High time to fix accountability to avoid India’s continuous poor performance in international sports

India was expected to bag a double-digit medal count including at least two gold medals in the recently concluded Paris Olympics. This was a very realistic assessment considering the 117-strong contingent with several world-class athletes. 

However, India’s performance in the marquee event was underwhelming. Under the circumstances, Vinesh Phogat issue rankles that much more. Having beaten the mighty Yui Susaki, she was clearly the favourite for the gold when the unfortunate weight issue emerged.

Moreover, as many as six fourth-place finishes also hurt India. It means something is ailing Indian sports to cross the finishing line in international arena. We can indeed convert them into medals if we keep supporting them in their quest. 

Let’s have a look at what is actually ailing Indian sports:

Managing Athletes

As per several experts, where India went wrong was in managing the athletes in the mega event. The support staff that includes the nutritionists and sports scientists must take responsibility for the Antim Phangal issue. How is it that she had no energy left during her bout? She starved for 48 hours to make weight. It is evident with the development that something went wrong. 

A similar thing occurred with boxer Amit Phangal. Most importantly, Vinesh case calls for serious introspection. There is a huge question over the role of world class coaches and support staff following the heart-breaking incident.

Players’ Accountability

It's not like earlier times that Indian players lacked facilities and funds. So, it’s high time that our players should step up and win as expected. 

According to Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone, the Government, Sports Authority of India, and Sports Ministry have done their best. However, it’s up to the players to have accountability.

“I don’t think anyone could have done anything more than what the Government has done. I think the players also need to take responsibility,” said Padukone.

Psychological Aspect

It’s not that Indian sportspersons are performing that much badly in international arena. However, it is the biggest stage of the sports like Olympics where they used to flatter. It seems as if they need the little psychological boost and meticulous planning to get success at the biggest sports extravaganza in the world.

Take the case of archery and badminton. Indian players used to perform well in the international arena on a continuous basis. However, they fail to emulate their performances in Olympics.

Dhiraj Bommadevara and Ankita Bhakat came very close in mixed archery. Lakshya Sen blew up a one-game advantage and 8-3 lead. Satwik and Chirag were also one-game up and leading 14-10 in the decider before bowing out. None of these players lack potential, but accountability needs to be fixed and they should take responsibility and have confidence in them.

While Lakshya Sen made history by becoming the first Indian male shuttler to reach the Olympic semifinals, his bronze medal match loss to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia underscored a recurring theme of near misses for the team. PV Sindhu, a strong medal contender, lost in the round of 16 to China’s He Bing Jiao. 

As per experts, the psychological issues of the players could not be resolved by appointing sports psychologists only. It is also up to the players to draw energy from self motivation and take the onus on them to come up with flying colours at big events like Olympics.