Pankaj Advani explains why India should not adopt China's model for Olympics and non-Olympic sports

Pankaj Advani won the gold medal in the 2006 Asian Games
Pankaj Advani won the gold medal in the 2006 Asian Games

2-time Asian Games gold medalist Pankaj Advani gave his view on the models that India should adopt in the sports department. Pankaj believes that the Indian bodies should not follow the Chinese strategy of picking up youngsters and throwing them in any sport. Instead, they should adopt the United States and Australian models.

In an exclusive chat with Indranil Basu on Sportskeeda's Facebook page, Pankaj Advani discussed a range of interesting topics. He talked about the growth of sports in India and opined that there was no need to adopt China's strategies.

China just catches youngsters and throws them in academies: Pankaj Advani

China has achieved much success in the Olympics. The Chinese sports contingent finished 3rd in the medal tally of the Rio Olympics 2016, with 26 golds, 18 silvers, and 26 bronze medals. They are expected to continue their dominance at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics 2021. Besides this, China has also dominated the game of snooker.

However, Pankaj Advani feels that their training methods were not something that other countries should adopt.

"In India, we need a holistic approach towards developing an athlete like China, but of course, we cannot follow the China model because they just catch youngsters and throw them in academies. Something like the Australian model or the US model would probably work better for us," Pankaj Advani said.

The 35-year-old from Pune felt there is a need for more funds from the government to follow the US or the Australian model in India. He further explained that China was a communist country, and they forced individuals to take up sports that they were good at even if they did not enjoy playing them.

Pankaj labeled China's approach as 'robotic' and signed off by saying that routine was important in sports, but there was no need for a mechanical system.

Quick Links

Edited by Ritwik Kumar