Developing a Sporting Culture in India

It’s really too early to say how well the Indian sportspeople are going to achieve at the Asian Games in China, as the event has only been running for two days. However, it’s probably fair to say that there is a sense of coming down from the ‘high’ of Commonwealth Games – realising the extent of the journey that lies ahead if the country wishes to develop a true sporting culture.

Personally, I believe it is vitally important for many reasons, not least the health of the nation’s youth. A sporting culture makes it the norm for the majority of young people to engage in physical exercise on a regular basis as a fundamental leisure pursuit (rather than withdrawing by age 11 or 12 once they realise they won’t ‘make the team’ for the significant sports played in their school. As much as there are plenty of entrepreneurs in India who see enormous potential for the future business of the hospital and healthcare industry (raking it in from all the needless lifestyle diseases) I would much rather see them proved over-optimistic.

Many of our children, like many of us, are probably destined to roles in adulthood that keep them seated at desks for way too many hours a day. If they have not put down a decent foundation of physical wellness and fitness in childhood the degeneration of the body and its systems can only be rapid.

Today was Children’s Day and I can’t think of a better pledge on that day than to commit to do all we can to take our children toward a healthier, fitter and far more physically active future.

There’s a long road ahead and much to do. Some of the issues are highlighted in this fascinating article from Tehelka:

Tehelka article
(Click on the link to open the webpage)

After reading it, I couldn’t help wondering – how many of the CWG sports facilities have been used for training sportspeople since the CWG closing ceremony?