A CASE STUDY

ON
INDIAN SPORTS
Titled

“Chak De India –
this time on the real
field”
By
Raunak Ramakrishnan
And Binit Agrawal
Students of IIT Kharagpur
Case Study on Sports in India,
By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. Importance of Sports
3. Sports in India – Past and Present
4. Evolution of National Sports Policy
5. Aims of Comprehensive Sports Policy 2007 draft
6. Outline of the 2007 policy draft
7. Lacunae in Sports and Sports Policy of India
8. Comparison of Indian sport with other countries
9. Corruption in the system
10. Solutions to some problems
11. Conclusion
12. Sources and Acknowledgements

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 I- Introduction
“India – the land of a billion people wins a lone gold in Beijing”, this headline and the
euphoria in our country for our “best showing” in the Olympics awakened me to the stark
realities of sports in India. Our neighbor China won just over 100 medals in the Beijing
Olympics while we had to be satisfied by three.

Something must be wrong somewhere-this is what I thought and now, thanks to this
competition, I have ambled to find what is ailing Indian sports.

I came across many factors, some easily resolvable and some which needs long term attention
to.

Some of the factors are-

o Insufficient Emphasis on Sports for school children.

o Lack of infrastructure
o Indifferent Sports policies
o Non transparent selection
o No Support Staff
o Lack of nationwide talent hunt
o Abridging Sponsors for sports other than Cricket.

The International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, UNESCO, 1978 states that
“Every human being has a fundamental right of access to physical education and sport,
which are essential for the full development of his personality. The freedom to develop
physical, intellectual and moral powers through physical education and sport must be
guaranteed both within the educational system and in other aspects of social life.”

These points will be covered more exhaustively in our case study along with a review of 2001 &
2007 sports policy.

Hope that we have prepared an insightful case

Researched By

Raunak ramakrishnan

Binit Agrawal

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 II- Importance Of Sports
The United Nations General Assembly celebrated 2005 as the “Year of Sport and Physical
Education” thereby emphasizing the need to integrate them into the overall development
agenda. This initiative highlighted sports as:

(i) being integral to quality education with mandatory physical education as a necessary pre-
requisite to foster education, health and personality development;

(ii) improving the health standards of people;

(iii) achieving sustainable development through inclusive growth;
(iv) building lasting peace.

Health and well-being:

v Playing sports have a wide range of physical, social and mental health benefits, and
contribute to strategies to improve diet;
v discourage use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs;
v help reduce violence; enhance functional capacity;
v break down stigmas attached to diseases like HIV/AIDS and promote social interaction
and integration.
v This would lead to reduced health care costs, increased productivity, and healthier
physical and social lifestyles and environment.
v Sport and other forms of physical activity reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases,
strokes, diabetes, and obesity, which is becoming an increasingly serious problem
among the urban middle-class population in India.

Education and Sports:

v Sports can help in personal and social development
v improve academic performance in key skills such as numeracy and literacy,
v reduction in truancy, and re-engaging young people in education and retention in
schools,
v improve social behavior
v reduce anti-social and criminal tendencies.

Leadership and team-work:

v Sports is a powerful tool for ice-breaking and engaging the whole of a community in a
common activity; promoting personal development,
v leadership and team-work skills;
v fostering volunteering through coaching and sports administration;

Building inclusive communities:

v Promoting social cohesion through sports to help build communities and a sense of
belonging among all members of the community,
v enhance the self-image of individuals and the community as a whole,
v empower women and other weaker sections to promote their independence and self-
confidence
v adopt an inclusive approach to the welfare of persons with disabilities.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 III- Sports in India – Past and Present
Professional Sport
Cricket

Cricket match between India Blue and India Red in progress during NKP Salve Challenger Trophy 2006 at the M. A.
Chidambaram Cricket Stadium,Chennai, India.

Cricket has a long history in India and is the de facto national sport of India. Its development has been closely
tied up with the history of the country, mirroring many of the political and cultural developments around issues
such as caste, religion and nationality and is played on local, national and international levels. The highest
profile rival of the Indian cricket team is the Pakistan team. Cricket is the most popular Sport in India, but it is
not the nation's official national Sport (a distinction held by Field hockey).The governing body, BCCI, was
formed in December 1928.

Field hockey

The popular sector-42 Hockey stadium in Chandigarh

Field hockey is the official national sport of India. Hockey India, formed on 20 May 2009, is the new apex body
of the country which has the sole mandate to govern and conduct all activities for both men's and women's
hockey in India.

Until the mid 20th century, India dominated international hockey, winning 8 Olympic gold medals, the World
Cup in 1975 and were runners-up in the 1973 World Cup. The Indian player Dhyan Chand,the most famous

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Indian hockey player, was described as a 'wizard' by the European press. However, India's recent performance
have been below par and India is currently ranked 9th in the world.

Football

Sayed Rahim Nabi of East Bengal FC and Daniel of Chirag United SCduring I league at Salt Lake Stadium.

