India to see phenomenal results at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: Anju Bobby George

The Covid-19 crisis was unprecedented as we had never encountered a disruption of this magnitude. Even international games such as the Olympics had to be postponed. The world came to a standstill and there were uncertainties around us. During the pandemic, it was life, not sports, that became the first priority. None of us had any idea how the world would look post-Covid. Yet our sportspersons remained calm and composed. When they returned to the ground in the midst of the pandemic, all Covid protocols were strictly adhered to.

As we have noticed, there is normality now, even as the emergence of new Covid variants in China is a concern. The Asian Games 2022 is scheduled to be held at the Chinese city of Hangzhou in 2023. The previous Olympic Games were held in the middle of the pandemic in Tokyo. As a member of the government’s Mission Olympic Cell (MOC), I can say with confidence that India has been gearing up for the 2024 Olympics in Paris and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. A proper plan — roadmap, training schedule, categorising athletes into various brackets — has been put in place. We have identified players who are in the bracket of winning a medal and those who can come closer to that bracket with the right training and support.

The Ministry of Sports, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and various federations have been working in tandem to prepare and implement the roadmap. None other than the prime minister is personally involved in this process. A mechanism to monitor every sportsperson has been devised. If a medal hopeful wants a new coach, support staff, new equipment or any other help, we provide them instantly. There is provision for monetary help, too. In other words, India’s top sportspersons now need to focus only on their training; the system will take care of all their other issues. This was unimaginable when I competed in international level in the 1990s and 2000s. There was no sports medicine support then. International exposure was very limited.

As many junior players are performing exceptionally well on the world stage now, I feel India is all set to be a sports superpower in the coming years. As the next Olympics is around the corner, we can’t expect a very big medal haul. There is hardly any time left. We should improve from our medal tally in Tokyo, though. We will see phenomenal results only in the 2028 Olympics. We are also supporting junior athletes, keeping 2028 in mind. We hope they will be welltrained by then to compete with the best of world players. We have also identified some sports categories where we can perform better and win medals. Cycling, swimming, fencing etc., are on our radar. We are identifying and supporting talents in these sports. Athletics, weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, hockey, badminton etc., however, continue to be the mainstay.

Nowadays, talent scouting is an elaborate and detailed process. We are spotting sportspersons at the grassroots. Large competitions are organised at the district level and several future sports stars are being identified at this stage. SAI is highly involved in the talent-scouting process at the district level. Our talentscouting mechanism is similar to a pyramid — the base is wide while the very best can mount the peak.

True, every Indian loves cricket. But since we have started celebrating medal accomplishments in the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, there are many non-cricketing heroes today. Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu and many other medal winners are household names.

Some new games have also entered our daily sports lexicon. For example, many Indians now know about lawn bowls, thanks to India’s clinching a medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK. Once a sport turns popular, players invariably come into the limelight. Earlier, there used to be a mental block on the part of our athletes to go abroad and compete with the best in the world. The fear — that Americans and Europeans are better-trained and better-supported — was visible from the start. But it is no longer the case now. Our sports persons are competing and winning medals at every big sporting event. As I keep saying, India is on the right track to be a sports superpower soon.


(The writer is Former Athlete & Senior Vice-President, Athletics Federation of India)