Indians at the Olympics - Blame game has started

Come Olympics, the entire nation wakes up and expects great things from our hapless athletes. Once the games are closed, everything is forgotten and everybody is back to their own routine. Instead of identifying the reasons for such poor performance and trying to find solutions to it, we just crucify the athletes who failed.

We should learn from China. China was not even in the periphery in most of the sports some 30 years ago. They went about executing a plan which included building infrastructure for sports, imparting training, getting all the children involved in one sports or the other and today they are reaping the fruits of the seeds sown years back. We instead of following the chinese example simply critize the atheletes who participate in the olympics against all odds. These athletes have the motivation to take to such sports, which do not provide them any financial security, just for the sheer love of sports.

Atleast now it should be realised that Olympic medals cannot be won by doing nothing about infrastructure, training, involving all the children. Our culture is not a sporting culture. Most of the children are encouraged not to take to sports, lest it spoils their studies. It should be made mandatory for every child to take to sports, at the school / college level. Thats where, I believe the solution lies.

As sports lovers, we should look at the performances of the various world class athletes who take part in the Olympics, rather than getting disappointed with the performances of our athletes. I am looking forward to watching Swimming, cycling, gymnastics, athletics especially Michael Phelps and the kenyan athletes, who take part in the middle / long distance running events.

Yesterday, I happened to watch the Cycling road race, which took place, on DD. The spanish armada consisting of Alberto Contador, Alexender Valverde, Carlos Sastra, Samuel Sanchez, Oscar Freire took on the Australians led by Cadel Evans, Stuart O Grady, Micheal Rogers, the Schleck brothers Andy and Frank and Kim Kirchen. It was really exciting to watch though slightly different from watching Tour de France. The people you get to see alongside the roads when watching Tour de France were missing here. The course though looked eye-catching. Thanks to cycling, one gets to see such scenic beauties, which one normally cannot see otherwise.

Coming back to the race, it was really exciting to watch riders who normally compete with their compatriots on the basis of the cycling teams they represent, take on their team mates from the other countries. It was especially funny to see the Schleck brothers, who shieldedarlos Sastros through the mountain stages in the Tour de France from Cadel Evans, attacking Sastros here. For once, it was different. But unfortunately due to our own DD's rather strange kind of programming, one could not see the finishing live. At that point of time, a live interview with Mr. Suresh Kalmadi was being telecast. I just can't understand the timing of the interview. Who wanted to listen to such interviews, when some exciting live action was taking place. Thank God, Tour de France was telecasted on Ten Sports.

I am looking forward to the individual time trial event, where Fabian Cancellera, Stefan Schumacher are expected to win.