Football is one of the major sports in India. It was introduced during the British occupation and in some areas of
the country it is equally popular as cricket. India was an Asian powerhouse until the sixties, but gradually the
standard of football has gone down compared to other countries and currently India ranks 146 in the FIFA
Rankings as of the 22nd of June 2009. The sport is, nevertheless, widely popular both as a spectator sport and
as a participation sport and is played throughout the country. The Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Kolkatta is
the second largest non-auto racing stadium in the world .

On the 23rd June 1937 at the Army Headquarters, Simla, the All India Football Federation was formed at a
meeting of the representatives of football associations of six regions where the game was very popular in those
days.It is the parent body of football in India.

Badminton
Badminton is a popular recreational sport in India. Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is currently ranked 2nd[13] in the
world and has been named the Most Promising Player of 2008 by the Badminton World Federation. This is the
first ever achievement by any Indian shuttler after Prakash Padukone andPullela Gopichand won the All-
England in 1980 and 2001 respectively.

Chess

Vishwanathan Anand is an Indian chess Grand Master and the current World Chess Champion.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to its star player GM Vishwanathan
Anand. He is the current World Champion and he has revolutionized the popularity of this sport in India. Also it
is believed that the game originated from India.

Tennis

Leander Paes (left), along with his former team-partner Mahesh Bhupati (right), has won seven tennis Grand Slam doubles

titles.

Tennis is popular among Indians in urban areas. However, India's fortunes in the Grand Slams singles have
been unimpressive although Leander Paesand Mahesh Bhupathi have won many Men's Doubles and Mixed
Doubles Grand Slam Titles.Sania Mirza is the only notable Indian woman tennis player, having won a WTA title
and breaking in to the Top 30 WTA ranking. On the men's side, young Somdev Devvarman and Yuki
Bhambri are flying India's flag on atp tour. Yuki is the current Australian Open junior singles champion.

Rugby
Like other sports founded in England and introduced during the British Raj such as cricket, rugby union has a
long history in India. The first recorded match was played on Christmas Day 1872, at CFC in Calcutta. Although
low in profile as compared to cricket or field hockey, some Indian sporting clubs are embracing the game. It is
considered the second most popular winter sport after football in India.

Currently, there are 17,500 registered players in the country and the Indian national team are ranked 80th out
of 95 nations in the IRB (International Rugby Board) world rankings. The home of rugby in India is considered
to be Kolkata.[19]

Kabaddi

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Kabaddi match in progress in Haryana

Kabaddi is a game in India. It is one of the most popular sports in India played mainly among people in villages.
India has taken part in 4 Asian games Kabaddi and won gold in all four of them. India is the powerhouse of
world Kabaddi. There are three forms of kabaddi played in India. The three forms of Kabaddi are Amar,
Suranjeevi, and Gaminee. Amar is generally played in Punjab, USA, Canada, and other parts of the world.
Suranjeevi is the most played form of Kabaddi in India and the world. This is the form used in international
matches generally and played in Asian games. India won the Kabaddi world championship in 2007 beating Iran
29-19.[21]

Polo

India is considered the cradle of modern polo. Babar, the founder of the Mughal dynasty in the 15th century,
firmly established its popularity. The period between the decline of the Mughal dynasty and the upsurgence of
the British Imperial rule, Polo almost vanished from the mainland India. Fortunately the game survived in a few
remote mountainous enclaves of the subcontinent, notably Gilgit, Chitral, Ladakh and Manipur.

In India, the popularity of polo has waned and risen many time. However, it has never lost its regal status. In
the last few decades, the emergence of privately owned teams has ensured a renaissance in Indian polo.
Today, polo is not just restricted to the royalty and the Indian Army

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Individual sports
Boxing

Vijender prepairing for a boxing match on a television show.

Boxing is one of the most enjoyable profiled sports in India. India had produce a world champion in any weight
class, although it is a regular medal-holder at Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. In November 2007,
India's Mary Kom won the best boxer title and also secured a hattrick of titles. During the 2008 Beijing
Olympics, Vijender Kumar won a bronze medal in the middleweight boxing category and Akhil
Kumarand Jitender Kumar qualified for the quarterfinals. Akhil Kumar, Jitender Kumar, A.L.Lakra and Dinesh
Kumar each won a bronze medal at the 2008 world championship.Vijender Kumar is current world number 1 on
middleweight class

Cycling
The history of cycling in India dates back to 1938. The Cycling Federation of India takes care of the
sport. Cycling is unknown as a professional sport in India, but popular as a common recreational sport and it is
a good way to keep fit

Table tennis
Table tennis is a popular indoor recreation sport in India, which has caught on in states like West
Bengal and Tamil Nadu. The Table Tennis Federation of India is the official sports body. India, which is
currently ranked 90 in the world, has produced a single player ranked in the top 50, Sharat Kamal.

Equestrian Sports
India also has a wide following in various equestrian sports like Showjumping, eventing, dressage, endurance
and tentpegging. Supported by the Equestrian Federation of India, eventing is the most popular of the five, with
teams representing the country at most Asian games, winning a bronze medal in the 2006 and 2002 games.
India has been represented at the Olympics twice, by Wing Commander I.J.Lamba, and Imtiaz Anees.

