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After sounding mightily optimistic about India’s lawn bowling chances before the Commonwealth Games commenced, coach Madhukant Pathak was left a tad disappointed as his troops returned home sans a contribution in the medal tally. However, it is not that the contingent failed to impress – for, in a nation where lawn bowling fails to ring a bell, a top-eight finish in three events deserves its own applause.
But, with India producing their best-ever performance at the CWG since the 2010 Games in New Delhi, winning 66 medals with 26 gold medals, it was natural that the efforts of the lawn bowlers went unnoticed. In a country where perfection runs forth, the "so-near-yet-so-far" efforts are often overlooked but for Pathak, what stood out was the passion and the willingness to improve and learn in a sport that is hardly regarded as one in India.
Such was the motivation amongst the 10-member lawn bowling team that the Indians landed in Australia almost two months before the marquee event was to take place. With only one natural green surface in India, the first challenge that awaited them was to get acclimatised to the natural grass that would be in play in Gold Coast. Along with concentrating on their on-field preparations, the Indian lawn bowlers also had to devote time to cooking and cleaning their accommodation in Australia, which, according to Pathak affected their attention levels.
“We would practice from 8 am to 7 pm in Australia and when we returned back to our accommodation, we had to cook ourselves as well. Obviously, this affected our concentration levels. The players from other countries had the liberty to focus on their preparations alone, and this did put us in the back seat.” However, not one to give excuses, Pathak was highly proud of his squad and despite the lack of facilities in India, the performances that were pitched in left him beaming.
“Despite being in Australia for two months, we only managed to play local clubs and at times, Malaysia and New Zealand amongst the international countries. As we do not even play the World Cup, we lack in international match experience but despite that, we managed to defeat teams like Wales, Australia, England, South Africa in different events. The Women’s Pairs team of Lovely Choubey and Rupa Tirkey defeated Wales 20-16 in their first match. Wales is ranked the number one team in this category. So, I will not say that we did not perform well.”
Along with the Women’s duo, the Men’s Fours team and the Women’s Fours also advanced into the quarters. “Out of 32 nations, to finish amongst the top-eight is really commendable. Each match that we lost in the quarters were really close encounters. These games depend on luck as well and it played its part in the Women’s Fours. The player from Malta accidentally collided her ball with ours when we were 4 points ahead in the last game in the quarters. The game had to be played again, so these things happen but I would say that our display in the CWG was a great one indeed.”
“Even though we managed to push our bowling speed from 13 seconds to 19 seconds, we still have certain issues to work on. The main aspect that we have to improve is our mindset and the ability to not panic in pressure situations. Our ground was changed before the quarters and the major change was that the match was televised. None of our players has been subject to this before and it is natural that they got scared, nervous and shaky.”
Asked about the ways his players can manage their nerves better, the coach stated that it is a long process that cannot be overhauled overnight. “We play just one National and at the most, we participate in the Asian Championships but even in this, the highest-ranked team Malaysia play in just one event. We hardly play countries like Australia, England and Wales and have never gotten the opportunity to turn out in the World Cup. How can we then, remain calm in high-octane matches, like the CWG? Handling emotions in such situations cannot be coached. The players themselves to have improve upon it but if we do not play frequently, I do not see this happening.”
The government too has a part to play in this, believes Pathak. “As of now, the government does not recognise lawn bowling in India and except the CWG, they do not fund us either. Even the Asian Championships were not funded, and we had to spend from our pockets to participate in it. Each event costs approximately one lakh rupees and these athletes, most of whom are unemployed, can in no way afford the expenses. Hence, due to the lack of finances, we are unable to play higher-ranked teams frequently.”
“Not only should lawn bowling be recognised in India but plans for expansion should begin as well. We just have 20 good players in the country as of now and if junior programs are started in school, we can really become a force to reckon with.”
Elaborating on the issues plaguing the grassroot levels, Ranchi’s Pathak was uninhibited in expressing his angst at the way things pan out in the Nationals. “Jharkhand is undoubtedly the best lawn bowling state in India and for the last 4 years, we have been winning all 13 medals that are on offer. But, the Federation works in such a manner that it becomes imperative for us to select people from Assam, Haryana and the other states in the national team. Why should that be the case? If the athletes from Jharkhand are the best, then why do we have to look at players from other states?”
“Along with this, only five of the 28 Associations participate in the Nationals. For lawn bowling to improve, the Federation, along with the government, should make it mandatory for all states to participate. Unless that happens, India as a lawn bowling nation can never progress. But, despite that, I would say that even with a 2500-strong crowd against us in the quarters, we managed to come back with our heads held high.”
From finding it tough to get videos of their opponent teams, that would enable the Indians to understand the strategies of the rivals, to being the only team to be playing without a psychologist in the CWG, the Indian lawn bowling squad did have their own obstacles and even though they failed to win a medal, they did return from Australia with a performance worth cherishing.
