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Boosted by Modi, India Could Make it to Top 10 in 2032 Olympics

© Photo : Twitter/@narendramodiIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed great enthusiasm and determination during his speech at the opening ceremony of the 141st Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Mumbai on Sunday.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed great enthusiasm and determination during his speech at the opening ceremony of the 141st Session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Mumbai on Sunday.  - Sputnik India, 1920, 16.01.2024
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In an interview to Sputnik India, Sanjay Mishra, General Secretary of the Badminton Association of India, talks at length about Bharat’s journey as an emerging sporting nation.
In the past few years, India has been doing extremely well in almost all sports including Cricket, Badminton, Hockey, Athletics and others.
The best-ever performance by Indian contingent at the Asian Games 2023 held in Hangzhou is a testimony to the country’s rapid progress towards becoming a great sporting nation. India finished fourth on the medal tally at the games with a total of 107 medals, including 28 gold.
India also hosted the three-day International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai in October last year after a gap of 40 years. During the session, it was announced that cricket, the game which is followed with intense passion in the country, will return to Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed desire to host the Olympics in 2036.
With much sporting zeal Indian fans are all geared up to witness smashing performances by badminton players from across the globe at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2024.
The tournament is being organised by Badminton Association of India (BAI) at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from 16-21 January.
On the sidelines of the inaugural press conference of the tournament, BAI General Secretary Sanjay Mishra gave an exclusive interview to Sputnik India. He shared his thoughts about India’s journey as an emerging sporting nation, the reasons behind it and chances for the country in Olympics Games 2024 to be held in Paris.

India’s Journey as Emerging Sporting Nation

There was a time when India was just a participant on big stages like the Olympics as athletes participated in a few events. However, now the Indian contingent at global games has increased with athletes now participating in most of the events, including athletics, making the country a tough competitor.
Talking about India’s journey, Mishra said that in the past several years things have changed as the government has provided major funding for sport development infrastructure.
“The players are getting ample facilities in terms of training or anything else. Sports Authority of India (SAI) is extending all possible support to the players. Additionally, schemes like Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) are also acting as a catalyst for the athletes,” he said.
Highlighting the change of mindset among families, the BAI General Secretary said that before the perception was that sport was not a good career choice, but now parents are encouraging their children to take it up.
© AP Photo / Manu FernandezPusarla Venkata Sindhu
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu - Sputnik India, 1920, 16.01.2024
Pusarla Venkata Sindhu

Change in Sports Ecosystem

The excellent performance by the athletes has changed the mindset of parents, but there has been ample support from the government to the players which have helped them in improve.
Sharing his thoughts about the change in the sports ecosystem, Mishra said there has been a paradigm shift in terms of government policies.
“There have been several schemes introduced to support the athletes which have helped them in enhancing their performances. For instance, Khelo India Youth Games is an excellent platform for the budding athletes both at school level and college level,” he said.
He added that if the youth of the country is nurtured at young age, that gives them ample time to train and excel in sports, with the added incentive of annual scholarships.

PM’s Personal Praise Boosts Athletes

The sports administrator also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fondness for sport has also acted as a morale booster for athletes.

He added that the PM has met athletes whenever they return from big competition, encouraging them after victories and consoling them when they suffer defeats.

“Encouragement from the Prime Minister boosts the moral of the sportspersons. If case you haven't seen, he met the Men’s cricket team after they lost the final of the World Cup. Despite the loss, the PM encouraged them,” he said.

He recalled the moment when Modi called the Indian Women Hockey team after they suffered a defeat against Great Britain in the bronze medal face-off at Tokyo Games in 2020.

What More Could Be Done?

Despite the schemes of the government and changing ecosystem, Mishra suggested that if big conglomerates come forward and adopt a few more sport disciplines then there could be more positive changes in the Indian sports.
“By adoption I mean to say that they should earmark some of athletes of various sporting event and sponsor them. I am not saying for life-time but for atleast five or six years so that they could get better training and bring laurels for the country,” he clarified.

He, however, said that some of the big industrialists have started investing in the sports as there are leagues going on for almost all the sports be it Cricket, Badminton, Football, Kabaddi etc.

These leagues have helped India athletes in getting international exposure as a lot of international players are participating in such tournaments and international coaches are training the franchises along with good money which they can use for their training,” he said.

India’s Chances at Paris Olympics

Talking about India’s chances at Paris Olympics, Mishra said that it will be too early to comment on the India’s position on Olympic medal tally because it is a big stage and sometimes players despite being at the peak are not able to perform due to pressure.

But he believes that with the way our sportspersons are putting in efforts coupled with the proactive policies of the government we can expect India to perform better as compared to the previous Olympic Games.

“It is also important to understand that developing a sportsperson is not a one-day job. It takes 5-8 years to train a sportsperson for the bigger stages. So, the process has started and I believe that if not in next Olympic then definitely in 2032 we will be in top 20 or even in top 10,” he stated.
Fireworks explode during the closing ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Feb. 20, 2022, in Beijing. India has overtaken China as the world’s most populous nation and has grand ambitions of becoming a major international player but it has a long way to go to match its Asian neighbor’s clout in the sports arena. - Sputnik India, 1920, 10.01.2024
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