find new heroes who are worth worshipping.
Society is just moving on to new heroes. In the process, maybe inadvertently, ignoring the fallen heroes. And therein lies the source of the problem. The fallen heroes still think of themselves as heroes but society needs heroes who perform today.
This cycle happens every time there is a large sports event: The media hypes the Indian participants, the public builds expectations ("A billion prayers" "The nation wishes them" etc etc) - and finally we get a performance that, unfortunately, is more often than not, unimpressive.
At the same time, there are ongoing media reports of how "society" has ignored so-and-so Gold medal winner and so-and-so World Champion.
Which brings me to the point of this post: Why is there an expectation that society or the government should take care of former athletes?
Each one of us chose a career based on options we had. These options were a function of our performance (in academics, sports, dramatics etc) and our skills (analytical, relationship-oriented, detail-oriented etc).
Some chose sports. Others chose engineering, medical, accounting etc.
In many cases, the loans taken to fund a medical or an engineering seat are equivalent if not much higher than the total cost involved in parents ensuring their ward gets trained in sport.
Some of the kids who chose sports as a career turned professional. Some played for the country. Some won medals. Many got jobs in the government because of their performance on the sports field.
If it was just another career choice - as much as engineering, event management, medical etc, why do former sportspersons have this moral high ground about how the government & society have forgotten them?
Is it because of all performing arts were once supported by royal patronage? And we are seeing a hangover of that era continuing in today's "democratic" context?
Sports heroes are a society's real heroes in some sense - after the armed forces. Their actions can lift an entire society. Their values (dedication, focus, teamwork, performance etc) are fantastic and every society would like them to be ingrained. So, the hero worship when they perform is understandable.
Maybe the problem is that the "hero" definition is based on performance. So, hero worship depends on performance. And when they do not perform - or cannot perform once they retire, society needs to find new heroes who are worth worshipping.
Society is just moving on to new heroes. In the process, maybe inadvertently, ignoring the fallen heroes. And therein lies the source of the problem. The fallen heroes still think of themselves as heroes but society needs heroes who perform today.
Good article Saumil, but I think our society has not come to a point where most parents encourage their kids to choose sports as a profession and are ready to invest in sports the same way as in an engineering or medical career for their kids. I do agree with you though that former athletes should not expect anything from the govt or society in general.
ReplyDeleteSaumil:
ReplyDeleteAgree that we need sports-persons that perform today (and more importantly, that will perform tomorrow).
I don't think anyone is asking for 'hero status' for yesterday's performers.
Indian sports-persons come from 3 different backgrounds:
1) Folks (like Abhinav Bhindra) who have parental financial backing don't care about government support (jobs, subsidies, etc). They may not even care for the hero status.
2) Folks (like Mary Kom) who have endured severe financial hardships to dedicate their life to sport. It is the duty of society to create a dignified security net for these deserving sports-persons so that more such people are encouraged to take up sport (and contribute to the nation's pride). I don't think anyone is asking for hero status in this group...just a dignified security net.
3) Folks employed in the armed forces (e.g. Vijay Kumar). The armed forces should ensure that adequate support is given to facilitate their participation in sports. No one is asking for hero status here either.
Good article and food for thought Saumil. I believe our forgotten sporting heroes deserve much more than they get.
ReplyDeleteI think it is unfair to club pursuing an engineering degree with pursuing a sports career. The latter requires much more sacrifice than an engineering/medical career because there are no guarantees of success or fame or even a decent job. At least when you get a degree, there is a fair chance of getting a good job. Those sportsmen/ women who do get jobs with the government or public sectors are the ones who have won national/ international medals while the “mediocre” sports persons end up jobless.
The very fact that in India, sports careers are short-lived and you are forgotten soon after, dissuades parents from allowing their children to follow a sports career.
Winning an international sporting event etches the country’s name in sporting history forever and we need to treasure the sportsmen and sportswomen who bring us such glory. If it means taking care of them for life, I’d rather my tax money is spent on them than lining politician’s pockets. It’s a small price to pay.