Citizens demand reforms in sports bodies, departments for better performance in next Olympics

August 23, 2016

New Delhi, Aug 23: Eighty-six percent citizens believe induction of accomplished sportsmen in various sports bodies will significantly improve selection and training of players

olymNinety-two percent citizens believe funds misuse and corruption is common in State Sports Departments and Bodies

Eighty-nine percent citizens believe that sufficient efforts have not been made by Government of India in last decade to promote sports (beyond cricket)

Winning medals in Olympics is not just about sports it affects the collective spirit of the Nation. India won just one silver and one bronze medal in the Rio Olympics that concluded today but the whole nation cheered.

Beyond the low count of medals that we got the nation cheered the performance of every participant who even got close to winning one.

The aspirations of the nation are high in all areas we have the youngest population of any country and the pride of a nation is built on performance in mega sporting events like Olympics.

Our poor performance is already being analysed by critics and experts but the root cause is not being addressed.

Therefore, LocalCircles a citizen engagement platform did a study on the problems that we face in improving our status as a sporting nation.

Olympic level sports person are not built overnight, it is a continuous process and requires time and effort. Sports bodies are expected to identify the right talent, at the right age, support and train them to Olympic level.

Unfortunately, our sports bodies are not able to do this with the same rigour, barring a few exceptions like badminton. The reason is that most sporting bodies are led by non-sportsmen and bureaucrats who have never played at international levels.

The politicisation of Indian sports is the root cause for the country not being able to create world class athletes. People are also tired of the political interference in sports.

Therefore, the obvious question is to revamp the sports bodies in various disciplines in the country. Inducting world class sportsmen at all levels in a sports organisation, so that they can help build a culture that promotes, trains and build world class talent.

An overwhelming majority of 86 percent people said in the poll that sports bodies should be headed and controlled by sportspersons. This clearly shows that India wants that to prepare for the next Olympics we should begin with restructuring our sports bodies.

Corruption was another issue that is endemic in sports bodies due to political interference, nepotism and lack of performance measures. A poor performance in the Olympics does not lead to any action against existing staff due to nepotism. Ninety-two percent of the citizen's perception is that corruption is very high in State sports department and bodies. This perception may also be the reason that most people do not see sports as a worthwhile option for their children.

Eight-nine percent of the citizens also feel that the government has not done much to make sports other than cricket popular in the country.

This perception also fuels the charge that the government does not make enough efforts in promoting performance and merit in sports per-se. Please see the polls below and the crowd sourced inputs from the citizens below.

Crowd sourced citizen inputs on how the state of sports can be improved in India:

The political influence and participation from the sports bodies should be completely eliminated

The sports bodies should only be headed by sportsmen who have played at national and international levels

Investments should be made on improving people's interest in not-so-popular sports

National/international level athletes should be given free medical care

More sports injury rehabilitation centers should be opened in different parts of the country

Training facilities of international standards should be provided to our athletes

Investments should be made in taking the sports infrastructure to international levels

Parents should be counselled that their children can make a career in sports too

Good media coverage should be done around other sports except cricket to make them popular

National athletes should be given some monthly stipend to take care of their daily expenses

They should also be given well-paying jobs so that they can concentrate on training and don't have to worry about running a family

Coaches should be selected after a thorough test and they should be reviewed on a strict matrix bi-annually

Coaches should also be trained on developing a career plan for the students

Government should invest in opening quality sports academies with the vision of producing national/international level sports persons

All sports academies should have good hostel facilities for the students

Selection for teams should be completely based on performance

Government should tie up with private players to run sports education and training colleges

Sports bodies should be closely monitored by the Government

All sports bodies must have at least 50% accomplished ex-sports players on their board

The entire player selection process should be transparent and have zero discretion

It should be made mandatory for the schools to have a playground

Special schemes should be announced by the Government for girls who want to pursue sports as a career option

All government schools should have good coaches for various sports like tennis, badminton hockey, kabaddi, football etc.

The gap between money allocations made by the Government and it actually reaching the sports persons should be reduced by implementing transparent processes and systems

Government should give scholarships to the achievers and support them with training, scholarship and medical assistance

The private sector should also follow the Government enterprises in offering jobs to sports persons

The Government could give tax exemption to private sector for investment in sports/games

The tenure of heading such bodies by a person should be limited to maximum two years

A policy should be devised for grading of sports persons based on their annual performance during that year and a rank system is to be maintained at State, Central, International level against each sports discipline and they should be provided financial and training help basing on their rank

Corporates should be encouraged to sponsor different non-cricket sports players and teams and participate in various competitions beyond cricket

Government must consider establishing a National University of Sports & Games

Government may consider opening CSR for development of sports players

Sports Ministry should financially support holding of more and more international events in India in as many disciplines of sports as possible.