Mountain biking

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Mountain biking is now getting momentum. For the last four years, Himachal MTB has been organised regularly
by HASTPA, an NGO. It is attended by a number of national and international participants, such as Indian
Army, Indian Air Force, ITBP and a number of young and energetic MTB individual riders from cities like Pune,
Bangalore, Delhi and Chandigarh. Last year, the government of Sikkim (Department of Tourism) introduced its
own MTB race with South East Asia's biggest prize money. The second edition saw 48 professional
participants from across the globe.

Tour of Nilgiris is a major non-competitive/non-commercial touring event in South Asia today, that covers 1000
kilometres in under ten days.[23]

Winter sports
Snow sports are uncommon in India due to a lack of snow except in the extreme north. Ski tournaments take
place every winter inGulmarg, Kashmir. Winter sports are generally more common in the northern states of
Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. Skiing, snow rugby,
snow cycling and snow football are few of the common sports played in India. Skiing is more popular although
India has taken part in Luge in winter olympics since 1998. Shiva Keshavan is the only India to have won a
medal in international meet in winter sports.

Archery
Young talents like Jayant Talukdar, Tarundeep Rai and Rahul Banerjee are making waves at the big stage.
With international laurels pouring thick and fast, India is emerging as an archery powerhouse. The country is all
set to break the Korean stranglehold on the World Archery Championship. The fact that India finished second
to the mighty Koreans at the 2005 World Championship is a solid proof of the growing International stature of
Indian archers and the sport of archery back home.

Archery Association of India (AAI) is taking special efforts in providing infrastructure and proper training to the
sportspersons, who have taken archery as their event. Moreover, job opportunities are opening up in a big way
for the sport's stars. Traditionally dominated by champion archers from tribal communities, today, a major lot of
the archers come from non-tribal areas with good educational backgrounds. In the present time, archery in
India has emerged as a sport with considerable recognition and has managed to score success.

Athletics and Triathlon

In India, athletics has come a long way since the initial years, but it still has millions of miles to cover to reach
the pinnacle of success. Even though Indian athletics has witnessed improvements in terms of facilities and
infrastructure, the general standard of competition still leaves scope for a lot of improvement. However, some
athletes like Anju Bobby George, Jyotirmoyee Sikdar, Milkha Singh, Norman Pritchard, P. T. Usha and T. C.
Yohannan, have done India extremely proud, with their brilliant game and made a mark at the Olympics as
well.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Weight-lifting and Power-lifting
The headquarters of Indian Weightlifting Federation is at New Delhi. The Federation is affiliated to the Indian
Olympic Association (Delhi) and is also a member of Asian Weightlifting Federation (Tehran) and International
Weightlifting Federation (Budapest). The present General Secretary of Indian Weightlifting Federation is Balbir
Singh.

The International Weightlifting Federation banned the Indian Weightlifting Federation from participating in all
international competitions for one year, as three Indian women weightlifters—S Sunaina, Sanamacha Chanu
and Pratima Kumari, were accused of doping offences in various international competitions in a single year.

Billiards &Snookers
India has been a force to reckon with in world billiards competitions. An impressive assembly of great
champions like Wilson Jones, Michael Ferreira and Geet Sethi has underlined the powerhouse status of the
country. Snooker Federation of India, the apex body, play a proactive role in popularizing the game. Many such
efforts have been done by the Billiards and Snooker Federation of India in the recent past to enhance the
popularity of the game in the country. Several training camps for identifying budding talent and providing them
regional and state sponsorship have been organised by the Billiards and Snooker Federation in various parts of
the country.

Wrestling
In the ancient times, Wrestling in India was mainly used as a wonderful way to stay physically fit. It was also
used as a great way of military exercise without any weapons. Wrestling in India is also known as `dangal` and
it is the basic form of a wrestling tournament. Wrestling in India is most famously known as Malla-Yuddha.
Some forms of Mallayuddha were practiced in India even before the invasion of the Aryan. The famous Indian
epic, Mahabharata has a huge mention about the game of Wrestling in India. One of the premier characters in
Mahabharata, Bhima was considered to be a great Wrestler of that time and some of the other great wrestlers
included Jarasandha, Duryodhan, Karna etc. In the other Indian epic, Ramayana also mentions about
Wrestling in India and Hanuman is described as one of the greatest wrestlers of that time. The thirteenth
century Malla Purana has the reference of a group of Gujarati Brahmin wrestlers known as Jyesthimallas.

