The Keedas hollowing Indian Sports (oh no, not the SportsKeeda)

A call to the real Keedas by one of the parasitic ones threatened them to remove certain parts from a AIFF bashing article, but I am sure Kalmadi wouldn’t have called IOC which has threatened India to be banned from Olympics. How could he? Do they have ISD facility in Tihar? The second most populated nation with about 30% youth, yet stands last in per capita Olympic Medals. I suppose all the athleticism goes in the bed to beat China not in medals but population. And before you invoke the “poor people, hungry people” argument know that Cuba, Kenya, Kazakhistan are not the best places in the world yet they perform. Hockey was once our forte, thankfully they keep breaking records for their ebbing World rankings. And if you think Cricket is killing other sports in India, I must tell you I am more biased against it, self promotion it is but read ‘For the hate of the game called Cricket’ on this site only. The official and alleged budgets of CWG 10′ are 11k and 70k crores, but Govt decreases the Annual Sports Budget to 1k crores. Yes we are saving it for the Olympics bid esp. after we have failed to seize 2014 Asian Games. I can go on and on with such facts but let me now pick on the Keedas feeding on Indian sports.

Administrators

I would not be exaggerating much if I say all the Bosses reigning on their fiefdom are corrupt and/or inefficient and/or inappropriate and/or biased, sorry I am running out of adjectives. Its hard to get whypeople from politics and bureaucracy, who have no expertise of the sports whatsoever are the one in charge of it. You have a Ulti-Multi-Stud Mr ‘Power’ who can handle his constituency, ministry, party, BCCI, ICC all at the same time. I wonder if Lord Vishnu with his those many hands could have matched him. Then you have the Secretary Mr Srinivasan who owns Chennai Super Kings and then blames Mr Modi of nepotism and corruption. Let me give you some more names:-

Lalit Bhanot (former athlete): Secretary, Athletics Federation for 24 yrsRandhir Singh (shooter): IOA vice-president for 23 yrsSuresh Kalmadi (politician, Congress): IOA president for 15 yrsJagdish Tytler (politician, Congress): Judo federation president for 12 yrsSatish Sharma (politician, Congress): Aero Club president for 24 yrsVK Malhotra (politician, BJP): Archery president for 31 yrsAjay Chautala (politician, INLD): TT Federation president for 10 yrsYashwant Sinha (politician, BJP): Tennis head for 9 yrsAbhay Singh Chautala (politician, INLD): Boxing Federation president for 8 yrs

We see where the "Inspiration" comes from.

Have you ever seen a similarly impressive medal tally? They come all together irrespective of political differences when Govt wants to sack them but none have a voice to raise for bizarre sacking of Jose Brasa (picked Indian Hockey from their debacle in Olympics), Bob Houghton (got AFC, entry to Asian Cup after 27 years), Chertkov (got first ever Gymnastic medal in CWG, yet GFI president asks him just one Bronze. How does one say WTF in Russian?). AIFF says they have a Vision India Plan but how do we believe them if President Praful Patel prefers attending Cricket rather than to their U-23 team in Myanmar. And the saga never stops. We need consistent and autonomous Coaches, Agents and Professionals, not you Minister.

Media & Corporate

India goes into Asian Cup after 27 years and Media prefers showing how Cricket India is preparing for the WC. We remember Laxman’s 281 against Australia in 2001, but Pullela Gopichand‘s All England Championship seeks an entry in our memory lane. Media in itself so powerful to create a buzz, but sadly here it follows it. For instance Somdev is a star during CWG, but there is no follow up on him, Somdev vs Nadal is not a news. Media can play a much bigger conducive role for sports, report that she is Roland Garros Doubles Final and not what she has to say on pre-marital sex. Media can not only would draw in spectators but sponsors too.

And dint we get the World Cup.

Similarly we need funding and Corporate involvement, for definitely we are not incompetent to explore the market outside cricket and capitalize on it while benefiting the sports world too. Yes we in India do buy passes worth 1000 bucks to see matches in Manchester United Cafe. Take Sporstkeeda for example, started as a group of sports blogger and already has big following and sponsored a local Basketball tournament, you can create and excel in your niches. Okay there is AIFF President Praful Patel to announce cash prizes for T20 WC winners, but who would heed to the needs of the Hockey players who once boycotted practice sessions for their dues weren’t met. The exuberance of F1 thrills us but Karthikeyan had to fight hard to get a sponsor, and now that we have an Indian Grand Prix scheduled I hope money would flow in. Why cant Corporates support academies, sponsor tournaments and players from their CSR funds and earn good name, its a win-win thing.

Us

Much said about them, why dont we look into the mirror now? As sportsmen and/or fans, how much do we do our part? Why an Amritraj reckoned along with names like Borg and Connors faded away? Why Sania is not known for her increasing rankings but for her personal life? Why everytime the cliché of a ‘billion nation yet no medals, no football team’ has to be invoked? Many sports writer say we dont have the winning obsession, are complacent and get slack; have you ever noticed the ever increasing under-arm biceps and paunches of Yuvraj, Bhajji and Sehwag? Boria Mojumdar, a sports historian says “We were a colony, we have the inferiority complex,” and I am not sure whether to agree with him or not. And for the fans, its sometimes hard to get the reason for their support, whether its the appreciation for the game or just the entertainment factor. One of my friends argued IPL provide super-entertainment and I replied so does ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Bahu Thi’ too to many. One could notice the pouring of articles including this one for the I-Phone contest for we are too lazy sometimes to do something without incentive. As a personal experience if you really like a sport and follow it, then support it, spread awareness and attend if any matches are going around. I assure it will not cost you much unless its F1 or IPL. So after you read this. don’t hold back from criticizing or appreciating the article if you really feel to.

Appreciate, Support and Enjoy – the simple calling of any sport.