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News Network
April 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Indore, Jan 7: With the first T20I being washed out, India and Sri Lanka will now hope that rain gods stay away from the Holkar Stadium when the two teams face each other in the second match of the ongoing three-game series on Tuesday.

Only toss could take place on Sunday at Guwahati`s Barsapara Cricket Ground before rain gods came in and left damp spots on the pitch thus forcing the game to be called off without a ball being bowled.

Hairdryers were used to dry the pitch after water seeped in through leaking covers at the Barsapara Stadium, a sight which is not usually seen in international cricket. And that hasn`t gone down well with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) which now awaits chief curator Ashish Bhowmick`s report on the same.

The Men in Blue, who enjoyed a brief break, are coming into the series on the back of T20I series victories against Bangladesh and West Indies respectively and thus would be the more confident side out of the two.

Just like Guwahati, the team management and other Indian cricket fans would focus on comeback man Jasprit Bumrah who is making his return to international cricket. Bumrah has been out of action after India`s tour of the West Indies in July-August due to a stress fracture on his back and thus would be rearing to go and perform for the team.

Dhawan, like Bumrah, was not part of the West Indies series after he hurt his knee during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The left-handed opener was not at his absolute best in the T20I series against Bangladesh and faced criticism from several quarters.

While Bumrah will grab more eyeballs during the remaining two matches, the series is also important for left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan, making a comeback into the team post knee injury.

However, recently, he scored a century in the Ranji Trophy and showed glimpses of returning to form.

In the bowling department, the team management would be checking out how the likes Navdeep Saini and Shardul Thakur react to pressure situations in death overs alongside Bumrah in the absence of frontline speedsters Mohammed Shami Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

Young-off spinner Washington Sundar would like to put up performances to ensure that he gets to be part of the squad travelling to Australia for the World T20 in October.

Shivam Dube would also like to perform better - both with bat and ball - till Hardik Pandya is fully fit and back in action.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant - like recent times - will once again be watched with careful eyes. Pant knows that he cannot take things lightly and need to perform as Sanju Samson as already warmed the benches for six straight T20Is.

For Sri Lanka, the remaining two matches of the series would be about giving match practice to the likes of Angelo Mathews who is returning to the national side having last played a T20I against South Africa in August 2018

In their last T20I series, Sri Lanka suffered a 0-3 rout in Australia as all their three departments failed to put in a commanding performance.

India and Sri Lanka have faced each other in 17 T20Is, out of which India have won 11 -- joint most for them against all opponents faced in shortest format.

With the three-match series now effectively turning into a two-game affair, both India and Sri Lanka would want to win in Indore to make sure they can`t lose the series. Also, Sri Lanka have never beaten India in a bilateral T20I series, a record which they would desperately like to change in the remaining two games.

Squads:

India: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.

Sri Lanka: Lasith Malinga (c), Dhanushka Gunathilaka, Avishka Fernando, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Niroshan Dickwella, Dhananjaya De Silva, Isuru Udana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Oshada Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Lahiru Kumara, Kusal Mendis, Lakshan Sandakan, Kasun Rajitha.

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News Network
April 27,2020

Mumbai, Apr 27: The pressure to replace iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni behind the stumps was "immense" due to high expectations from fans says K L Rahul, who has been doing the wicket-keeping duty for India in the limited overs format for some time now.

Dhoni quit Test cricket in 2014 and has not played for India in the limited overs format since last year's ODI World Cup in England.

Rahul kept the wickets in the limited overs series against Australia in January this year and also during the team's tour to New Zealand.

"I was nervous when I was doing it for India because of the crowd pressure. If you fumble, people feel that you cannot replace MS Dhoni. The pressure of replacing a legendary wicket-keeper like MSD was immense as it involved people accepting someone else behind the stumps," Rahul told Star Sports on its show 'Cricket Connected'.

Rahul, who has played 32 ODIs and 42 T20Is, said keeping the wickets is not alien to him since he dons the gloves during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and also when he plays for his Ranji side Karnataka.

"People who follow cricket know that I haven't been away from wicket-keeping for too long as I donned the gloves in the IPL and every time I played for Karnataka," the 28-year-old said.

"I am always in touch with wicket-keeping but am also somebody who is more than willing to take up the role if the team needs me to," he stressed.

Dhoni's career is a matter of intense speculation. Many former players feel that it won't be easy for Dhoni to make it to the national squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held in Australia. 

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