Gymnastics
Gymnastics came of age in India, when at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Ashish Kumar won the the first-
ever medal in gymnastics for India, he also won a bronze medal. [27] However soon after the win the President
of the Gymnastics Federation of India, controversially asked Ashish's Chief Coach from the erstwhile Soviet
Union, Vladimir Chertkov: "Is this all that you can deliver, a bronze?", the comment was widely reported in the
pressed, later the coach also revealed that "In Aug 2009, we had no equipment. Ashish trained on hard floor till
Feb 2010, and then we got equipment around 20 years old." Also the Federation announced that no Indian

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
team would travel to Rotterdam for the World Championships in October which would mean that Indian
gymnasts automatically not qualify as a team for the 2012 Olympics.[28][29]

Regional and Other Sports

Gilli - Danda
It is a sport played using one small stick (gilli) and a large stick (danda) like cricket with ball being replaced by
Gilli.

Kancha
It is played using marbles (kancha) in cities as well as villages by small boys only as gully sport. The winner
gets the kancha of other boys.

Kite Flying
It is played by many people in India in cities as well as villages. The festival of Makar Sankranti is marked with
competitions of this sport.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 IV- Evolution of National Sports Policy
Post-Independence

At the time of the formulation of our Constitution, “sports” were seen as a form of recreation and
little more, on par with “entertainment and amusements”. Physical Education and Sports have
been receiving support under successive Five Year Plans, but received attention as a subject of
policy only after India hosted the IXth Asian Games in 1982.

National Sports Policy,1984

National Sports Policy, 1984 was the first move towards developing a conducive policy
framework for the development and promotion of sports in the country.

National Sports Policy,1984 had the following aims:

v The need to develop sports infrastructure and make physical education and sports an
integral part of the school curriculum. This resolve was reiterated in the National Policy
for Education (NPE), 1986.
v The need to have a time-bound programme for the creation of basic minimum sports
infrastructure and the preservation of existing playfields and safe open spaces for sport
activities, if necessary by suitable legislation.
v With regard to the promotion of excellence in competitive sports, the policy underlined
the importance of institutional support, international exposure and incentives to
sportspersons.

The Sports Authority of India (SAI) was created in 1984 to spot and nurture talent and promote
excellence in sports. In 1992, an Action Plan was devised in the shape of the National Sports
Policy, 1992 to move towards realizing the objectives of the 1984 Policy.

National Sports Policy, 2001

The National Sports Policy 2001 was focused on the twin objectives of “Broad-basing of
Sports” and “Achieving Excellence in Sports”.
On the broad-basing front, the policy emphasized that the primary responsibility for the
creation of sports infrastructure at the grassroots level and the promotion of rural sports
lies with State Governments. The policy also underlined the role of Panchayat Raj Institutions
(PRIs), Local Bodies and Local Clubs in promoting sports culture at the grassroots level.

As regards the promotion of excellence in sports, the policy emphasized the role of the Indian
Olympics Committee (IOC) and National Sports Federations (NSFs) in strengthening talent
identification, athlete development and competition systems. The policy explicitly stated that the
Union Government shall only play a supplementary role in regard to promoting excellence
in sports, the primary responsibility vesting in IOA and NSFs.
The policy also referred to the promotion of sports tourism and innovative resource
mobilization efforts for sports, especially from corporate houses, through an appropriate
package of fiscal incentives.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 V- Aims of the Comprehensive Sports Policy Draft, 2007
Need for this policy
v Severe shortage of sports infrastructure everywhere in the country.
v Excessive concentration of resources and pubic support on too few team sports like
cricket
v Need to popularize other sports, especially medal-intensive individual sports disciplines
such as athletics, gymnastics, and swimming
v Sports medicine and sports science need particular attention

Therefore, as a matter of the highest priority, the Comprehensive Sports Policy aims at filling
this gaping lacuna within a time-bound framework, for in the absence of infrastructure no
other objective of predecessor Sports Policies or this Policy can be achieved.

VISION

To make India a vibrant, leading-edge sporting nation in the world within the next decade in the
conviction that promoting a nation-wide, all-embracing sports culture is not only desirable in
itself but critical to securing accelerated, inclusive and sustainable growth through building our
stock of young human capital by equitable, balanced and widespread investment in sports,
besides promoting national integration, national harmony and national pride through excellence
in sporting achievement.

To this end, the Comprehensive Sports Policy dedicates the nation to:
v creating an enabling policy environment that encourages and assures mass participation
in sports and physical education for health and well-being, personality development and
recreation
v achieving excellence in sports by exponentially increasing the numbers of sportspersons
and athletes who perform consistently well and excel in competitive sports at the highest
national and international levels.

PRINCIPLES

1. The Union Government will adopt a more direct and proactive role to address the issue
of inequality in access and opportunity in sports and games, and encourage State
governments to do the same in association with Panchayati Raj Institutions, Municipalities
and Metropolitan Corporations.
2. The Union Government, in association with State governments, the Indian Olympics
Association and the National Sports Federations, as well as the Sports Authority of India,
will aim at securing excellence in sports while ensuring that the autonomy of sport in the
spirit of the Olympic movement is respected, safeguarded and reinforced.
3. The Union Government and State Governments, in association with the National Anti-
Doping Authority, the Sports Authority of India and the National Sports Federations, will
effectively counter the national disgrace of doping and corruption in sports.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 VI- Outline of Comprehensive Sports Policy Draft
2007
The Comprehensive National Sports Policy 2007 aims at building on previous sports policies
with a view to accomplishing the unfinished agenda and addressing the emerging challenges of
India in the 21st century, most particularly the national goal of emerging as a global and
inclusive, economic power in the near future.

