While we should not have been too critical and demeaning like Sobha De at the start of the Olympics, there is no reason why we should not be critical about the performances of our athletes after the tournament is over. While we need to encourage our sportspersons, we must point out their flaws too, lest they stop improving.
The level of competition in the Olympics is the highest among all tournaments, because here an athlete competes not only for his personal glory, but also for the honour of his country. Winning in Olympic is not as easy as winning a cricket match, where a bunch of corrupt individuals can be easily purchased. So, commitment and love for the country are the two minimum qualities that an athlete must possess to do well in the Olympics. Can you say that all the athletes in the Indian contingent in the Rio games showed these two qualities? There are definitely more than one, but I will name only one individual, who most people thought would win a medal. I am talking about Saina Nehwal. Despite being the number 5 in the rankings, the way she capitulated to the 61-seed Maria Ulitina of Ukraine was indeed shameful. At the end of the match, we were told that an inflammation in her right knee was to be blamed for the meek surrender. Whosoever has played any game could easily notice that she didn't give even her 50%, despite the injury being mild in nature. Saina should be thankful to PV Sindhu for taking away the attention from her.
The near escape from death of the marathon runner OP Jaisha clearly demonstrated our lack of professional approach. We don't take our sports seriously. The officials seemed to have been on a fun tour.
In the 74 kg weight free-style wrestling we had a good chance of winning a medal. But the internecine off-the-field battle between Sushil Kumar and Narsingh Yadav ensured that none of the wrestlers could participate in that category. The allegation made by Narsingh is of a very serious kind. It should be thoroughly investigated, and the culprits must be brought to book. I don't know why some experts pinned their hopes on the 33-year-old Yogeswar Dutt, who not only looked out of touch, but also looked fatigued.
The terrific form Sindhu was in, had it been anyone other than the flamenco queen Carolina Marin, she would have walked away with a gold medal. But the top seed Marin was a cut above Sindhu. There is no shame in losing to a champion player. Sindhu made us proud. So did Sakshi. Dipa's performance was very inspiring. Next time, if she can improve her landing, I see a very bright prospect for her.
We should not forget Abhinab Bindra's valour, who missed a bronze medal by a whisker.
8 years ago, I wrote a blog suggesting few measures to improve India's performance in sports. Here is the link
http://kahlar.blogspot.in/2008/03/revive-sports-policy.html
Pictures taken from net
