Let’s find a way to invest in India’s sporting future

HS Prannoy at an event in the city. Pic/Aishwarya Deodhar

There were several hear, hear moments from badminton champion H S Prannoy's recent meet 'n' greet with the press in Mumbai. The champion, who won a bronze medal in the men's singles and a silver in the team event at the recent Asian Games, spoke about Gen Next in an interactive session.

What he said was relevant not just to badminton but to start the assembly line of champions. First, is that physical infra, though important, is not enough. There has to be opportunity for those who have reached the top in their academy to play against other top players. Otherwise, one will not improve or move beyond if there is nobody to push you. People will recall India's track athlete P T Usha.

Whether she had the opportunity or not, is out of the scope of this edit. What is important is to note that after a while, there was no competition for Usha in India, and effectively in training she was racing against the clock. So, it is vital that avenues to go up against those equal or better than you, leads to improvement and taking that leap.

The other is that while money is coming into sport and we are getting results, domestic, junior tourneys need to have better prize money. This way, juniors can at least cover their travel expenses with the prize money. If things get too tough financially or parents are inordinately strained, then, there is the very real possibility of promising talent quitting as it is just too difficult to carry on playing. This is ground reality and when we talk grassroots, nurturing champions of tomorrow or future of Indian sport, this is what we need to look at and remedy.

Finally, we may need to find a way to bring former greats back into the sporting system, talking to coaches, becoming mentors, passing on their valuable experience garnered for Gen Next. The ace made some valid points.