How can India meet Chinas medal count by the

2024 Olympics?
By Aditi Mittal
Abstract
Tis essay outlines some of the problems that have contributed to the poor performance of Indian athletes at the
Olympics. I attempt to set up a system, identify the stakeholders at each level, determine incentives, and lay down
a structured mechanism capable of being scaled up or replicated. To ensure consolidated eforts at the national
level, the plan must be focused and results oriented; it also needs to clearly lay out accountability, responsibility, and
incentives with proper control. A change in outlook of Indians toward sports can convert immense potential into
glorious wins at the Olympics.
Kheloge kudoge to honge kharab, padhoge likhoge to banoge nawab: this popular Hindi quote captures the essence of the
Indian mind-set toward sports. If this is what is preached in an average Indian home, then India, which makes up
17.8 percent of the worlds population, has a long way to go to meet Chinas medal count by the 2024 Olympics.
India may be a country with 1.2 billion people that has mammoth potential, but it has a low efective participating
population due to a number of acute problems.
At the government level, there is severe policy paralysis, lack of sports infrastructure, favoritism in athlete and coach
selection, rampant corruption, meager fund allocation, and misuse of budgets. And at the grassroots level, there is
nutrition defciency, lack of awareness and economic incentives for sports, overemphasis on cricket, poor media coverage,
insufcient encouragement from parents and school, and, most important, uncertainty.
As per the statistics, of the total 962 medals to be won at London Olympics 2012, India competed for only 68 medals (7
percent) and won 6 medals (8.8 percent of medals for which it competed).
Tere seems to be a colossal structural problem rising from the grassroots level all the way up to higher-level values and
beliefs. With unchecked corruption evident in the organization of the Commonwealth Games, can government be given
sole responsibility for leading India toward Olympic medals wins? Can nongovernment bodies independently stand up
for the countrys pride at the Olympics? Te answers seem more negative than positive.
Te problem has three tiers: funding the creation and operations of physical infrastructure, creating awareness
and providing incentives, and ensuring efective and transparent governance linking the government and
nongovernment organizations.
Te approach to make India shine at the Olympics has to be formal, focused, results oriented, and sustainable, aimed at
creating a complete ecosystem for the athletes personal and professional development. Te requisite eforts for such a
focused initiative need to evolve gradually, as the roadblocks to attain success are immense and diverse. Te long-term
vision should be to create self-sustainable sports cities in an environment of transparency, passion, determination, and the
will to excel.
One potential mechanism could be the government creating a world-class sports academy to provide training
infrastructure as per international sporting standards. An informed decision needs to be taken on the number of sports
that India needs to participate in at Olympics, which will be a function of elements such as the number of medals in a
given sport, the ease of facility creation and provision, the level of awareness and interest, past performance in the sport,
and the ability to convert potential into winning performance.
Te academy can be constructed through a public-private partnership, in which the private entity is given incentive
through tax benefts and special-economic-zone allocations, while the government is ensured of a constant stream of
funds. Te academy should be equipped with world-class physical equipment and infrastructure, and athletes should have
access to the fnest coaches, nutritionists, dieticians, physiotherapists, mental trainers, sparring partners, masseurs, and so
on. Continual global benchmarking should be undertaken to ensure physical infrastructure excellence and conformity
with sporting regulations.
Te creation of infrastructure is futile unless we are able to attract the right sporting talent and ensure proper governance.
Tis facility should function like a corporate organization, in which each sport acts as a separate department and each
athlete performs like an employee.
Trough a transparent auction, each sport should be given as a baby to a corporate, HNI, or nongovernment
organization that will be responsible for the development of the sport and for bringing about result-oriented
performance. Te auctions should be based on the willingness and ability of the sport owners to fund the sport,
managerial potential, national standing, brand, a detailed action plan, and meritorious performance (if bidding for
consecutive years). Te process should be repeated in a four-year cycle. Te sport owners can be provided incentive
through mechanisms such as tax benefts, subsidies, cash compensation for every international medal win, and branding
and promotion opportunities at all government-organized district- and state-level athletic competitions. Te government
can in turn form a committee and independently monitor these sport owners for performance and compliance.
Te next step would be to create awareness and interest in sports so as to attract athletes. To move in this direction,
sports need to be incorporated into academic curriculum from class one, including both physical training and theoretical
knowledge, with material incentives such as grants to schools with outstanding athlete turnout. Summer camps should
be organized at district and state levels in association with local clubs, sporting schools, and youth organizations. Current
international-level winners from India should be respected, compensated with money and job security, and positioned
in ways that allow them to become role models for aspiring athletes. National and regional celebrities need to be given
incentive to be associated with the academy and entrusted with activities for promoting each of the sports. An annual
television program on the lines of Indian Idol or Kaun Banega Crorepati could help identify existing talent and attract the
public with awards.
Building on awareness, we need to attract talented people, screen them for admission to the academy, and give them
incentive to do their best at all times.
Screening can use two tiers: on one hand, the government could organize mandatory sporting events at district and state
levels, with cash prizes and scholarships, and on the other hand, the academy could determine independent thresholds
for each sport. Admission to the academy would be ofered to winners and to people meeting or crossing the threshold.
Some qualitative measures such as dedication and exposure should also be included to ensure capability and consistency.
Te athletes should be inducted into the academy as employees with performance-based pay, free education, job
opportunities, medical insurance, and PF/gratuity facilities to give them economic security and contentment. Some
recreational opportunities and vocational training may be ofered to make the sport more engaging and balanced. As
employees, athletes should be appraised biannually to review progress and identify training needs.
Te ecosystem may not be complete unless the athletes parents are a part of it. To ensure encouragement and support,
parents can be ofered incentives such as relocation allowances or free education for a sibling. If parents
do not support the sporting opportunity for the child, all other eforts will be in vain.
Te entire system should be transparent and a point of national pride. Success stories, rich experiences, and achievements
must be made public. Implementation of incentive oferings for each stakeholder will be crucial for the functioning of
this system. Te system must be fexible to incorporate change and scale up in size with experience and learning. And
the long-term focus should be to tackle issues at their roots, for example, by ensuring proper nutrition, creating more
awareness of sports, building proper infrastructure, reducing corruption, and providing proper governance.
China started Project 119, aiming to win the 119 gold medals available in the events in which the country participated;
the United Kingdom started its lottery funding; the United States used its college-sports mechanism to increase Olympic
wins. Can India not create its Kaun Banenge Olympic Champions?
Can we not replicate such an academy and create clubs to give birth to an Athletic IPL? Its time to wake up the
nation, educate people, create a movement, determine targets, execute plans, cross barriers, and march toward winning
at the Olympics.