Its almost 72 years after we started taking care of ourselves which actually is a kind of downhill progress. Sports in particular was really great during the pre-independence days. It started to wind down as the days went. Main reason for it is the lack of importance and lack of funding. One example that I can quote is the condition of Indian hockey. They were invincible's during the era of Dhyan Chand. Today we are struggling to even qualify for the Olympic Games, one of the important reason being the change over of playing field from mud to synthetic turf. Since our govt didn't provide enough fund to develop the game, it is on the decline.
Today the conditions are changing and importance of sport is understood well and effort has been put to develop the same. Starting with Cricket, We were so dominant that people started talking about India as the team to beat in the CWC 19', but for a 45 minutes of mad batting, the world cup would have been ours.
Indian Football has seen a gigantic rise. There is a league called I- league which has been played for years with no great improvement. The introduction of ISL has attracted the crowd and it has become a showpiece event. Thanks to Sunil Chettri's Tweet which brought us together as fans and now the urge is there for the team to win and the fans to support the team even when they loose. They have moved forward with AFC cup last year and was so close to entering the third round. Hence Indian football is on the rise.
Athletics is always a see-saw ride as it depends mostly on the physique of a person than the skill. Lack of nutrition, lack of proper coaching and infrastructure hamper the development of athletes. Still many athletes who work on their own interest has garnered the world stage. It will take minimum 10 years for India to compete strongly on the world stage in athletics.
Kabbadi has always been our sport. We have always dominated the game and the introduction of Pro Kabbadi League has elevated the game to the next level. Iran as a country used this league to develop their national team which finished second in the world cup. Modernization of Kabbadi has done a lot of good to the game and India being the hub is just an icing on the cake.
Tennis has become a sad story for our country as no strong name has emerged after the legends Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi and Sania Mirza. Hope it develops soon and we can see our tri-colour at the grandslam event.
India Becoming A Sporting Nation is a work in progress. Hope it becomes one very soon
Cheers!!!!!
