Why is a troubled corner of India not basking in Olympic glory?
By Patricia Mukhim
While the country of one billion is in celebration mode, the people of Northeast India are feeling left out and wronged. Manipur’s L. Monika Devi, a medal hope for India in weightlifting, lost the opportunity to prove herself because of a dope test that was tweaked. Monika Devi was first declared to have tested positive. For a moment, Manipuris hang their heads in shame, even as the picture of an anguished Monika tearfully pleading her innocence before TV cameras wrenched at our heartstrings. And then, just after the Beijing contingent was finalized, came the announcement from the Sports Authority of India that the dope test was not, after all, positive. Monika was cleared of the charges, but not soon enough for her to board the Beijing-bound plane.
How could the highest sporting body be so callous when dealing with a prospective medalist? A dope test is by all means a complex process. Instances of weightlifters testing positive are common, and not just in India. But only when the tests are positive beyond any reasonable doubt, is action taken against the offender. In Monika’s case, the condemnation came faster than the authenticity of the test. Refuting and challenging the results in a country where even post-mortem reports of highly sensitive cases are fudged is a tall order.
Most shocking, however is the complete lack of remorse over this monumental blunder. Neither SAI nor the IOA consider it appropriate to apologize for the goof-up. That there is complete disregard for the sentiments of the players by the sports ministry mandarins and the creamy layer of sporting associations, is an understatement. For athletes coming from a region that already feels alienated, to be subjected to such ignominy is akin to being treated as children of a lesser god.
The Northeast is a natural talent pool for sports like archery, football and basketball (despite the short physique), boxing, weightlifting and martial arts. Even in the absence of standard training facilities, states of the region, particularly Manipur, continues to produce national champions. With just 0.2 per cent of the country’s population, Manipur has been producing Olympians, even though they have had to work doubly hard to make their mark in the highly competitive sporting arena, Manipur and Assam were placed second and third respectively in the last national games, next only to Services and ahead of all the mainland states.
But sports and politics go hand in hand in India. This dangerous combination ensures that those selected for training under the best coaches at home and abroad may not necessarily be the best athletes.
Anywhere else in the world, a billion-strong human resource would have been a goldmine from which to dig up nuggets of talent. It is important to ask ourselves why this has not happened in the case of India. Our obsession with cricket has made all other sports look like pastimes. We need to bring them to the level of cricket. Our selection process needs to be freed of nepotism and favouritism. It would be wrong to think that the people of the Northeast are deficient in patriotism. If this region has one serious drawback, it is that it has no one to pull the strings in the corridors of power in Delhi.
Unless India establishes a system where raw guts, hard training and fair competition can exist, we will continue to languish in the sporting dumps. But that can only happen when we begin to promote merit above all else.
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