Happens only in India !

There are few things that make us uniquely Indian...........here's one of them.

It was heartening to see 25 year old Bindra grab a gold at the Beijing Olympics. It's a great achievement given the country he represents. Yeah the debate I want to open up is, what's India's contribution in his achievement. Does India deserve the laurels he's bringing to the country.

In a country of a billion people or more, we struggle to create sportsmen who can rub shoulders with the world's best. India lacks the set up required to create Olympic heroes who can go for gold. The system is skewed. The sports authority of India is a laggard unit crippled with inefficiency, lack of funds, foresight and infrastructure. The people who run it are even worse. With due respect, Mr Kalmadi who has been warming the seat of the president of the Olympic association deserves to be shown the door for poor performance. Add to it the fact that India does not have a great sporting culture. Unless you become a Sania or a Bindra or a Paes your future is bleak or unsure. As a result most parents discourage their wards from taking up sports as a profession.

Here we have Bindra who was fortunate to have the resources required to take up a sport as expensive as a shooting. All credit to him for the hard work and results he has produced. How many people in this country have this opportunity. The moment Bindra won the gold, the who's who of Indian politics jumped in to grab some eye balls.

As I researched the internet I found this

Punjab - 1 crore - home state hero
Harayana - 25 Lakh - neighboring state hero...Phew
Chandigarh - 5 Lakh - city's sporting hero, state wasnt enough
Karnataka - 10 Lakh - country's hero
Madhya Pradesh - 5 lakh - no clue why they announced.
worst of all...........
Indian railway's, rather our very own Lalu Prasad Yadav - Free AC rail travel for Bindra and a companion for life.

I am still waiting to see what rewards the other states are going to announce.

My senses tell me that a man who could afford a personal shooting range at home, travel to Germany on personal expenses for training will never travel on the Indian railways.Bindra hails from a successful business family and received a 5 star hotel as a gift from his dad.

Now when Bindra tasted success everyone wants to hand out people's hard earned taxes to Bindra as gifts. More like "Chance pe dance" as if they had a role in his success. Most of these jokers occupying prominent posts would have dismissed shooting as a casual sport had Bindra approached them for some funds to train.

I would be glad if the government spent this kind of money in cleaning up the sports establishments in the country and let the corporates handle the successful heroes.Corporates follow eye balls and today it is on Bindra, tomorrow on some one else. This way we'll be able to create more Bindra's in the country. It's time to instill some senses back in the brains of decision makers to create a strong system for sports and sportsmen to thrive. Otherwise it'll probably take another 25 years to grab the next gold at the Olympics.

Also read http://www.rediff.com/sports/2003/sep/04spec.htm

in Telegraph I came across this article where the writer echoes my sentiments !
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080821/jsp/opinion/story_9718064.jsp