Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Cricket - Synonym for Sports?

Three cheers to our Indian Cricket Team for winning the T20 World Cup. I was one among the enthusiastic millions watching the nail-biting final, ball by ball, with my eyes glued to the TV screen. I was elated when they rejoiced after winning the cup. Though all this celebration was going on, I did have some disturbing thoughts at the back of my mind. No doubt, cricket is the most famous and most favorite game among the Indians. During weekends or holidays we'd find most of the guys out in the streets playing cricket. However that doesn't mean that we should neglect and not promote/help other sports grow.

I read in an article that Rohit Sharma was initially living in a rented apartment and then he shifted to his own apartment in Mumbai. I also read that BCCI has offered rewards of 80L to the T20 winners and 1crore specially to Yuvraj. It is good to encourage sportsmen who make India proud, but this is very lavish. The same money could be used to develop sports facilities in rural villages and other places, promote other sports and encourage enthusiastic sports people who might be deprived due to lack of funds. We might be having lot of Viswanathan Anands,Kutraleeswarans,PT Ushas,Leander Paes,Sania Mirzas,Narain Karthikeyans waiting for opportunities to prove themselves and excel in their respective fields. Why can't India win the Olympics gold in athletics and other events?A win in such an event would also be as ecstatic as the win in T20 world cup. Being a sportsperson myself, though I haven't travelled outside TN for sports, I have seen people facing a lot of difficulties to move forward and shine in various fields due to inadequacy of funds, unavailability of proper facilities and politics playing a major role rather than merit.

The Government should promote and help sports other than cricket to make them grow and become as famous as cricket. The media is also a culprit here since they don't give a big coverage to any other sport wins as they give to cricket. The media should also project and encourage upcoming stars in other sports. This would help them to get more sponsors enabling them to participate in more international events and thus bring laurels to our country.

Disclaimer: Whatever I have expressed is my opinion and NEED NOT coincide with the views of every other Indian.

9 comments:

mgnithi said...

First things first.. It is not the government that is promoting cricket.. It is BCCI an independent organization which owns assets worth multi million dollars. So they are free to give whatever amount they can. They give away so much money so that this amount can be shown as expenses when it comes to paying taxes.

mgnithi said...

//The media is also a culprit here since they don't give a big coverage to any other sport wins as they give to cricket//

The media is not to be blamed. They are not charity organizations.. they run their companies only based on advertisements and TRP ratings. So they will give priority to the game people love to watch.. On any given day there will be a hockey or football match telecasted in DD sports . But how many of us watch?

mgnithi said...

//The media is also a culprit here since they don't give a big coverage to any other sport wins as they give to cricket//

Can you think of any major wins in the recent past in any other game... Nehru cup and Asia cup wins may be bigger wins for us but not at an international level...

Anonymous said...

the haste with which the various state governments announced cash awards left me with a bad after taste.

its not the same with other sports like u said.

N

Compassion Unlimitted said...

I agree its just the overdose which is choking one.Its a sort of much ado about nothing.The only solace is that instead of wasting 5 days or one whole day people will waste only 3 or 4 hoursin 20*20.Thats a nice development.!!
On the other side do u think it could be a passing phase.once upon a time may be hockey too enjoyed this kind of craze !
Any how let us look forward to a good reception to our own Vishy Anand,The world champion
CU

Ms Congeniality said...

mgnithi,
Why aren't there such organizations for other sports bestowed with such riches?
Why does Viswanathan Anand's win prevail somewhere in the farthermost column of the last or the one before last page of the newspapers whereas India's win is picturised in the front page of the newspaper?Both have achieved something to make India proud
Cricket didn't become famous out of the blues, it took its own time for evolution into what it is now, the other sports will also take its time provided they are encouraged and promoted

N,
True :)

CU,
//The only solace is that instead of wasting 5 days or one whole day people will waste only 3 or 4 hoursin 20*20.Thats a nice development.!!//
That's a good one :)

Unknown said...

Inna dhaan sonnalum Cricket Rules.

Cricket is a religion here.. not a sport.

smiley said...

WISH U AND UR FAMILY A HAPPY NEW YEAR :)

ashok said...

happy diwali