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Stepmotherly treatment for Indian sportspersons is the order of the day
Sportspersons getting a raw deal is a common phenomenon in Indian sports. And if you are plying your trade in a non-cricket sport, such step-motherly treatment is actually the order of the day.
We have heard of so many instances in Indian sports over the years when the government authorities – whether it’s the sports ministry, state government, SAI or a national federation – have chosen to cold-shoulder our athletes in the face of an opportunity to recognize their achievements so that they are encouraged to scale new heights in future. In India, at times, the opposite happens – the apathy of government agencies drives frustration among athletes, leading them to shun the sport or look for other career avenues.
What makes it worse is that most of these eyeball-grabbers of non-cricket sports belong to economically-disadvantaged families and often have to swim through rough waters to realize their goals.
Sukhen Dey – fighting against the odds all his life
Take the case of India’ Commonwealth Games gold-winning 56-kg category weightlifter Sukhen Dey. It was his elder brother Soumen – a bus driver – who cajoled him to pursue his dream – weightlifting amid all the odds.
The Bengali lifter, who trains at Pune-based Army Sports Institute (ASI), and had first competed in the national sub-junior championship in 2005 and won gold, has gone on record stating that the West Bengal government has consistently overlooked his achievements over the years. He won the silver in the same weight category in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games, and while he was promoted to the post of Junior Commander in Services after that, his own state government did little to acknowledge his feats.
West Bengal sports minister Madan Mitra has now announced a cash award of Rs. 5 lakh for him after steering clear of doling out any cash award after his exploits in the 2010 edition.
A positive dope test that made everything doubly difficult
What makes the feat of the Howrah boy (he won the gold in the men’s 56kg category by lifting a total of 248 kg – 109+139), who started weightlifting at a local club in Kolkata in 2001 at the age of 12, all the more remarkable is that he endured a low point in his career after the 2010 CWG highs.
Dey tested positive for methylhexaneamine after lifting the gold medal at the 2011 Continental Clubs Grand Prix at Penang, Malaysia, and his dope-taking act meant he had to serve a two-year ban.
Dey had to literally slog his way to glory in Glasgow, and by bettering the colour of the medal he had won in New Delhi four years back he accomplished something truly remarkable.
When will sporting achievements in India be recognized the way they deserve to be?
While Dey’s heroics are truly inspiring, but the uncomfortable question remains: why does an athlete need to vent his ‘raw deal’ frustration before the media to grab the attention of the powers-that-be, who refuse to act until then? Why can’t the gesture of recognizing an athlete for winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal be more prompt?
It’s not that players are asking for the moon – they only need encouragement to reap more laurels in the future. If winning a gold medal in the Commonwealth Games is not an achievement, then one wonders what defines the word ‘achievement’.
