In a bid to transform a saying, which states ‘India is a sports-loving country rather than sports playing country’, there is still a long way to head towards getting more developed and flourishing sports infrastructure in India. Taking from every individual involvement to the government’s attention, there is an immediate requirement of creating a sporting cult in every part of the country irrespective of states and districts.
With so many years of haul in winning any remarkable medals in tournaments like Olympics, World Cups, and others, it is quite apparent that something is still missing in our preparation. After focusing in deliberately into the issue, it has come up to the light that devoid of proper coaching as well as the less developed sports infrastructure, there are a few retarding facts for Indian sports which further constitutes the main reason of such poor performance in Olympics medal tally.
In India, a large proportion of the population is shared by the youth, which can be considered as the building blocks of a much potential market of India. Amid such a potential market of India, there is a dire need that the government of India takes some initiative to beckon more young entrepreneurs to start investing in the Indian sports section. By calling these Young Turks on board, the government can open new gates for some non-conventional business format and let them contribute to India’s GDP. The governments can take some handy initiative in order to enrich the Indian sports sector along with its infrastructure:
a. Graduating sports sector as an industry
b. Promotion of Sports sector education program
c. Monetary assistance to the sportsbased firms
d. Giving a boost to R & D in the sports sector
Graduating sports sector as an industry
India is a rapidly growing economy and with the new turbulence of media coverage and cheap data connection (Internet) across the country, a lot has been projected to be done in the sector like sports.
Erstwhile, Sports sectors which were majorly occupied by the cricket now a lot many other sports have emerged following multisporting events and Leagues enriching the dormant sector of sports. At present, India is hosting extravagant league of Indian Premier League(Cricket), Indian Super League(Football), Hockey India League(HIL), Pro Kabaddi League and India Badminton League are doing great on Indian sports and media channels. Joining the bandwagon, recently, inassociation with Dabur India, the KhoKho Federation of India (KKFI) has also launched a major franchise based league for the sport named Ultimate KHO-KHO. Apparently, Indian sports sector is on the rise which subsequently raises a golden platform for sports entrepreneurship. Marking as the high time to pour for money in the sector, there is an immense need for young entrepreneurs to recognize Indian sports sector potential and kick off their own startups. Gone are the days, when India used to be known for their sport of cricket only as now there are many other sports like tennis badminton, squash, hockey and many others which have emerged where Indian athletes are making country to feel proud. Amid such positive vibes, there is a need that the government should recognize as a prolific industry which also happens to generate huge employment across several sectors like apparel, Sports medicine, Sports tourism, and other allied sectors.
Regulation of Sports sector education program
Education can change anything taking from sex education, consumer awareness or in this case of sports, it can really educate the real entrepreneurial character hidden beyond the sports grounds and players. Subsequently, there is an immense need to educate students with a little bit dose of Sports Education. At the time, when the sports sector is all set to attain industry status, the demand for a well-constructed sports education system is on the rise. The phenomenon is quite evident seeing a sudden influx of several sports management program, sports medicine, sport, and other affiliated sector sports related pedagogy in india. This only shows that the incumbent government is putting much effort to promote programs that cater to the Industry-based sports education.
Monetary assistance to the sportsbased firms
Beckoning more and Younger entrepreneurs on board, the Indian government must rise monetary funding and offer tax holidays for sportsbased firms. These acts not only infuse confidence into the heart of young budding entrepreneurs but also cater a welcoming gesture for the industry which has a global presence at present.
Giving a boost to R & D in the sports sector
If you want medals then you must nurture sportspersons in the first place. In the same way, the Indian Government needs to pour in money for technological advancement like sports analytics which assists a lot in coaching professional athletes. The government should also pay attention to other requisites of the sports and the sportsperson like nutrition, physiotherapy, qualitative turf, and sensors.
Besides, there is a need to work more on units like Process cum Product Development Centre (PPDC) to research and develop more precise sports goods of international quality in the Indian market. The Centre works under the government’s MSME sector which is also entitled to train Indian poor students about the nitty-gritty of sports goods manufacturing and testing in the laboratories. This training will further boost up the confidence of these poor Indian youth as well as generate employment in this niche sector of sports goods manufacturing.
Some more key areas where Indian government needs to pay attention in order to strengthen indigenous sports infrastructure:
- Schools: Schools, being the fundamental platform to nurture young budding talents; they play a pivotal role in shaping up Indian sporting culture and infrastructure. In the last couple of years, apparently, the government has come up with sports friendly initiatives including Khelo India and others in favor of Indian grassroots sports programmes.
- Broadcast more sports: Broadcasting of sports matters not only in India but also across the globe, it not just makes the tournament in demand but also attracts more young kids to aspire for the sport. The phenomenon is quite clear with the widespread favoritism for the sport of cricket. In the meantime, other sports are also marking their presence on the national television following the commencement of many leagues in the last half-decade.
- Get Corporates in on the action: Seeing so much sports leagues starting India, it is quite evident that corporates are taking interest in Indian sports sector by sponsoring these leagues running for weeks.
In the last than a half-decade, many Sports Leagues come into the field including IPL (Needless To Say), HIL, Pro Kabaddi League, Boxing league and now in near future there will be Kho Kho League in India. Each and Every league being endorsed by some corporates major players like Vivo Mobiles endorses both Indian Premier League and Pro Kabaddi League. Such endorsements not only build brand recognition of the leagues but also attract more audience and viewers both online and offline for the leagues, following several marketing strategies. Therefore, the sports ministry of the Indian government should be welcoming for any foreigner or national company to pour in money creating a league.
- Infrastructure: India stands at a lowly rank of 103rd on the Global Human Capital Index and 29th on the Global Sports Impact Index. The data establish a direct relationship between sports and quality of human capital of a country. The fact is quite sufficient for India’s policymakers to take stature of Indian sports culture earnestly if we really want to excel on the international turf. And there are a lot many things to do yet. In India statistics states that a huge mass of our population i.e. 42% love to participate in playing cricket, while other sports including Badminton, Cycling, Running, Football, Volleyball, Tennis, Swimming, etc.) is below 13%. Apparently, Indians have never been nurtured as a sports person. Devoid of not such sporty aspiration engrained in our psyche, the sports could not manage to be a part of our integral part of life. However, the sector has been featured by only a few percentages of people. The passion for sports has only resided in a small percentage of the population.
Now here is a thing, until India takes earnest effort to increase participation at the grassroots level, Indians will continue to lag behind, not only on the social development & youth involvement parameters But also perform measurably at several sports events.
- Structured Competition: In this section, There is a need to reach out Indian sporting talents with a structured competition format which not only polishes their talents but also inspire other budding talents to come out of their ghetto. In India, the irony is that federation lacks sum and is mostly work under the corrupt system of donations and funds. Without caring much about the sportsperson spirit, the people at the helm of the federation loot a huge sum of money allotted to the several sports development programs. The government really needs to see into such discrepancies.
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