Why Indian Athletes are not in the World Athletic championships(2022)

India being the second most populated country in the world is of no use, especially in the field of sports. The reason for writing this article is to explain to the audience the horrible position India is in terms of sports, mainly athletics. At present, the world athletic championships are going in Oregon USA. As a sports lover and enthusiast, it is a big surprise to see Indian athletes participating in fewer numbers when compared to the athletes from those countries whose population is one-fourth of India’s population. Few countries are Qatar, Ukraine, Canada etc.

 I was surprised to see athletes from Kenya, Barbados, Kenya, and Jamaica excel in their respective track fields where we as Indians can ace any event in these championships. But the saddest part is that national record holders or state record holders are not even in the frame for any reason. As a sports enthusiast and lover, I must make the public aware of why we see Indian athletes or sports persons participate less in any championships. Let us look at a few reasons below for this situation which India is facing currently.

Reasons for less participation of Indian athletes in this championships:

• The major reason is the importance given to Indian cricketers and major leagues like IPL.

• The mentality of Indian society where everyone focuses on the same motto like studies is more important than anything in this world and then expects everyone to win medals from every athlete participating in championships.

• Not getting the correct exposure to people who want to excel in sports other than cricket. But we demotivate them and force them to do as per our choice or dreams we see to fulfill in life.

• National discus throw players like Vikas Gowda are not even in the frame. Despite any reason, we have many athletes who excel well in state and national championships but have never been seen on major platforms.

• Still, we find faults in the athletes who participate in major events irrespective of the situation we are in. 

• This is not true because we never encourage a person to pursue a career in sports and expect medals whenever he or she participates.

• Politics is the major factor for less participation of Indian athletes in ongoing world athletic championships.

• To explain in simple terms, our Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra would never grab the attention of the Indian audience unless he grabs a medal in major championships.

• There is no coverage by the media to educate Indians on the importance of every sport in today's world other than cricket.

• Companies are ready to spend thousands of crores to own an IPL team or own satellite rights for a cricket match.

• If we spend one-third of the revenue on other sports, the world can witness a different India in these major championships.

• One more major factor is people demotivating those who want to excel in sports. Yet they criticize the athletes who give their sweat, blood and tears to make their nation proud whenever they step on the field.

• No one has the right to criticize Indian athletes because we never give attention or notice to the talent which makes India proud.

As we looked at a few reasons which play a vital role in less participation of Indians in any sports events when compared to other countries. Let us understand the psychology behind these reasons as this is the root cause of the situation we are in today.

The root cause for this situation:

My understanding and the situations I witnessed so far in life helped me to conclude to find this root cause. I may be wrong in less percentage but my research says I am correct up to 75% which is humongous to prove this is true. Myself being a cricket lover for more than 18 years never understood the hype we create for this game leaving our national game Hockey aside. 

In India, everyone’s mindset is to have a safe career irrespective of the field but has plenty of time to find faults in sports. If you can’t support your own country's sports person then never dare to comment on any sports individual performance. Every sport is not a business, this has to be realized by big players in our country. To explain this I would like to take the Pro Kabaddi League as an example. 

The inaugural season started in 2014, but now the concept changed in a way which irritated most of the audience who loved the sports in the initial years. The main reason is business as the season becomes a success year by year. But unfortunately love for the sport decreased by a major percentage. 

To Sum Up:

We as Indians cannot support a cricketer who is having a bad patch in his or her career, then what can you expect from us to support other sports persons. The best example is Virat Kohli, the brand ambassador of fiery cricket for the last decade. He is the reason for creating many records in all formats of this game. But the saddest part is there are few people to support him and encourage him so that he can come back grandly.

 This happened to many great cricketers where cricket in India is treated as a religion. As a surprise, our competitors are supporting him and we hate him for no reason. I can leave to your imagination the condition of those sports persons who fail in one event. If you are passionate about sports and games, do educate others about the reality of Indian sports persons and mainly athletes. Let us try a bit so that we can make a difference and support every sports person. My appeal to the Indian government and other big players who create a difference in decision making to treat every sport equally so that India excels in every sport and every sports person gets that respect and love he or she deserves.

Feel free to drop your views or opinions on this post.