National Sports Day special: 5 things to hope for in Indian sports

4. More investment, better infrastructure and opportunities

Better opportunities for the youngsters

For a long time now, many have placed the blame for India’s incompetence at the international level on the appalling nature of the country’s infrastructure, as Indian athletes have been shortchanged in terms of equipment, coaching and facilities in comparison to their foreign counterparts.

However, over the years, there has been a visible change in focus towards aiding opportunities for sports and athletics in India, thanks in no small measure to the investment made in the country from within as well as abroad.

European football clubs, having seen India’s massive market and growing interest in the sport, have started camps and schools in order to build a fanbase and possibly, unearth a hidden gem that is bound to be lying in a country of more than a billion.

Tennis is another sport that has benefited from the Indian public’s new spending power, while the NBA also has been repetitively probing the country as a market for its league, with big names from the sport travelling to India to help it gain visibility among the masses.

Thanks to the establishment of India as one of the world’s premier racing locations with the advent of the Indian F1 Grand Prix, motorsports have become a sport popular with the affluent, while the success of Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and PV Sindhu have elevated badminton’s status once again.

Due to all these opportunities, grassroots-level infrastructure has slowly seen improvement, with the country’s dust bowls making way for artificial turfs and modern techniques.

More investment only bodes well for the country, opening more doors in terms of coaching and infrastructure, which will in turn allow Indian youngsters to stand at par with the rest of the world.