Key Takeaways and Lessons from Beijing for India

Now that the Beijing Olympics are history, what will history remember it for? Or better, what will history remember it in Indian context?

In terms of performance, it may not be a worthwhile performance when you compare it with other countries. But it was India’s best ever performance nevertheless. 3 medals at an Olympics is something India had never achieved. This was also the best rank India has ever managed at the games. India was ranked 50^th in the medals tally.

It is now time to introspect and see how did we fare? What went wrong and what was right for us?

There have been quite a few positives that India can take from these games:

1. The medal winners: The greatest takeaway from Beijing is the athletes who participated. We got to give them the credit they deserve. Abhinav Bindra, Suresh Kumar and Vijender Kumar were simply amazing and did not let the opportunity slip through their hands.
2. The rise of Boxing: Boxing has now risen to a level, where people are taking notice of it. India is now firmly on the world map. 5 Boxers into the games, 3 went to Quarterfinals and one winning the Bronze medal. The first ever in Indian Boxing history. Bhiwani has been baptized as the mini Cuba of India.
3. Wrestlers: Another high point! Only 3 wrestlers were sent, one (Yogeshwer Dutt) managed to go till quarterfinals, while one (Sushil Kumar) wins Bronze medal (through Repechage).
4. Shooters: The only positive in shooting was Abhinav Bindra. He was amazing. He was concentration personified. Rests were just to fill up the names. We need to put more emphasis on the shooters. Not that we do not have world class shooters. The shooters that were sent there are amongst the best in the world.
5. Badminton: Saina Nehwal was amazing. She was a revelation in her first Olympics. Better things can be expected from her in future.
6. Archers: Mangal Singh Champia and V Pranitha did fairly well. With proper support they can do better.
7. The media coverage: This was the first time that the media covered Olympics more than Cricket. This is a good sign and should be continued. This will only help in increasing the awareness about the sports.
8. Tennis: Lee-Hesh era may be over but all is not lost. Sania can be expected to bring laurels to India in future. She was unlucky to get injured at a wrong time.

Road Ahead:

1. Improve the management: The overall sports management needs to be improved. The administrators should be made accountable. Take a leaf out of BCCI’s book and do something to provide better funding to sports. A positive start has already been made by removing the present Hockey administration. This needs to be continued till we get the results.
2. Improve the funding: Get the funding in from all the possible sources. Not all sports are sale-able. But the avenues need to be searched. Government should come forward to improve the overall infrastructure. The prizes should be announced before rather than later. This would motivate the athlete to perform better. A performance management system might as well not be a bad idea.
3. Draw a road map and follow: We need to start now for the London dream. British had conquered India long back. The focus now should be to conquer London, although in terms of Sports only! Identify the sports that can give us more medals and work towards gaining experience in those sports. This has to be persistently followed to get the results. Rome was not built in a day. And do not let the memories of Beijing die.
4. Arrange more international level sports in India. This will give our athletes more exposure and experience. This way they will be aware of the international standards, as well as make the public also aware of these sports.

Let’s make sure that this does not go down in History as a one off event where India did well and take proper steps to reap the benefits.