‘Sports Other Than Cricket Lack Funds, Sponsorship & Media Coverage’
Chandra Vijay Singh, Coach of the Indian wrestling team, says sports bodies need to learn from the success of IPL and Pro Kabaddi, not envy such initiatives. His views:
Before we discuss the reason why athletes in sports other than cricket feel their achievements have been recognised, let me first confess that in the past one decade, there has been a major transformation in the facilities, training and opportunities available to our sportspersons. However, the sports fraternity is still plagued by lethargic sports federations and media apathy. That is what needs to be fixed if India has to become a sporting nations and promote Olympic sports.
I would like to back my point from a small incident. A few weeks back, a national wrestling event was organized in Gorakhpur, attended by established players from across the country. However, it was only considered to be mentioned in one or two paragraph reports in local –not even regional – newspapers. Were this to be a cricketing event, it would be undoubtedly aired on Sports channels and national media.
Mercifully, some changes have come where competition like Pro-Kabaddi, Badminton league, Soccer leagues etc have come and private channels are giving them live coverage. However, this is yet to reach the kind of coverage a biased media gives to even much smaller cricket competitions. Indian state and private media channels cover non-cricket sports only for a limited period of time in a year. Only then the recognition will follow.
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The second and important reason is lack of sponsorship. Since the advent of IPL, smaller and regional T20 tournaments are not only getting a prime slot on private sports channels but they are also getting bigwig sponsors who spend lavishly on the event and its publicity. Al this while, the Olympic sports struggle to arrange for even a decent press conference. Clearly, the government cannot be blamed for the popularity of cricket at such a fast pace because the BCCI is the richest sports body of cricket in the world and it is not accountable to the government. Other sports administrative bodies cannot match the deep pockets that the BCCI has.
Add to this the lethargic sports officials who fail to step out of their cosy offices and scout the talent in their nurseries (read villages and small towns), and you know the reason why India despite its size has failed to win international medals proportionately. The athletes who have continuously performed at international levels, be it Sania Mirza, PV Sindhu, Neeraj Chopra and others, they do get their due recognition.
Now to the last point: We, as Indian sports viewers, need to change our mentality and open up for other sports also that have been a part of our sporting glory. Sports federations should take initiatives to raise their funding, look for willing sponsors and dig out real talent. Here, I would also like to quote an example to substantiate.
The Pro Kabaddi League, which started a few years ago, is a shining example of what I have just noted. It is a successful event like IPL and people and audience are connecting to it in large numbers. The organisers clearly had a plan before they launched the league. Ultimate Kho Kho has also debuted recently and is also getting popular. More such initiatives are the need of the hour for promotion and recognition of other sports and sportspersons.
As told to Rajat Rai
