India as world soccer champs

The tremendous interest the recent soccer World Cup generated in India once again proved wrong the propaganda that cricket is religion for all Indians. Football always had great fan following in many parts of the country including West Bengal, Goa, Kerala and the North-East but thanks to the heavy financial stakes, advertisement revenue and television rights involved in cricket, all other sports remained marginalized and cricket grew at the expense of other disciplines.
Soccer clubs have thrived in these states and in states such as West Bengal, more than the Gotra so obsessively followed in some northern parts of the country, it is the loyalty to the football club (East Bengal, Mohun Bagan etc) which is a major criteria in matrimonial matters. In fact, there are even specific fish menus to mark the victory or defeat of these teams.

Not that there was or is any dearth of talent in other sports disciplines. Hockey, India’s own national game, notwithstanding its steady decline over the years, continues to get honours for the country including the recent Azlan Shah trophy. In individual events too, whether it be chess, snooker, boxing, shooting (India’s first Olympic Gold medalist Abhinav Bindra), athletics (P T Usha etc), weightlifting etc, Indians have proved that they are second to none in the world.

Badminton is another arena where Indians have proved their excellence time and again, from the days of Prakash Padukone to the recent victories of Saina Nehwal, Jwala Gutta, Chetan Anand et al. In tennis, Leander Paes along with Kara Black once again made history recently in the mixed doubles event. Even in motor car racing, we have world class drivers such as Chandihoke and Narain Karthikeyan. We have registered impressive victories in South Asian, Asian and Commonwealth Games.

One can go on and on. Yet, the fact remains that other sports received scant attention as against cricket. Cricketers remain our national icons even as they laugh their way into the banks. The recent IPL controversy and oft-repeated charges of match fixing have proved that cricket is not just about sports. There is huge money involved and even big names in the world of business and politics such as Vijay Mallya and Sharad Pawar have great stakes in them.

For a change, it was a sheer delight to see boys playing football in the neighbourhood parks and playing grounds. Here was team spirit and work at play. In South Africa too, one did not see players working for individual glory and new records. They were all playing to see their country win. And back home, it was depressing to see not one player protesting against the cash-rich BCCI’s decision not to participate in the upcoming Asian Games, where cricket is being introduced for the first time. The match fee has become more attractive for our advertisement driven player-turned-models than glory for the country. Certainly, they have become too upmarket to even contemplate staying in a games village.

Of course, one doesn’t hold a brief against cricket. All said and done, cricket has brought glory to the nation as also to individuals. We are proud that India has produced world class players such as Sachin Tendulkar, who are revered all over cricketdom. The only point is that a nation of a billion plus just cannot confine itself to a game played by eleven players. We have talents across the sporting spectrum and they need to be honed and harnessed for the greater glory of the nation.

When so many corporates are supporting and sponsoring cricket, let there be a Government directive to all PSUs including those belonging to the state Governments, to back disciplines other than cricket. The Indian media did a great job in highlighting the soccer World Cup but the euphoria shouldn’t die down. Let the fever continue. Let this interval not be once in a blue moon but once every 24 hours. Let schools promote sports other than cricket. Let there be a Mohun Bagan and East Bengal in every state. Let Paul the Octopus predict a victory for India in the next World Cup. Ambitious? What’s life without dreams? Let the Commonwealth Games be the catalyst.