1. Home
  2. Citizens demand reforms in sports bodies, departments for better performance in next Olympics

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.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
February 5,2020

Hamilton, Feb 5: Talented Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India dished out a clinical batting effort to post 347 for four against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday.

Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton. Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.

Iyer's knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 runs in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.

This was after Tom Blundell featured his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.

It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe.

Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls for the opening stand.

But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India were reduced to 54 for 2.

Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).

It brought Kohli and Iyer together, and they dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.

Kohli fell against the run of play as a wrong one from Ish Sodhi (1/27) got through his defence to clip the leg stump.

Rahul though didn't let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours.

But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.

The centurion fell shortly afterwards, caught off Southee even as Rahul took control.

He reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.

Rahul's carnage meant that New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul.

Brief Scores:

India: 347 for 4 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88 not out, Virat Kohli 51; Tim Southee 2/85).

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
January 23,2020

Aurangabad, Jan 23: An FIR has been registered against three people including former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin for allegedly duping a travel agent, Mohammad Shadab, of more than Rs 20 lakh.

However, Mohammad Azharuddin has refuted allegations and said: "I strongly rubbish the false FIR filed against me in Aurangabad. I am consulting my legal team and would be taking action as necessary."

Azharuddin's personal assistant Mujeeb lives in Augurangabad and has good relations with the travel agency of Shadab.

The travel agent alleged that Mujeeb asked him to book some flight tickets but did not pay the amount.

The police have booked the three under Section 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 9,2020

Tokorozawa, Jul 9: Olympic boxing hopeful Arisa Tsubata is used to taking blows in the ring but it is during her work as a nurse that she faces her toughest opponent: coronavirus.

The 27-year-old juggles a brutal training regime in boxing gloves with long, irregular hours in surgical gloves at a hospital near Tokyo.

Tsubata mainly treats cancer patients but she said the virus was a constant threat, with medical experts warning at the peak of the pandemic that Japan's health system was close to collapse.

"We always face the risk of infection at medical facilities," she said.

"My colleagues and I have all worked under the stress of possibly getting infected."

Like most elite athletes, the virus played havoc with Tsubata's training schedules, meaning she welcomed the postponement of this year's Tokyo Olympics until 2021.

"It was a plus for me, giving me more time for training, although I wasn't sure if I should be so happy because the reason for the postponement was the spread of the infectious disease," she said.

Tsubata took up boxing only two years ago as a way to lose weight but quickly rose through the ranks.

"In a few years after becoming a nurse, I gained more than 10 kilos (22 pounds)," she laughed.

"I planned to go to Hawaii with my friends one summer, and I thought I wouldn't have much fun in a body like that. That is how I started boxing."

She quickly discovered a knack for the ring, winning the Japan national championship and a place on the national team.

But juggling her medical and sporting career has not always been easy and the first time she fought a foreign boxer came only in January, at an intensive training camp in Kazakhstan.

"That made me realise how inexperienced I am in my short boxing career. I was scared," she admitted.

Japanese boxing authorities decided she was not experienced enough to send her to the final qualifying tournament in Paris, which would have shattered her Tokyo 2020 dreams -- if coronavirus had not given her an extra year.

Now she is determined to gain the experience needed to qualify for the rescheduled Games, which will open on July 23, 2021.

"I want to train much more and convince the federation that I could fight in the final qualifiers," she said.

Her coach Masataka Kuroki told AFP she is a subtle boxer and a quick learner, as he put her through her paces at a training session.

She now needs to add more defensive technique and better core strength to her fighting spirit and attacking flair, said Kuroki.

"Defence! She needs more technique for defence. She needs to have a more agile, stronger lower body to fend off punches from below," he said.

Her father Joji raised Arisa and her three siblings single-handedly after separating from his Tahitian wife and encouraged his daughter into nursing to learn life-long skills.

He never expected his daughter to be fighting for a place in the Olympics but proudly keeps all her clippings from media coverage.

"She tried not to see us family directly after the coronavirus broke out," the 58-year-old told AFP. "She was worried."

Tsubata now want to compete in the Games for all her colleagues who have supported her and the patients that have cheered her on in her Olympic ambitions.

"I want to be the sort of boxer who keeps coming back no matter how many punches I take," she said.

"I want to show the people who cheer for me that I can work hard and compete in the Olympics, because of them."

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.