Indian Sporting Excellence - The Impossible Dream?

Are we destined to perennially be disappointed at major sporting events. As Indians we've all become immune to our sporting heroes falling short when in sight of glory. Our cricket team underperforms in ODI finals, Anju Bobby George fails in the Athens Olympics, Leander and Bhupathi fail to win at the Olympics. These of course are only a few instances that come to mind. If our sportspersons were 'minnows' and lacked world-class skills we would perhaps not be dismayed at these outcomes. But when they fail to perform to their own potential or match their past performances it surely is indicative of something deeper. My hypothesis is that our sportspersons fall short on two counts - a) big match temperament and b) failure to push them to the limit. Perhaps as Indians we are conditioned to be content with being good since being great would involve hardship, tough training routines and injury risk. We are masters at winning sporting events, when we can lead from the front or have conditions in our favour. Not for Indians a come from behind victory. While for a team like Australia, a match is never over till the last ball, for us a few early wickets is the end of the game and a license for the remaining players to capitulate. Why is it that we celebrate individual records and minor achievements with so much fervor when other nations put more emphasis on team victories and winning at major events like the Olympics? Two years ago Sania Mirza was feted for merely reaching the 2nd round of the Australian Open while at her age Maria Sharapova was winning Wimbledon and was just one of many Russians in the top 100. So do we have the guts ...nay the courage to set our sights higher, to put in the extra hours of training, to learn new skills? And more importantly can we start to question our god-like sportsmen and challenge them to superhuman heights that befit a nation of 1 billion.

India exit cricket World Cup

In an anti-climatic end, the Indian team has crashed out of the Cricket World Cup. A team that until a year ago was being touted as the only one capable of overcoming Australia lost easily to its two smaller neighbors SriLanka and Bangladesh. As a young kid, I watched Arjuna Ranatunga adopt defensive tactics in game after game as he knew his team was no match for India's might. A decade later the same team now erupts with glee every time they force a collapse and usurp their bigger neighbors in a crunch game. As an Indian fan, the lingering memory will not be the loss to Bangladesh as will be the sight of my heroes from a decade ago struggle against inexperienced bowlers who weren't even playing cricket when India were in the finals of the last World Cup. To see bowlers like Mortaza, Asif and Malinga regularly castle Sachin Tendulkar's middle stump is deflating to the morale. Starting late 2005, this team had broken new ground and given hope of a stronger mental mindset if not a second World Cup trophy. A 17-match victory streak while chasing, the discovery of a genuine all-rounder in Irfan Pathan, the appointment of legendary Greg Chappell as coach all gave rise to visions of a new meaner Indian team winning more than in the past. Alas it seems that ever present Indian frailty to crumble in crunch situations proved to be the weak link. Perhaps we should be picking players who measure up on this parameter rather than on pure runs volume in our meaningless domestic tournament.