View on Hosting of Mega Events

Ø The direct economic benefit in terms of the creation of international standard sports
infrastructure and facilities too would have limited impact unless this is backed by proper
legacy planning.
Ø The indirect spin offs, which include the upgradation of urban infrastructure and increase
in sports tourism, are also important, but there should be a robust strategy that would
ensure that these benefits have a maximum spread effect and are not confined only to a
few cities and limited segments of the population.
Ø Also, given the size of Government funding required, the Union Government should
invariably be involved from the earliest stages in the bid process and the organization
and management of such mega events.
Ø Providing enhanced training and sports medicine support, the promotion of sports
among disabled and removal of gender disadvantages for participation in sports are
other challenges that need to be addressed.

Policy Objectives
Ø The Comprehensive National Sports Policy 2007 aims at making the framework for
sports in India more effective and inclusive with the full ownership and involvement of all
stakeholders.
Ø The Policy aims at adopting a holistic approach to sports development, taking into
account the health benefits, recreation benefits, educational benefits, social benefits,
economic benefits and source of national pride that it offers.
Ø This would require a realignment of responsibilities between the Union and State
Governments, on the one hand, and, on the other, between Government and the Indian
Olympics Association, the Sports Authority of India, the National Sports Federations and
their affiliated bodies at the state and district level, and corporate bodies.
Ø This in turn might require Constitutional changes and the elaboration of a suitable legal
framework. Special emphasis will be laid on mobilizing corporate support in the field of
sports.
Ø The participant/athlete shall occupy centre-stage in the Comprehensive National Sports
Policy, with all other stakeholders playing a promotional, supportive and convergent role
towards achieving the goals of mass participation, expansion of the talent pool,
enhanced performance in competitive sports, through transparent and effective sports
systems.
Ø In other words, the policy would provide a conducive framework within which sports can
develop and thrive.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 VII- Lacunae in Sports and Sports Policy
These high and ambitious objectives of the sports policies could not be realized in significant
measure both because of policy lacunae and because of the inadequacy of budgetary
support to sports from the Union Government and State Governments.

The Parliament Standing Committee on Human Resource Development studied a wide range of
issues concerning Sports in 1998 and emphasized the need for bringing about reforms in sports
management and governance in order to make it more dynamic,responsive, responsible and
result-oriented.
Some of the major problems identified by the Committee include
Ø lack of sports culture in the country;
Ø non-integration of sports with the formal education system;
Ø lack of coordination between all stakeholders;
Ø inadequacy of sports infrastructure;
Ø inadequate participation of women in sports; and
Ø lack of effective sports systems for talent identification and training and fair selection of
teams.

A look at some loopholes in policy and problems plaguing Indian

Sport
Meager Budgetary Allocation

The 2006-2007 fiscal year’s allocation to the Sports budget works out to a mere 0.073 per cent
of the total Union Budget, and this, in turn, amounts to only a third of the 0.217%
allocation made to Sports in the total outlay for the Seventh Five Year Plan.
The investment made by most States in sports has been negligible, although a few States have
shown the way to according a higher priority to sports. In consequence, we have not succeeded
in providing universal access to sports, or creating a national sports culture, thus also impairing
excellence in sports.

Lack of Infrastructure
Ø It is estimated that out of a population below 35 years of some 77 crore, only 5 crore or
so have any access to organized sports and games, to the neglect of nearly 72 crore of
our children, adolescents and youth.
Ø Serious concern at this state of affairs has been expressed in various Parliamentary
Committee Reports with wide-ranging observations and recommendations, including the
following: ·
a) “… coupled with the absence of sports consciousness and culture in the country,
there is almost total lack of sports infrastructure at the grassroots level all over the
country”
b) “…the Government should plan the development of sports in a phased manner so
that necessary infrastructure is built up over a period of time…”
c) “ In view of the decentralization of resources to Panchayats, Government should
ensure that there is a sports complex in each Panchayat which should also hold
sports competitions and championships periodically”
d) “There is also need for scouting talent at an early age and select them on scientific
basis….Panchayat bodies should take up this responsibility”.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 Ø Despite the passage of more than a decade since these observations were made, there
has been little progress made in taking organized sports and games to children in rural
India or in involving Panchayats in the promotion of such sports and games.

Rural Scenario
Nehru Yuvak Kendras, who used to promote sports in their early days, have shifted their
attention more to socio-economic and cultural programmes in the recent past.
Moreover, a large percentage of Nehru Yuvak Kendras (NYKs) have become dormant for a
variety of reasons. These need to be reactivated. For the NYKS, with a network of nearly
2,50,000 youth clubs, matching an equal number of village panchayats, has the potential of
being progressively geared up to the challenge of meeting the sports administration goals of
the Comprehensive Sports Policy in rural areas.
NGOs focusing on promoting international or indigenous sports should be given every
encouragement.
Panchayats, NYKS and other community-based organizations remain the most important
and widespread institutional networks available for rejuvenating the sports culture in rural
areas, supplemented by any support they might receive from corporate entities, public or
private.

