Will 1981 be any better than 1980 in sports?

If Indian sports can be compared to anything at all, it is probably the weather - it is pleasant one day and depressing the next. The year 1980 could not have opened on a sunnier note. India won the fifth Test match against the touring Pakistani cricket team at Madras to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the rubber after which Sunil Gavaskar temporarily relinquished the captaincy.This was followed by an individual triumph when badminton ace Prakash Padukone became the first Indian to win the prestigious All-England title. Cricket and hockey teams have been extended the red carpet and confetti treatment by enthusiastic fans, but Padukone became the first individual to receive this sort of welcome - including a ceremonial parade through the streets of Bangalore.Then came the hockey triumph at the Moscow Olympics. V. Bhaskaran's young team overcame limited opposition to recapture the gold once more after 16 years. As the year drew to an end, tennis star Vijay Amritraj brightened things up a bit by emerging runner-up in the $ 320,000 (Rs 25,60,000) World Championship Tennis Challenge Cup in Montreal.Reverses: The reverses, predictably, were not slow in coming. The Indian cricketers, under a new captain, Gundappa Vishwanath, lost the Golden Jubilee Test against England in Bombay, making people wonder whether the earlier victories were well merited. Padukone. in an attempt to beard the Indonesian lions in their den at Jakarta in the World Badminton Championships, lost to Hadiyanto and returned unsung.Padukone (left) and Amritraj: Professionalism is the only answerThe hockey team, for its part, cooled its heels at home for the rest of the year. The national team being prepared for the PIA Champions Cup tourney in Karachi this month heard to its dismay that India's entry had been withdrawn. It was new Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) president I, D. Mahajan who made this sensational announcement within hours of assuming office. The reason for abstaining was, apparently, that the Indians were not sufficiently prepared to face the best teams in the world. But Bhaskaran in Bangalore described the act as amounting to "putting the clock back and upsetting the boys who were ready for any opponent".Indifferent Officials: Viewed in isolation, the decision was, to put it mildly, surprising. But considered in the overall context, whether it was a right decision or not, it stressed the enormous power officials wield over the players. It indicated a state of affairs where, more often than not, the superstar is not a player of the game but the secretary of an association. It was also a reminder of the fact that capability comes second and parochial considerations first. That the hockey players hold the losing end of the stick was also illustrated by an incident during their training. The normal daily allowance for players attending the seleclion naming camp was Rs 16 whereas national teams being prepared for the Asian Games are entitled to Rs 19. It was at the initiative of Gurbux Singh, NIS (South Centre) chief, that the team for Karachi was considered as a team in preparation for the Asian Games. None of the IHF officials cared to get this done. The extra Rs 3 may seem a measly amount but it illustrated firstly the indifference of Federation officials, and secondly, the pittance that the game pays.India Vs Spain in Moscow Olympics: A gold after 16 yearsLast year is littered with incidents which were the result of petty politics and in different administration. Hockey star Aslam Sher Khan, who, as a fullback, served India well, quit the game. He gave up at the age of only 27 because he couldn't stand the "shabby treatment at the hands of the authorities".And if officials team up to ruin a player's career, they are equally adept at tackling each other. When the Soviet women's hockey team came to India, for example, the Bombay Hockey Association and the Bombay Women's Hockey Association engaged in a slanging match which was more entertaining than anything that was played on the field.Questionable System: The Amateur Athletic Federation of India can't agree to decide on a single issue. So fragmented is the Federation that it has been unable to meet even once in the past four years. Canadian George Zellar, who was in India to train the Moscow-bound boxers, quit because "the system here is such that no one can do anything". News reader and sports commentator Surajit Sen resigned from the All India Council of Sports because he thought it served little purpose. Bishen Singh Bedi, former Indian cricket captain, who single handedly made the North Zone a force to reckon with, launched in a tit of frustration, an all out attack on the Delhi District Cricket Association.Delhi crowds watch Gavaskar play the Australians: Number one spectou sportIn the ensuing battle, a rival organisation was formed, and five Ranji Trophy players, who withdrew hours before a