Best of India is Medal Drought

Still, Tokyo 2020 could be a launchpad for us to transition to a sporting nation

- Soumitra Bose

In the month of July, the euphoria around the Indian cricket team’s World Cup cam­paign overshadowed a rare spree of achi­evement by the country’s less­glamorous sportspersons—boxers, shooters, wrestlers, archers and judokas. As Virat Kohli’s team broke the heart of a billion fans after losing a humdinger of a World Cup semifi­nal against New Zealand in England, a clutch of diehards were stretching every sinew in their bodies to win India an inter­national medal. The returns were impres­sive. Overwhelming, actually. Over 31 days, across nine disciplines, India garnered an eye­popping 227 medals in various competi­tions, most of them overseas.

Now comes the real deal, though. In less than 12 months’ time, India’s progress as a sporting nation will be thoroughly tested at the Tokyo Olympics next July. If India can win even three percent of its 227 medals, it would have surpassed the nation’s best tally of six medals at the 2012 London Games and five percent would help clinch the dream “double-digit” landmark. In the Land of the Rising Sun, will it be a new dawn for Indian sports?

For the government, Tokyo is but the launching pad for bigger, long-term goals. “Excellence in Olympics is important but it’s only a small part of making an entire nation sporty in mind and body,” says former sports minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, a silver medallist in shooting in the 2004 Athens Olympics. His observation is an extension of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “Jo khelta hai, woh khilta hai” (One who plays, shines) and ensuring “sports in everyone’s life”. While it will take time for India to become a sporting superpower, the signs of change are already visible.