Urban Scenario

While the level of sports infrastructure in larger urban agglomerations is generally better than in
rural areas, land is at a premium.
There are also wide disparities in access to sports facilities for different segments of society, the
economically weaker sections being the most disadvantaged, along with girls, children and the
physically challenged.
While the local municipal bodies try to provide a reasonable level of parks and playgrounds,
private institutions, sports associations and clubs tend to concentrate on indoor facilities and
outdoor facilities only for commercially remunerative sports.
In smaller towns, such facilities are far less in number and quality although land is more easily
available and at reasonable prices.

Non-Integration of Sports with the formal Education system

Ø With regard to sports infrastructure in schools and colleges, information secured from
the University Grants Commission indicates that only 30 million of a total of about 210
million school and college-going children, adolescents and youth are provisioned with
facilities for physical education, sports and games.
Ø The seventh All-India Educational Survey has estimated that less than half of our
schools have any sports facilities at all. Thus, while some progress has been registered,
a great deal still remains to be done.
Ø As regards children, adolescents and youth who are not in educational institutions, it has
been estimated that not more than 20 million have any access to sports and games
through youth clubs, sports clubs, mahila mandals and the like.

Given that the total population of those below the age of 35 is of the order of 77 crore, of which
only around 5 crore have access to organized games and sports facilities, the magnitude of the
task to still be accomplished comes into bold relief.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Lack of bold and visionary legislation for creation of sports infrastructure

As regards the provisioning of space for playgrounds and the preservation of existing
playgrounds, the National Sports Policy 1984 emphasized the importance of this and
recommended
legislation, if necessary, to secure this objective.
No such legislation has been brought on the statute books and, in the meanwhile, the use of
existing open spaces for purposes other than sports and games, as also the severe shortage of
land for sports and games, especially in urban areas, has become a serious issue calling for
rectificatory action.

Unequal Distribution of Funds

In contrast to the slow progress in financing sports infrastructure for all in rural and urban areas,
there has been a considerable increase in Government funding, particularly by the Central
Government, of activities by SAI and the National Sports Federations to promote excellence in
sports.
This has resulted in some, if uneven, improvements in medal tally in international sporting
events but not nearly as significant as it might have been had more attention been paid to
widening the base and augmenting the national reservoir of sports talent. This imbalance is
sought to be addressed by the Comprehensive National Sports Policy.

Lack of a co-ordinated approach

There is not enough synergy, coordination and purposive follow-through

v within the Union Government
v between the Union and State Governments
v between State Governments and units of local self-government, that is, the Panchayats
and Municipalities;
v between Government and the Corporate Sector;
v between Government, on the one hand, and the National Sports Federations, the Indian
Olympics Association and the Sports Authority of India, on the other.

Reasons for the above problems and loop holes

The above problems are mainly explained by
v Absence of a holistic and integrated policy approach to building sporting excellence by
broad-basing sports facilities
v Low level of resources allocated to sports by the Union Government as well as the State
Governments
v Lack of support from the corporate sector (excepting to a few glamorous sports like cricket
that have a huge commercial appeal).
v Persons with disability have hardly any access to sporting facilities and most of the sports
infrastructure is not disabledfriendly;
v indigenous sports and games need to be brought centre-stage in the promotion of a national
sporting culture;
v Education remains highly academic-centric with a definite trend towards reducing school
sports and extra-curricular sports;

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 v India’s performance in international sport needs to be significantly enhanced through a
holistic and sportsperson centred cradle-to-grave sports policy;

VIII- Comparison with other countries

Comparison with countries with sizable population
India vs China

China Sporting Facts (based on data for the year 2000)

Percentage of population participating in sports: 37%

No. of people with good access to sports: 480 million
Sports Instructors : 350,000 (for popular sports)
Grassroots organizations: 40,000
Part time sport instructors: 100,000
Sports facilities: 620,000
Community Sports Institutions: 2,000 + 3854 urban community associations

Category India China

Active Participation of
population in sports (2001)
Grass Roots sport
organizations
Sports Facilities
5 crores (4.5% population) 48 crores (37% population)
Not known 40,000
2,50,000 (many of which have 6,20,000
gone defunct or have moved
on to socio-cultural activities)

Comparison with small countries (India vs Cuba)

Even a small country like Cuba, whose population of about 11.5 million is comparable to that of
NCT Delhi, boasts approximately 2 million athletes, of whom 23,000 are in the high performance
category in 38 different sports disciplines at the national and international level.

