The spat between suspended Bharatiya Janata Party MP Kirti Azad and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association is a sad reflection of the state of affairs in India's sports administration.
Since Independence, a majority of our sports administration bodies have been controlled by politicians. This is the single-biggest reason for our lack of success in sports. Barring cricket and some recent success in badminton, decent achievements in doubles tennis, a commendable past record in squash and occasional medals in wrestling and boxing, we have not had a good run in other sports. Even our glory days in hockey were washed away by the machinations of our politicians.
There is no reason why sports bodies cannot be managed by distinguished sportsmen and sportswomen. They understand their respective sports, they are most likely to make sound decisions while selecting national teams and they can spot great coaches as well as inspire and motivate players. Yet politicians continue to be appointed to sports bodies to do a job about which they likely know nothing.
A country of 1.2 billion, with a systematic approach, methodical spotting of talent and scientific coaching, should have produced a decent number of medal winners in almost every sport. We have failed miserably where several smaller countries have excelled.
Krishan Kalra, Gurgaon
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