Sriram Singh’s 39-year-old National record in 800m and Gopal Saini’s in 3000m steeplechase, set in 1981, stand intact. “What progress have we made,” they ask. Not in desperation but a fervour to see new athletics icons.
Sriram and Saini were speaking at a seminar titled ‘Sports: A Way Of Life’ and launched by a NGO set up by Kanishka Pandey.
“It’s a sports literacy mission and we are targeting the age group of 1 to 9. I want to bridge the gap between games for the rich and poor,” said Pandey, 25, but full of ideas which earned him support and plaudits from more than 10 Arjuna Awardees.
How to make sports a movement has been the theme of Pandey’s three-year research. “Only 5.21 per cent of the population are aware of sports. Only 1.31 per cent of the women population has some inclination towards sports. There are no plans to create an interest in sports among children from 1 to 8 age group. I call it sports illiteracy,” said Pandey.
“You have to involve the parents and teachers. We have to make sports a part of the main curriculum in primary schools,” said Pandey. His views received overwhelming support from the elite sportsmen.
“We were self-made athletes. Today you have foreign coaches in all disciplines but what have they delivered. We have to aim at developing and introducing sports science at the school level to become a sports power,” said Sriram.
Former hockey captain and 1980 Olympic gold medallist Zafar Iqbal was candid. “We mostly end up only talking. There is little by way of implementation. There are 13 lakh schools in India and 60 per cent of them don’t even have a sports field. In 30 per cent schools there is no physical education teacher. A dedicated process must be put in motion and that can come only if you make sports a subject in schools. Sports is the tool that unites a country and we must not waste our talent by depriving our kids the facilities to explore their skills.”
Hockey Olympian Ashok Kumar observed, “This movement is a step in the right direction. Don’t let children spend their childhood inside the house. Involve the parents and identify every champion at the school level. There should be unsparing accountability too. Sports is a social issue and the society as a whole must take the responsibility.”
Hockey Olympian M.P. Ganesh highlighted the way of life in Australia. “In Australia, 18 per cent of your salary goes for sports promotion and they don’t overload kids with homework. Sports in India may be competitive or recreational but we must instil the spirit at every level. SAI (Sports Authority of India) can’t go to each door to search for talent. Introspection is needed by everyone associated with sports promotion.”
Among those who attended the seminar were hockey coach A.K. Bansal, hockey international M.P. Singh, athletes Deena Ram and Sri Chand Ram, basketballer Surendra Kataria, Rachna Govil from SAI, commentator Avtar Singh Sethi, and volleyballer Suresh Mishra.