Cuban Sports Model

1. Built on the belief that physical education and sports serve to develop the social, mental,
physical and intellectual dimensions of an individual
2. National athletes are folk heroes and receive national recognition and lifetime financial
support.
3. Retired athletes receive a high salary for life and other support and they, in turn,
contribute to the national sports system as sports activists or volunteers.
4. Currently, there are over 1,20,000 retired sportspersons, apart from another
48,000professionals, engaged in delivering sport and physical education at home,
community, school and college, and workplace in Cuba.
5. Cuba spends about 13 per cent of its national budget on sports and related activities.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
The outcome in terms of excellence in sports is starkly measured by comparing the number of
medals in absolute numbers and the number of medals per ten million of the population won by
Cuba, China and India respectively at the most recent Olympics and Asian Games put together
(and, in the case of Cuba, the latest Olympics and Pan-American Games – covering both North
and South America - put together):

400

350

300

250
Medals
200
Medals/ 10 million
150
population
100

50

0
India Cuba China
Performance in Games by India, China, Cuba

Compared to China, for example, or even Cuba, sports in India is neither broad-based nor
significant in terms of proven excellence. This is a matter of great concern, especially since
India is a country of young people with children, adolescents and youth accounting for about 77
per cent of the total population. The way forward is to have a Comprehensive National Sports
Policy backed by the provision of adequate financial and institutional resources to support the
promotion of participative and competitive sports on a truly nation-wide basis covering all those
sections of children, adolescents and youth (and even adults and the elderly) who have
remained so far outside the pale of organized sports and games.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 IX- Corruption in the system
The threat of Doping

The underlying principle of sport is the commitment to solidarity, respect, impartiality and fair
play. When more than a hundred years ago the Olympic Movement was initiated, its founders
dreamed of educating youth through sport for a better world without any kind of discrimination.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) was one of the first global civil society movements
formed to achieve this aim. However as more financial resources have flown into sports since
those times the Olympics have come to resemble any other commercial activity, where money
and influence play a crucial importance replacing, on many occasions, the principle of fair
competition.

The sport world has responded slowly and, to date, inadequately. It is as serious a threat as
doping; only it has the potential to inflict much greater damage on the sport world and the
communities, representing billions of people globally, that support it.

Corruption has been recognised as one of the biggest threats to modern sport which
fundamentally undermines all Olympic ideals. Bribing arbiters and decision-makers, betting
scandals, corruption in procurement systems and construction of sport infrastructure, sponsors
trying to influence sporting decisions as well as the existence of secret doping networks,
demonstrate a wide range of possibilities for corruption in sports. Not only does corruption turn
the game into a deception of rivals, it deceives primarily the audience and destroys the dreams
of millions of fans.

Bribery Scandals in Sport

Bribery scandals involving individual

sportspeople or referees across the globe regularly make
headlines in the media. Moreover corruption cases of a larger
scale, concerning international sport associations
and organisations, which often operate huge sums of money,
have a negative impact on the perception of sport ethics in
general.

In 2002, for instance, the IOC’s reputation and credibility have been overshadowed by vote-
buying accusations in the bidding process for the Games in Salt Lake City. As a consequence
some members of the Committee were expelled or resigned but there has never been a
conviction.

The rise in popularity of the online sports betting services has opened up a new leeway for
corruption and match-fixing. The ways of corrupting sport practices are numerous and in the
absence of clear legislation for tackling corruption, offenders can easily get away unscathed.
Investigations and convictions often prove inadequately trivial comparing to the gravity and
scale of the corrupt manipulations, which are then justified as a necessary procedure. The

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
organization Play the Game suggests that there is a need for “a rulebook that ensures sports
leaders can be sentenced with similar penalties to the ones they impose on the athletes.”

Sport is lagging behind in recent advances to achieve transparency by other sectors. While
business principles, good governance and corporate social responsibility are on the agenda of
big international companies, it is still not the case with the IOC and the Olympic Games.

A first step: sports organisations should clearly state their disapproval of and intention to fight
criminal manipulation. Such a move would send out a signal to potential criminals and can
prompt people who suspect corruption somewhere in the chain to report it.

Sport is an integral part of our world and its aversion to corruption must be brought to the fore of
the international debate. Everyone should join efforts to communicate that corruption in sports is
unacceptable. Key stakeholders in this process include sport organisations, the media,
sponsors, governments, civil society and, more importantly, sport fans.

The global movement of TI is working towards achieving this goal. In 2006 TI Germany
established a working group on sport and corruption issues managing to raise awareness and
bring the issue to the international level.

India’s CWG 2010 Corruption Shame

Attacked from many sides regarding allegations of corruption in the Commonwealth Games, the
Indian government has promised to take action against those found guilty. The Prime Minister of
India has ordered to probe into the matter and speed up the work.

According to the media reports, it has been found that serious discrepancies like award of works
at higher rates to bidders, poor quality of construction and grant of work to ineligible agencies in
as many as 16 different Commonwealth Games-related construction works being carried out by
various departments. Despite higher rates, transgressions of rules, poor site management,
delays in project works and quality compromises have been observed. Huge money transfers
without any receipt have been reported.

