A multi-discipline extravaganza like the Olympics, the Asiad or the Commonwealth Games is considered to be successful for the host nation based on two counts: problem-free organisation of the event and an impressive display by the host nation in terms of medals.
The Beijing Olympiad, for instance, will be remembered not only because China hosted the event without hitches but also due to the country’s athletes eclipsing the United States to top the medals table.
One part of the successful conduct of CWG 2010 lies in the hands of sports officials and administrators. It is their responsibility to ensure that construction work on venues is completed on time; the Games Village is ready for athletes; and transportation, catering facilities are in place. There is reason to believe that with the experience of having successfully organised the inaugural Asian Games in 1951, the Asian Games in 1982 and the Afro-Asian Games in 2003, India will not disappoint with its organisation of CWG 2010. But will the performance of Indian sportspersons on the track, in the swimming pool, at the shooting range, on the badminton court, in the wrestling arena, etc, bring forth the same kind of success? That is the question.
With a little more than a year remaining for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi (October 3-14), how prepared is India to finish in the top bracket of medal-winners?
tough competition
At the CWG, India has done well in certain disciplines in the past. Athletics, badminton, weightlifting and wrestling have been areas of strength and fetched many medals for the country. What should one expect in 2010? Seventy-two nations will be in the fray for the New Delhi CWG and although major sporting powers like the US, Russia, China, Japan, Korea and Germany will not be there, it is significant to note that many of the competing nations have athletes who are medal contenders at the Olympic and World Championship level. For example, with African countries having a sizable presence at the CWG, track and field events will see competition of a high standard. Ditto for swimming with Australia, England and Canada in the fray.
Where do Indian sportspersons stand vis-a-vis the world? Here’s a comparison. At this year’s Swimming World Championships in Rome, Brazil’s Cesar Cielo Filho won the 50m freestyle in 21.08 sec; Virdhawal Khade clocked 22.79 sec to finish 44th. The CWG record for the 50m freestyle event is 22.03 sec, clocked by South Africa’s Roland Mark Schoeman in 2006 in Melbourne. In Rome, South Africa’s Cameron van der Burgh won the 50m breaststroke in 26.67 sec; Sandeep Sejwal clocked 27.92 sec to finish 38th.
A realistic evaluation of Indian prospects reveals that few expect India to win medals in swimming. Khade and Sejwal figure among the top 100 swimmers in the world, and that is laudable — but medals from them? “Khade and Sejwal are talented and the experience they have gained from the World Championhips will help them. CWG 2010 is their target and their participation in international events is directed towards that event. I am sure they will give a good account of themselves,” says Nihar Amin, who has served the national swimming team as both coach and manager.
Struck by chickenpox just before the Badminton World Championships in Hyderabad, Saina Nehwal bowed out in the quarterfinals. However, she will be a medal contender at CWG 2010. “Saina can win a medal, hopefully the gold. Even without the Chinese, competition at CWG 2010 will be stiff. It’s a question of defeating who is there rather than thinking about who is not there,” says former national coach Vimal Kumar.
Apart from Saina, male shuttlers Chetan Anand, Arvind Bhat and Anup Sridhar along with the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju could be considered as medal prospects.
Indian participants had an unspectacular outing at the Athletics World Championships in Berlin. J Abraham was disqualified in the 400m hurdles; Babubhai Panocha was 20th in the 20km walk; Surendra Singh was 19th in the 10,000m; Seema Antil was 15th with 59.85m while Krishna Punia finished 28th with 56.75m in the discus throw; Sushmita Singha Roy was 26th in the hepathlon with 4,983 points. Nonetheless, Sushmita’s coach Kuntal Roy is upbeat.
“Sushmita had a right hamstring problem and wanted to withdraw after the first event in Berlin. I asked her to continue as the experience would stand her in good stead. She carried on gamely. She is receiving special treatment and doing aqua exercises now. I expect her to be fully fit over the next four months. She will be ready for the CWG where, I am confident, Sushmita will touch 6,000 points,” says Kuntal, chief coach at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Eastern Centre in Kolkata.
appraisal time
Indian sportspersons have figured in some major sporting events around the world over the past few months — the World Athletics Championships in Berlin, the World Swimming Championships in Rome and the World Badminton Championships in Hyderabad. No Indian managed to scale the podium at these events — they weren’t expected to, but some bettered their own individual marks and have raised hopes of better performances in the future. While coaches are optimistic that the experience at these World Championships will act as a stepping stone for success at CWG 2010, their wards must translate promise into medal-winning performances.
Indian athletes are due to compete in the Asian Indoor Games in Vietnam (October 30 to November 8) and then the Asian Athletics Championships in China (November 10 to 14). Performances at these events would be a pointer to how well the athletes are shaping up for CWG 2010. Should the returns be lower than expectations, there will be genuine reason for concern.
It is common to hear about problems regarding equipment and exposure after Indian sportspersons put up disappointing performances in international competition. Will things be different this time?
support system
Funding would not appear to be a problem. As part of a scheme called ‘preparation of the Indian team for Commonwealth Games 2010’, crores of rupees have been allocated by the Centre for training and exposure trips for CWG sportspersons, upgradation of SAI centres and medical back-up facilities. The funds allocated are to be utilised for providing state-of-the-art training and competitive opportunities to elite sportspersons. Under the scheme, top-class equipment is to be procured and 10 SAI centres are to be upgraded to international standard.
On July 14, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, minister of state for youth affairs and sports Pratik Prakashbapu Patil said the Centre had allocated 678 crore for better training facilities for all sports disciplines included in the New Delhi CWG and that training/coaching to CWG probables was being provided in various parts of the country. Proposals for Indian sportspersons to train abroad — in South Africa, China, Italy, the US and the UK — have also been approved.
Hopefully, all these steps will result in India occupying a leading position in the CWG 2010 medals tally. For, success lies not only in hosting the event and participation, but in winning medals as well.
shreekumars@hotmail.com
swimming: V irdhawal Khade, Sandeep Sejwal
archery: Jayanta Talukdar,
Dola Banerjee, Pratima Boro
boxing: MC Mary Kom, Vijender Singh, Akhil Kumar, Jitender Singh
squash: Ritwik Bhattacharya,
Saurav Ghosal, Joshna Chinappa
athletics: Anju Bobby George, Sushmita Singha Roy, Krishna Punia, Surendra Singh
badminton: Saina Nehwal, Chetan Anand, Jwala Gutta and V Diju
table tennis: Sharath Kamal
shooting: Abhinav Bindra, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
tennis: Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Somdev Devvarman,
Sania Mirza
weightlifting: Geeta Rani,
Yumnam Chanu, Pratima Kumari, Kunjarani Devi
wrestling: Sushil Kumar