A few days ago, I was invited by Confederation of Sports and Recreation Industry to chair and moderate a session on the impact of the CWG 2030 in Ahmedabad on the University Sports Ecosystem. I sought to steer the discussion around some themes like Infrastructure, Coaching and Coach Education, Governance and Talent Development – and I must admit that I succeeded only partially.
I have reflected on that and will keep my thoughts private for the moment. However, I must share that I started the session by asking the audience a simple question: Name five great athletes who have emerged from our University Sports ecosystem and served Indian sport admirably.
The responses started with Gurbachan Singh Randhawa, 1962 Asian Games decathlon champion and fifth-place finisher in the 110m Hurdles in 1964 Olympic Games. They extended to legendary opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar and Zafar Iqbal, who was part of the 1980 Olympic Games gold winning Hockey team.
There were not many other names that surfaced, though it can be said that cricketers like Mohammed Azharuddin, Sanjay Manjrekar and WV Raman have respectively featured for their Osmania, Bombay and Madras universities. These are all athletes who emerged in the 1980s. The trail fades away after that.
There was a time when if an athlete made it to the Combined Universities squad on the back of their showing in the All-India Inter-Universities Championships, he or she was considered to be good enough to be knocking on the doors of the National team. Indeed, Universities Sport was a stepping stone to the Indian squad.
Sadly, the reverse is true now. Athletes who have earned their place in the National team through the age-group competitions of the National Sports Federations are roped in by Universities to represent them. It is time Association of Indian Universities ponders on the irony of a scenario when its affiliates are dependent on an alternative assembly line to provide them with readymade talent and they themselves play little role.
The decline of sport in hallowed Universities like Calcutta, Bombay and Madras – each of which was established in 1857 – is considerable food for thought, not just for the trio but for each one of us in the Indian sports ecosystem. If India does not get its act right in terms of school and college sport, it may never become the sporting superpower that it aspires to be.
What do you think?
