I was perturbed to learn that more than the 62 Indian
participants to the Sydney 2000 Olympics, there are
more officials who are going to accompany them (that
includes coaches, managers, medical staff, masseur,
physiotherapist, sports ministry and even a
stenographer!) who would be spending time doing
sightseeing and making lots of purchases! With such
a callous attitude on the part of the authorities, it
comes as no surprise that India have failed to make
any impact in the Olympics over the years and have
consistently ended at the bottom of the table. The
problem lies in the fact that losing has become such
a fond habit in our country in the sports department
that it is no longer considered as a disgrace. This
forms the basic reason as to why no conspicuous
effort has been made to gauge the pathetic performance of
our boys, which is only worsening with the passing of
each Olympics. Participating in tournaments has become a
sort of a lucrative business for the authorities
where the players are used as tools to rake in optimum
money with no emphasis being laid on their performance.
This year too our performance is not going to change
for the better but the officials who are
accompanying our team need not rue about anything for they are
not bothered about how our team fares in the Olympics
anyway. Irrespective of our performance, they are
going to return home with a broad grin on their
faces carrying bulky luggages having reminiscence about
their long, pleasant yet memorable trip to> Australia.
What a national waste and a shame!
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