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Subcontinental Drift: Games Plan
How to improve South Asia's Olympic medal haul
By APARISIM GHOSH
September 28, 2000
Web posted at 3:00 p.m. Hong Kong time, 3:00 a.m. EDT
Looks like my lamentation last week had its desired effect: ideas for boosting
South Asia's Olympic performances are now coming in fast and furious. Many, it
must be said, are predictable--build more stadiums, replace all the sports
boards, pay athletes more, catch 'em young, etc. Not to belittle any of these
suggestions: they are all perfectly valid. But they are also somewhat obvious.
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ASIAWEEK
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We know that the subcontinent is lacking in sports infrastructure, that our
sports administrators are usually corrupt or imbecile (and often both), that our
sportsmen and women don't get enough credit or pay, and that our selection and
training processes for athletes leave much to be desired. We've known all these
things for decades. But simply proposing that these be changed won't help.
INTERACTIVE
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The Subcontinental Drift message board -- sound-off about the news in South Asia to TIME
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So, for your perusal today, I've picked the ideas that come out of left field--
that are interesting and unusual. Some might strike you as completely off the
wall. But when you look at the medals table at the end of the Games and find
that South Asia has only two medals (I'm still hoping Pakistan bags bronze in
field hockey), I think you'll agree that getting off the wall is exactly what we
need. Here they are:
"Globalization has brought many multinational corporations to India;
with their immense wealth, they should be willing to formally 'adopt'
talented athletes. Or the Indian government could make it obligatory
for MNCs to sponsor athletes; in turn, the athletes would endorse
their products. The government may also provide a 5-8% tax break for
the sponsoring MNCs." Nandeesh Madapadi
"We need a marketing mechanism for sports: road shows, TV campaigns,
a full- blown media blitz. We need to get people by the horde to watch
sport--just as they watch movies." Dhirendra
"We should hire the best coaches from countries suffering from financial
problems. Russia and many East European countries have top coaches
but no money to retain them. These coaches are looking to move to
greener pastures and we must jump into the market aggressively." Raidu
"Nutrition is the key. Most of the South Asian diet is high in carbohydrates
and low on protein. We should encourage our pharmaceutical companies
to set up joint ventures with overseas companies to make energy--and
performance-boosting products. Since most of the Indians do not eat
meat, they should substitute with dietary and vitamin supplements--and
lots of exercise. This is the key to success against those well-fed
Westerners." Venky R. Gangu
"There should be school- and college-level leagues for all sports.
And players from these leagues should be selected to professional
league teams. Companies should sponsor these games. There should also
be a lot of TV coverage of these events--on ESPN, Zee TV, Doordarshan
and others. There should be an effort to improve this coverage to
make it more professional and glamorous. The sense of achievement
and the winning instinct can be generated from the glamour associated
with sports." Shashank Rohatagi
P.S: I'm off on a week's leave. Subcontinental Drift will return Oct. 12. But
the bulletin board will remain open at all hours, so keep your comments coming.
The Subcontinental Drift message board -- sound-off about the news
in South Asia to TIME
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