The O”LIMP”ICS

I never cease to be amazed at how, for several years now, China, almost as a matter of right, has bagged the highest number of gold medals at the Olympics. Just as how in the 70s and 80s, the erstwhile Soviet Union (which drew its athletes from nearly a dozen countries of today) was a dominant force in world sports.

In the past, India’s poor medals tally could perhaps be explained by the fact that we did not have good quality coaching, or that our athletes did not have access to world-classs nutritionists and diets. But now, many sporting bodies have been able to hire foreign coaches (how good they are is of course another matter entirely). Training facilities have improved; physical fitness regimes are now customized to individual athletes, and they are provided better food. And yet, our performance hasn’t changed all that much. Compare the number of medals the Chinese have won relative to the number of people they sent to the olympics and indeed, their country’s population and you will see my point. Of course, we recorded our best ever showing at the olympics in 2008. We won a gold medal and two bronze medals in individual events. Abhinav BIndra in fact won India’s first ever gold medal at an olympics. And that augurs well for the future. Maybe our recent wins will spur the government to do more for sports and encourage our talented youngsters to go all out. Maybe we will do better in 2012.