Sachin Tendulkar's letter to Kapil Sibal to develop sports in India

Sachin Tendulkar has been a dominant force on the field for decades. He is also working on making a positive impact on sports off the field. Being a young prodigy in his heyday himself, he knows better then most the importance of starting off early in sports. Recently, he shared a proposal with the Human Resource Development Ministry to help make India a “multi sport nation”.

Sachin said: “For the first time in India’s sporting history, the opportunity is ripe for a fundamental overhaul. We now need to give the final push Indian sport has been waiting for. It is time we stop being cynical and stop parading the cliched line that six medals for a billion people is just not good enough. It is time to celebrate the initiation of sports culture in the country and celebrate the groundwork created at London for a fundamental overhaul of India’s sporting structure. This is our opportunity to chase our dream of becoming a successful sporting nation. It can well be that the dream turns real in Rio in 2016 and India can yet again double its medal count at the Olympics.”

Sachin’s vision is detailed and commendable. He has outlined a three-tier approach to achieve it:

1) Focusing on increasing awareness about the rich history of sports in India. Specifically add chapters in the history books about Indian hockey and Asian Games. Also, make performances in sports count more. Outside of school, there ought to be a national sports museum to celebrate the achievements of Indian sports legends.

2) This one seems to be taken from the IIMs. The idea is to set up top-notch sports facilities in five academic institutions in the north, south, east, west and north east to help integrate sports with higher education. This is inspired by the USA’s university system, which is a top breeding ground for sporting talent.

3) The next step is to develop centers of sporting excellence throughout India. Make centers the premier hub for developing sporting talent. For example, Haryana could have one focusing on wrestling and boxing, and be supplemented with the best infrastructure and support staff that can be acquired.

This brings to mind something I’ve read before from an amazing book by Jonah Lehrer. It has a section on why certain cities in USA routinely churn out superstar talent across particular sports. Jonah states three points in his theory for that:

1. The first thing to do is encourage kids when they’re young, driving the kids to baseball practice and Pop Warner tournaments. This doesn’t just allow children to develop their talent — it also lets coaches identify those with the most natural ability.

2. Second, there is a need to constantly celebrate athletic success. Winning teams get trophies and parades, coverage in the local newspaper, and the congratulations of the community.

3. Finally, there are mechanisms for cultivating those with athletic potential at every step of the process, from the Little Leagues to the NCAA to the major leagues. They are showered with attention and rewarded with huge contracts.

Sachin’s plan runs along the same lines. He has also advised the use of Facebook, Youtube and SMSs for aspiring talent to spread word of their prowess so that they can be better placed to catch the eye of scouts. The second point advocated by Jonah, on celebrating and encouraging sports through the community, has a similarity to ‘likes’ on Facebook and comments on people’s photos and statuses. Congratulations of the community comes from Facebook communities as well. The use of social media through platforms such as the ones which landed you on this article can play a pivotal role in scouting, harnessing and encouraging sporting talent.

Kapil Sibal has replied positively “We welcome Sachin Tendulkar’s proposal and I have already written to him inviting him for a presentation so that the details can be talked through. Once that is done we will ask both CBSE and NCERT to look into how sports can be made an integral part of the school curriculum.”

We just have to wait and watch to see if the next step is taken between Sachin and Sibal. According to Sachin, India hopefully will be able to bid for the 2024 or 2028 Olympics.

Whether we ought to is another question:https://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/09/28/should-india-make-a-bid-for-the-olympics/