match, were suspended. Down south in Andhra Pradesh, all team members of the Hyderabad XI were sacked when they appeared in track suits for training on the eve of their match in the Moin-ud-Dowla cricket tournament.To top this all was the very sorry spectacle of the Bharatiya Janata Party leader V.K. Malhotra and his Asian Games Organising Committee being derecognised by the Indian Olympic Association. The stewardship of the Games was then duly handed over to Union Civil Supplies Minister V.C. Shukla after a political struggle, the like of which has never been witnessed in sport before. The most notable result of this was that work on the Games suffered.Sports Neglected: The point that emerges from the midst of these squabbles and intrigues is that neither the player nor the sports fan really cares who is running the show. But with the officials the question is really who runs the show - not of how ii is run. And this, invariably, is the point of conflict between players and officials.Today, the Board of Cricket Control is the object of envy of every sport federation. The autonomy it enjoys is almost entirely owing to the fact that it doesn't have to approach the Government for financial assistance each time it wants to send a team abroad. The Board, however, has had its share of troubles with the top players. That the players have formed an association of their own has contributed to much of the give and take, which was not so before. Unlike other sportsmen, cricketers know what they want, how much they want, and how they can get it. But then, the Board can afford to give them what they want as long as their demands are reasonable. Hockey players, on the other hand, even in their heyday, have never demanded or earned much.To compare any other sports federation or association with the Board would therefore be unfair. Several factors have gone into making cricket financially viable. The sports media has done considerably, and so have the players whose international performances of late - individually and collectively - have been very good. Moreover, the Board has been run by people who have displayed dedication and a sense of good management. After all, it was not till many years ago that hockey was the number one spectator sport over and above cricket.Sponsorship: Most sports bodies in the country are now trying to attract sponsorship. Cricket, which has so much money of its own, attracts sponsors easily but it is difficult for a game like basketball to do so. Even football doesn't, though the game enjoys enormous popularity in West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The All India Football Federation (AIFF) cannot afford to send teams abroad unless there is generous financial assistance from the Government. The Indian Football Association (IFA) which conducts football in West Bengal is far better off. Ashoke Ghosh, who took over as AIFF secretary early in 1980 after having done a long stint as secretary of lFA. said that he had various schemes lined up. but "the problem is money."But if football is doing badly, it can take consolation from the fact that basketball, for example, is truly in the dumps. Indian player G. Dilip owes the basketball federation and the Karnataka State Basketball Association considerable money for his trip to Moscow as also for an earlier trip to Tokyo. "My bank job gives me enough to keep the family going," he laments. "But where am I going to get the money to repay my loans?"Professionalism Needed: Though the climate in India is not conducive to professionalism sportsmen have begun to realise that it is the only answer. The quickest to learn have been the tennis players led by the Amritraj brothers. (Vijay Amritraj was among the top 10 international earners in 1980 with prize money of more than Rs 19 lakh). Padukone has left for Copenhagen to play with a club as a professional for one year. But this is not always possible, for two reasons. In team games, the scope is limited. Moreover, to turn professional, a player has to be as good as Padukone or the Amritraj brothers in his game.Since the Government subsidises several sports activities in the country, it is in a position to demand that officials make the best use of taxpayers' money. But there is an almost total lack of interest and officials carry on their private games off the field.The important question is, will 1981 be any better than 1980? Sports officials would chorus an enthusiastic 'yes', but who believes them anyway?Published By: AtMigration Published On: Nov 29, 2013 11:24 IST--- ENDS ---

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Will 1981 be any better than 1980 in sports?

Badminton ace Prakash Padukone became the first Indian to win the prestigious All-England title. Cricket and hockey teams have been extended the red carpet and confetti treatment by enthusiastic fans, but Padukone became the first individual to receive this sort of welcome.

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