In the year 2003 an amount of 6550 million rupees (655 crore) was allotted for the
Commonwealth Games as per the estimate given. But today the expenditure has become
11494 million rupees and the expected income will be only 17080 million rupees. The Delhi
government has so far allotted 63990 million rupees for the expenses.
Every year, since the year 2000, October/November, the ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’ gets
religiously organized in the all the offices of the Indian Government, Central as well as State.
They take the anti-corruption pledge. But what is in realty? It is high time for all for an
examination of conscience.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 X- Solutions
Rural Sector
· The condition of Rural sport and infrastructure calls for the introduction and
implementation of a major initiative (the Panchayat Yuva Khel aur Krida Abhiyan) to
provide sufficient resources, in convergence with appropriate existing schemes such as
SGRY and NREGP, as well as incentivise MPLADS and MLALADS investment in such
projects, to enable Panchayats to create the minimum sports infrastructure in every
panchayat area to cover the whole country over a ten-year period.
· Apart from dovetailing Central and State schemes for rural infrastructure with the
resources made available for this specific purpose by Union and State governments,
Panchayats will be charged with the responsibility of identifying an active local institution,
such as a Nehru Yuva Kendra or other local youth club, to be responsible for organizing
and managing sports and games in the village.
· The scheme will also provide recurring financial assistance to such local institutions for
procurement/replacement of sports equipment and consumables (such as footballs) and
maintenance of the grounds and facilities.
· Panchayati Raj Institutions will be encouraged and incentivised to remove barriers in the
form of the lack of information, motivation and affordability to ensure the optimal
utilization of sports facilities by boys and girls, young and old, and all segments of the
village community.
Urban Sector
· Bearing these factors in mind, the Central Government would give priority to the
following activities:
· Introduce and implement a major programme in urban areas, parallel to the Panchayat
Yuva Khel aur Krida Abhiyan for rural areas, to financially support the Nagarpalikas and
other urban local institutions to provide basic safe places to play in poorer areas in
convergence with the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
· The Nagarpalikas will need to provide the minimum prescribed extent of land on a
realistic basis, and the financial assistance from GoI should be used as seed money to
raise other contributions from the public and private entities for the creation of the basic
sports infrastructure.
· The local municipal body will also identify an active local institution interested in working
with the urban poor in the area for which the GOI will provide recurring grants for the
required equipment and trained staff to enable the urban poor to learn and practice a few
selected sports and games, with particular focus on the needs of women and children as
well as the physically challenged;
· Encourage State governments, municipal bodies and private institutions to allocate more
resources for investment in sports infrastructure, equipment and trained staff in selected
sports and games in each urban area to make available sports facilities for the general
public on commercial terms, with appropriate back-up from the Sports Authority of India;
· Conscious efforts shall be made with the stakeholders concerned to promote physical
activity and sport in everyday context – at work and at home. All organizations shall be
encouraged to provide facilities to their employees to promote physical fitness.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
Doping
There must be an awareness drive among all athletes and their coaches about doping and
which chemicals are regarded as doping agents.

There should be stringent checks even at national level so that those doping are caught and
weeded out in the initial stages and before the scandal becomes a national embarrassment and
leads to banning of the organization (like the Indian Weightlifting Association)

The newly formed National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) must be armed with authority to
prevent errant associations from shielding their players.

Doping tests should be performed regularly so that players get used to them. Many other
countries perform doping tests so regularly that it becomes a way of life for the athletes who do
not raise the hue and cry as done by our cricketers some months back on WADA guidelines.

Inclusive Education:
Sports in educational curriculum is a must and not in the way it is being done.

It should be given equal weightage as academics and children should be allowed to take up one
sport of their preference and aptitude and practice it at all levels of schooling.

Also, there must be BIG events like city trials where the attention to rising stars can be given.

Mission Olympic Gold 2020:

Focus on medal intensive sports like track and field events, swimming, especially diving and
synchronized swimming, cycling and gymnastics fro mright now and there is a good chance that
we may have our champs by the time 2020 games arrive.

Shooting, boxing and wrestling are going from strength to strength now. Hopefully they will
continue to boost India’s tally at the next Games.

Archery is turning to be a realistic hope for an Olympic gold. We are going toe to toe with the
Koreans who are the world champions.

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal
 XI- Conclusion

Having presented this view on Indian Sports and its deficiencies,

We would like to add that Indian people are world class in spirit and that given the right training
and support, we have what it takes to beat the rest.

It is our sincere hope that some of our suggestions and that made by the 2007 Policy draft are
implemented seriously by the powers that be.

It was a good learning experience, preparing this case study. We hope that it will be put to
practical use.

Thanking you,

Raunak and Binit,

IIT Kharagpur

XII- Sources and Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the following people for their help:

1. Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs for the draft of 2007 Sports Policy and for
information on the earlier policies
2. Wikipedia for the great article on present condition of Indian sport.
3. Google for as usual coming up with the best search results!
4. Reuters for the news articles on Corruption in various Indian sports organizations
5. Times of India for the Common Wealth games corruption article
6. Shaurya for organizing this competition

Case Study on Sports in India,

By Raunak R and Binit Agrawal