Just 6 grams of Gold: Empowering India's future Olympians to go for glory
Over the past decade, the demographics of Indian sport have undergone extensive modifications- all done, of course, with a view of changing the country's current standing in sports. To do this, it was necessary to recognise that there was a problem with the way things were being run in the first place. Popular culture and selectively highlighted stories of athlete struggles have successfully built up a narrative along the lines of holding the government, the system and Federation at fault for everything that is wrong with Indian sports. Of course, for all three of these stakeholders, their position of power comes with a tremendous amount of responsibility- and it is a responsibility which is carried out in a way that does not often meet the expectations of the general Indian populace. About a decade back - there was a significant shift in the way things were run. There was a new stakeholder in place who had voluntarily decided to take on the responsibilities of doing what the official administration was supposed to. That is when the concept of non-profit ventures in the best interests of Indian sports was born. The names included Charles Atkinson of England for boxing, Kim Hagyong of Korea for archery, Vladimer Mestvirishvili of Georgia for wrestling as well as Kim Seonil (Korea), Munkhbayar Dorjsuren (born in Mongolia but a German citizen) Lazslo Scuzak (Hungary) and Anton Belak (Slovak Republic) for shooting. Out of these, Rahi later went ahead and hired Munkhbayar Dorjsuren as her personal coach up until the 2020 Olympics. Although Rahi categorically stated she did so out of her own savings, the connection may have helped the 27-year old shooter make an impactful comeback to the circuit after a potentially career-threatening injury a few years back. This is not to undermine the administrative work that the Federations do to make life easier for athletes. The bureaucratic system of Indian politics, however, implies that a process of change of modifications to the current system would be inherently slow. Despite the obvious flaws, however, it would be impossible for any such non-profit organisation to carry out their well-intended programs thus further accentuating the need for a wholesome system which includes all the major stakeholders to work together. The critical thing to remember here is that everyone is on the same team. The Sports Ministry, the federations under it and these non-profits. Loose ends need to be tied up and the system, made more transparent. You may not agree with all the methods employed by the organisations spoken of above but you certainly cannot deny their contributions. Hopefully, a more sustainable system bringing together all partners is in the offing soon.