Bindra's Gold Medal

It was a glorious day & the whole country rejoiced when Abhinav Bindra won the Gold medal in olympics in shooting. This was the first individual gold medal that we have won as a nation in olympics. It does seem a little odd that a country as huge as India over so many years couldnt win a single gold medal in individual sport. All the gold medals that we have won as a nation in team sport can be attributed to hockey ( which we were pretty good at gazzilion years ago).

This idea of writing about Bindra's Gold medal came from a discussion i had with my friend Vishwanathan(Vishi). I was just watching the weekend Premier league games at my friends place in somajiguda. While watching the game the Bindra topic had come into picture. Vishi told me that the medal belonged to Bindra & this is no victory of the Indian olympic association or country as a whole. The shooters in India depend on the associations for the ammunition & Shooting ranges. A pellet which is required for shooting costs around 20 rs each & the association have to import it from other countries. The import duties are very high which makes it very costly. An average shooter gets to fire around 50 shots a day which is nowhere enough. What Bindra had in his favour was that he was from a rich family & had decided to take matters into his own hands quite a while back. He hired a german coach. Had his own shooting range & no shortage of ammuntion. This begs for a question - "Can Indian olmpic association seriously claim they had a hand in this medal?" I say NO. There is no dearth of Abhinav Bindra's in India. What we lack is the basic infrastructure which never seems to get it right. I am not saying that Abhinav Bindra's achievement should not be credited to the country, after all he is an Indian. But what pains me is that the Olympic Association getting kudos & they take credit. Bindra was self centred ,took the matter into his own hands & he had the financial backing for it. But how many people have the backing.

There are two very famous models of proven success in Olympics. The American & the Chinese model. I'd start with the Chinese model. They take young kids, train them in their discipline & make them into the finished product. The Chinese over the years have been doing so well ( They lead the medals tally in Beijing Olympics,2008).Their system is based on hardwork & total dedication towards the sport & non stop practice. The pitfall is that young kids are made to work so hard at a tender age with a sole purpose of making them medal winners & earning glory for their country.
The American model is based more on the natural athletes & college system. There is so much backing for sports in schools & universities. Scholarships given for sports & education is not the sole criteria. An average student can get into a good university if he is good in sports. Natural athletes come through this system where there is incentive. This system is based on the sports structure that is so strong.
What method should we adopt if we want to prosper & follow the footsteps of China & America in attaining Olympic glory OR should we create our own method. Sadly there is no method that India has come up with in these many years & i don't see them as visionaries devising a plan for the future. I beleive that the American model should be adopted in India. The Chinese model is too hard for the Indian public in general to swallow. It would be very hard to imagine Indian parents letting their kids totally into the hands of the coaches to win medals for their country by sacrificing education. The American model cannot be implemented all of a sudden. We need a long term plan to develop the facilities and the infrastructure available from the school levels to College. Many colleges dont even have a ground to play any sport & even if they have one it is for all the sports combined. Now these are the basic amenties that every institution should provide. Sports should be always encouraged. I am not saying build Shooting ranges or Boxing Rings in school. But atleast make an effort to make the kids more athletic & sports driven. Basic things like a track for running should be made a prerequisite. Scholarships & Sports quotas should be made compulsory, a stipulated percentage for all colleges. Its not all about books & studies. If the system stays the same i don't see any improvements ahead in our medal tally or for that matter any other sporting achievements. Look where Hockey is today, its a shame we can't qualify for the Olympics. Something is wrong with the system. I beleive we have enough potential to match any country in terms of the talent pool.

I got sucked in by the topic & the post has been stretched i guess. Sorry guys , Just went with the flow. Hope you found my views ineteresting. Feel free to put your points across whether you agree or disagree with me.. Its just my viewpoint & opinion.
Again a special thanks to Vishi .