Games could get Olympic sports going in India (News Feature)

By Siddhartha Kumar Oct 14, 2010, 15:00 GMT

New Delhi - The hosts of the 2010 Commonwealth Games which ended on a high note Thursday are convinced the games have built a good foundation for Olympic sports.

India is generally known for its obsession with cricket, but organizers of the Commonwealth Games are hoping that the games have managed to make some inroads into that support base.

Amid allegations of corruption and shoddy game infrastructure followed by health-scares and sparse crowds in the initial days, the games went ahead relatively incident-free.

Many global sports administrators including International Olympic Committee chief Jacques Rogge stressed that the Delhi games were the best way to expose cricket-mad Indians to a range of Olympic sports.

The hosts managed to make an athletics breakthrough at the country's biggest sporting event since hosting the 1982 Asian Games.

Indians hailed their unprecedented success, saying it was proof of the sporting talent in the country, usually considered a sports minnow.

It was after all India's best-ever medals tally in the games' 80-year history as it beat England to take the second place after Australia in the 71-nation event.

The high-point came Monday, when India's women's discus team swept the medals ending the country's 52-year drought for track and field gold at the Commonwealth Games.

A day later, four Indian women sprinted to a historic victory in the 4x100 metre relay race and were feted by the home media.

Sports administrators said more Indian youth would be inspired to take up Olympic sports as the country's success at the games received widespread support.

'Undoubtedly, the games have sparked a lot of interest, particularly in the youth and this is bound to change the country's sports culture,' said Milkha Singh, who won India's first athletics gold at the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth Games.

'If we keep up the hard work, it would pave the way for India's emergence on the global sports scene,' he added.

'That (Indian relay win) may just have changed the direction of track and field (in India),' said Sebastian Coe, London Olympic Organizing committee chief, adding, 'Not only track and field in India, but in Asia.'

India, the world's second-most populous nation, lodges currently in the bottom heap of sporting nations, having won merely a handful of Olympic medals in more than a century.

Indians have managed only nine individual medals in shooting, wrestling, tennis and weightlifting since the country's first participation in the 1928 Olympics.

Its poor showing has been attributed to a lack of infrastructure, proper coaching, a decrepit sports administration and the Indian mindset which views sports as more a hobby than a career.

Delhi Games organizing committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi said the competition would leave a legacy for his country in Olympic sports.

'One of the main things of having a big event like the Commonwealth Games is to ensure that we create a lot of new icons and these icons will lead the youth of India towards the global sports. I think that is being achieved so I am happy about that.'

Kalmadi said the reason behind India's performance was that the government had sanctioned ample funds for athletes to obtain better training, international exposure and coaches.

India also benefited by the creation of the much-needed sports infrastructure.

'In a city (Delhi) of 17 million they had some old stadiums and badly needed some good sporting venues. So there will be a tremendous legacy in the city from that point of view,' Commonwealth Games chief Michael Fennell said earlier.

Local media observed that the authorities needed to capitalize on the interest in sports generated by the Commonwealth Games.

'In order to ensure that our athletes continue to win laurels at the highest level of competition, it is imperative that we endeavour to create a true sporting culture in the country,' the Times of India daily said in an editorial. 'This can only come about through adequate funding, sponsorships, effective scouting mechanisms and celebration of individual sporting achievements.'

'A lot more needs to be done if our athletes are to translate their current form into medals at the Asian Games and the Olympics. The Commonwealth Games should serve as a catalyst to initiate the long-pending reforms that Indian sports desperately needs. Otherwise, the present euphoria and gold rush are going to be short-lived,' it said.

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