P.V. Sindhu’s medal at the Olympics is more than a silver lining. Her meteoric rise in badminton is some more evidence that given an environment and an intensive professional system to back sportspersons as the Gopichand academy does, Indian sportspeople are capable of turning into world beaters. The only drawback is Sindhu is an exception rather than the rule for not even Sakshi Malik, the wrestler who won bronze in another breakthrough achievement, is a talent that has gone on to shine because of the system. The cricket culture of India does not lend itself easily to sporting excellence in the hundreds of other arenas of sport open to young people in the most modern era.
Beyond the silver medal, a first for an Indian sportswoman, Sindhu’s sporting approach is indicative of her distinct sporting background with both parents being sportspeople. Her grace in defeat when she refused to be drawn into discussions on her opponent Carolina Marin’s gamesmanship in frequently changing shuttles to upset her rhythm is further vindication of the spirit with which she has learnt to play the game and the manner in which she has been groomed by a master coach. If badminton has progressed this far in the country, it is because of Saina Nehwal’s trailblazing deeds while hailing from the same school with an elite residential programme making champions and triggering great interest in talented young players. Sindhu has stepped up to the plate by honing her skills to a higher, attacking plane in which her 5-foot 11-inch frame and reach is backed by agility and the mental strength to hang in there in extended rallies and at such a young age at that.
If the women have outshone men in the Games in Rio, which have proved a great disappointment for Indian sport despite Sindhu and Sakshi, it is, perhaps, an indication of how extremely competitive the men’s sports have become with many of the 207 participating countries attaching such importance to their teams and sportspeople performing in the theatre of sport. It would make sense then to back the meritorious and the talented so as to give them a chance of correcting the gathering gloom of statistics that points to medal achievements per capita being the lowest for India and its 1.3 billion population.
While Sindhu would be deserving of the accolades and the prizes that follow, as a nation we might do well to remember that to honour sportspeople is to recognise the fruition of their dedicated efforts, but the hyping up of expectations and pressuring sportspeople to perform may be counterproductive. Preparing for the highest competitive sport is a process, not a fits-and-starts programme to be run whenever the Olympic Games, Asian Games and world championships crop up.
