 "Anju Bobby George, archer Abhishek Verma, and Tata Steel’s chief of Sports Excellence Centre Mukul Choudhari")
At a time when India is throwing its hat into the ring in the hope of winning the bid to host the 2036 Olympics, former long jumper and Khel Ratna awardee, Anju Bobby George, made a bold assertion at the inaugural edition of the Business Standard summit, Business Manthan, on Wednesday. “By 2036, we’ll be at the top.”
The two-day, high-profile event, marks 50 years of Business Standard’s publication.
Anju was part of the panel discussion that included India’s ace compound archer Abhishek Verma, and the CEO of Jamshedpur football club Mukul Choudhari. The trio discussed the challenges and the road map ahead for India’s sporting ecosystem.
“The government has put in a lot of effort. We are waiting for the 2036 Olympics. Till then, the next few years are very crucial,” Anju said.
Verma said that before looking at the next 12 years, it is pertinent to note how sports other than cricket have evolved over the last 12 years.
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“In sports, you now have fame, cash, and medals if you are performing well. The government has provided job security for sportspersons. I am an Assistant Commissioner in the Income-Tax department now,’ he said.
Choudhari, who is also the Chief of Sports Excellence Centre at Tata Steel, said there is still a lot that needs to be done.
“Sports is not an easy career. Coming to the grassroots, we don’t have that culture right now. We are choosing sports, which are prevalent in our working areas (archeries, football, and hockey). As far as sports culture is concerned, a lot needs to be done,” he explained.
While elaborating on the improving sporting ecosystem in the country, Anju, the country’s lone female World Championships medalist, attributed it to an inherent change in mindset.
“Now, we are looking towards sports and sportspersons are becoming today’s heroes. The culture is changing,” she explained.
Anju elaborated on how parents are increasingly pushing their children to forge a career in sports.
She gave interesting nuggets from her childhood to elucidate the point further.
Born in the scenic Cheeranchira village of Changanassery taluk in Kerala’s Kottayam district to a Syrian Orthodox Christian family, Anju owes her stellar career as a champion athlete to the unflinching support of her mother Gracy Markos.
“In my case, it was my mother who kept pushing me to become an athlete. She was realizing her dream through me. She got me enrolled in a remote village school, which was far away from my home. It was a struggle. I used to wonder: is she my step-mother or what?” she said, eliciting ripples of laughter from the audience.
“With time, I became a college champion, and soon I would go on to become a national-level athlete. In all stages of my life, my mother was present, part of my success,” Anju elaborated.
Remembering his initial push towards archery, Verma explained that his biggest childhood inspiration was the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Verma reckoned that the coaches and parents together carve out the success of a sportsperson.
Being a parent of a 6-year-old son, the ace archer offered his two cents to other parents.
“I’d advise parents that even if their kids aren’t winning medals, they’ll still be healthy if they play sports. It is an opportunity to move out of screens,” Verma elaborated.
Anju pointed out that one of the important things that has pushed young children and their parents away from sports is to find a career in sports. Job security has been missing in the sports section, thus dissuading many from taking up sports.
“Athletics especially has been a low-level event. No one knows how much one can earn in even marquee events,” she explained.
She said the government has taken up efforts, and consequently, things have begun to change.
Choudhari, meanwhile, highlighted the lack of infrastructure in Tier-1 cities and said that to expand athletics and other fringe sports, one needs to look beyond the metros to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
“We don’t have those kinds of facilities, like open spaces in urban areas. Developing sports culture in urban areas is difficult. You need to go to Tier-2, Tier-3 cities,” he added.
To a question on what changes are needed in the school system to push sports into the life of children as young as 6 or 7-year-olds, Anju said that currently the education system is tight and is not allowing kids to step away from classrooms.
“Kids till the tenth grade should be allowed to play and enjoy their childhood. That system should come from school. During our time, if anyone was interested in sports, teachers would ask why are you going out to play, you’ll be thrown out of school. Schools should allow kids to enjoy their life,” she remarked.
Verma, on the other hand, pointed out that PT teachers in schools should play a pivotal role in developing children’s talents and skills in various sports.
“PT teachers in school can play the role of a coach because their judgement is the best as they spend six hours with students,” he said.
Choudhary, meanwhile, emphasised that educators will have to figure out respective sports in terms of optimisation of space.
Verma said archery as a sport has been missing from schools because it was long considered a “dangerous sport.”
That mindset, however, is gradually changing, Verma opined.
“Indoor archery (18m) is not so well known in the country. Schools have been issued guidelines through the government and archery federation that they can start indoor archery in schools because it is safe,” Verma said.
As the discussion veered towards the dwindling interest of advertisers in sports other than cricket, Anju cited the example of the time in 2003 when she won the coveted bronze medal at the Athletics World Championship in Paris.
Her win coincided with the Indian cricket team’s heartbreak loss at the 2003 World Cup final against Australia.
“Initially, there wasn’t much buzz because media outlets were few and far between. There were some newspaper reporters and a couple of television channel scribes,” Anju recollected.
“However, once I returned to India and people came to know about my win, I received love and support from people as well as brands,” she added.
Verma offered a different take.
“There is no commercial interest in archery. Cricket is a very loved game. Archery should also be given a chance,” he said, adding that while suggesting that companies like Dream 11 can play a pivotal role in uplifting the interest in archery.
When asked whether India should see an athletics league, something similar along the lines of the Tata IPL, Choudhari said: “I am chasing numbers. It’s not only for cricket but for the numbers it generates.”
