Will Govt of India work for safe atmosphere in sports to boost Olympic medal tally?

By Sudhansu R Das
They are the true sons and daughters of India. They have made India proud by winning Olympic medals. Winning Olympic medals need extraordinary physical strength, mental toughness, strong determination, intelligence, single willed devotion and sacrifice which continue for long years right from childhood days. Indian wrestlers have not only made India proud by winning Olympic medals, they have kept alive India’s ancient wrestling tradition whose origin goes beyond recorded history. Lord Hanuman, Bali, Lord Balaram, Bhim and Jarasandha were the famous wrestlers as per the mythology.

Wrestling was an Indian sport which was very popular across the country. This sport had contributed to building strong kings, monarchs, warriors and die hard freedom fighters in the country. Today the Olympic medal winning Indian wrestlers are not seen in their wrestling arena; they are now fighting for justice in the heat and dust of Delhi.
Seven women wrestlers have reportedly lodged FIR against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, President of Wrestling Federation of India. They have requested the Prime Minister and the Sports Minister to help them get justice. A three quarters of the wrestlers believe Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s zero tolerance approach to sex crime will deliver justice for them. More than one month is over by now. It is too long a period and the professional wrestlers can’t afford to waste their time off the wrestling ring; it is a national waste only.
The government has assured them justice. It is a good sign. But, the investigation should be over as quickly as possible. A further delay in justice delivery will not send the right message to the sportsmen and general public across the world. Let the controversy be cleared with transparency so that the sports community would be happy to hone their skill again and win more medals for India.
In the developed west, the sexual harassment in sports field has also been reported which were proved and the culprits were punished in many cases. Such incidents from different states in India were also reported by the Indian media in the past decades. The reported incidents of sexual harassment in sports are one of the reasons why a large number of middle class families feel unsafe to send their teen age daughters for sports training. India which has a rich tradition of morality, middle class values and spiritualism should take all measures to curb any sexual predators in the sports sector across the country. There should be special investigation agencies to keep a hawk eye on the behavior patterns of people involved in the development of sports in every state as many sports personnel do not report the incidents fearing the end of their career and the loss of job opportunities.
Sports officials and coaches should be picked up after careful scrutiny; their moral behavior and discipline is most important for the future and reputation of Indian sports. The sportsmen dedicate themselves and risk their life to win Olympic medals. Nobody should play with the life and career of the sportsmen as the sportsmen sacrifice their youth to bring glory for the country. Olympic medals in sports is the highest achievement which needs an altogether different sports culture in the country.
A safe atmosphere should be created for the sportsmen so that it would encourage middle class families to send their children for sports training. Sports sector is very important for nation building and it is very much attached to the nation’s glory. Media houses should engage specially trained journalists to report sports activities on and off the fields. This is high time for India to fight for more medals in the Olympic games.

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