India's Olympic Achievement: Indifference

[cyphercide]

As I argued elsewhere people from more impoverished African countries do much better than Indians do. There is no govt focus on them or infrastructure to support them in those countries.

The one field where we are modestly successful is cricket which grew without govt support anyways. It is something Indian kids naturally love to play. Then again for a country of 1.2 billion it is nothing big really. As @Gibbs said even tiny Sri Lanka punches above its weight in cricket.

African countries do well in track and field events where they are at an advantage on account of genetics. However, there are numerous events where you can even out the genetic predispositions. For example, you don't need to be the fastest swimmer in the world in order to be a gold medalist in Diving or Synchronized Swimming. That is where government focus and infrastructure comes in.

 

[Hermione]

African countries do well in track and field events where they are at an advantage on account of genetics. However, there are numerous events where you even out the genetic predispositions. For example, you don't need to be the fastest swimmer in the world in order to be a gold medalist in Diving or Synchronized Swimming. That is where government focus and infrastructure comes in.

Do I hear excuses for Africans winning? What about football, basketball, volleyball? Those do not take a lot of infrastructure. We can blame the govt all we want and keep blaming it well into the next century.

 

[Indischer]

@Hermione I found the article rather offensive in the sense that he's advocating that Indians are better off remaining indifferent to Sports. That's not the way we are and that's not the way we should be.

I agree that we need not ape the West and try to compete with them in all 'their' sports. But, how many of our own homegrown sports do we play? The gilli-danda remains as humble as ever, a galli sport with no uniformity in laws across regions. Kho kho is all but relegated from our minds as a serious sport. Kabaddi just about manages to make waves every now and then, owing to the fact that it is no longer just an Indian game. But is kabaddi played with fervour in all parts of India?

Do we have popular and institutional support for any game other than Cricket, a foreign import? No. Do we have mass support for any homegrown sport? No. Are we content with watching others play and not send athletes of our own to International Sporting events? No. So, are 1 billion people athletically challenged? No way!

All this does make it seem like it's a case of sour grapes, as our competence remains undimmed, but our talent remains suspect.

 

[Khan_patriot]

The typical Indians (who make up most of its populace) are weak physically and lack athletic prowess, I cant with for ''Indian blue eyed Aryans'' to refute my claims......

 

[cyphercide]

Do I hear excuses for Africans winning? What about football, basketball, volleyball? Those do not take a lot of infrastructure. We can blame the govt all we want and keep blaming it well into the next century.

That's just plain statistics, the West can afford to field an all Black athletics team. We can't. Either way, I feel like this is going around in endless circles with little or no headway being made

So let's just agree to disagree and move on.

 

[Indischer]

The typical Indians (who make up most of its populace) are weak physically and lack athletic prowess, I cant with for ''Indian blue eyed Aryans'' to refute my claims......

A brown eyed, brown skinned, short Indian is enough to refute your claims, as they're baseless. Fitness is a function of good diet and regular exercise while talent is honed by good coaching, dedicated practice and a desire to excel. Any Indian with these ingredients can compete against any person of any ethnicity. Question is, how many Indians have the benefit of availing all this?

 

[Hermione]

I found the article rather offensive in the sense that he's advocating that Indians are better off remaining indifferent to Sports. That's not the way we are and that's not the way we should be.

@Indischer I have read TD for a long time now. He is not at all looking down at India, it is his contempt for Olympics rather. He has been a vociferous critic of the way English society has degenerated. He is the last writer with any "common sense" at all in England I would say.

Sports is anything but sporty in West nowadays. In Indian context children used to play games to bond, build friendships, learn about outdoors, explore their environment, etc. That is not what sports are in West for. Its objective is entirely different.

Do we have popular and institutional support for any game other than Cricket, a foreign import? No. Do we have mass support for any homegrown sport? No. Are we content with watching others play and not send athletes of our own to International Sporting events? No. So, are 1 billion people athletically challenged? No way!

That was the whole point he made, that Indians are indifferent to competitive sports. We are not athletically challenged, but our priorities are different.

Read his articles here. It is a treasure I promise.
The Iconoclast

 

[Indischer]

@Indischer I have read TD for a long time now. He is not at all looking down at India, it is his contempt for Olympics rather. He has been a vociferous critique of the way English society has degenerated. He is the last writer with any "common sense" at all in England I would say.

Sports is anything but sporty in West nowadays. In Indian context children used to play games to bond, build friendships, learn about outdoors, explore their environment, etc. That is not what sports are in West for. Its objective is entirely different.



That was the whole point he made, that Indians are indifferent to competitive sports. We are not athletically challenged, but our priorities are different.

Read his articles here. It is a treasure I promise.
The Iconoclast

Okies, will go through them.

 

[Hermione]

Fitness is a function of good diet and regular exercise while talent is honed by good coaching, dedicated practice and a desire to excel. Any Indian with these ingredients can compete against any person of any ethnicity. Question is, how many Indians have the benefit of availing all this?

There must be at least 100 million Indians who are "rich." They are more than the population of many small countries who excel in sports. They can avail a good coach, but dedicated practice and desire to excel cannot be bought by money. That has to be inspired.

 

[Indischer]

There must be at least 100 million Indians who are "rich." They are more than the population of many small countries who excel in sports. They can avail a good coach, but dedicated practice and desire to excel cannot be brought by money. That has to be inspired.

Yes. And such emotions aren't natural to many. Steely resolve and dedication to practice and maintaining fitness are akin to a Tapasya, IMO. But I'm baffled as to why those of good financial standing and interest in Sports do not make it all the way into History books.

 

[Hermione]

Yes. And such emotions aren't natural to many. Steely resolve and dedication to practice and maintaining fitness are akin to a Tapasya, IMO. But I'm baffled as to why those of good financial standing and interest in Sports do not make it all the way into History books.

We have enormous number of people who do extreme Tapasya, the Himalayas are a witness to those. Forms of deprivations that no one in the West go through. So it is not lack of Tapasya.

 

[Indischer]

We have enormous number of people who do extreme Tapasya, the Himalayas are a witness to those. Forms of deprivations that no one in the West go through. So it is not lack of Tapasya.

The underlying urges and goals may be different, but Yes, what many of our Ascetics go through needs the same level of motivation and dedication as professional Sportsmen, perhaps even more. But why is it that not many Indians are ready to do Ghora Tapasya in the Sports Arena, be it any sport?

 

[Hermione]

But why is it that not many Indians are ready to do Ghora Tapasya in the Sports Arena, be it any sport?

I believe in karma. It is India's karma to be different.

 

[Khan_patriot]

A brown eyed, brown skinned, short Indian is enough to refute your claims, as they're baseless. Fitness is a function of good diet and regular exercise while talent is honed by good coaching, dedicated practice and a desire to excel. Any Indian with these ingredients can compete against any person of any ethnicity. Question is, how many Indians have the benefit of availing all this?

Although I do agree that diet, practice etc have a very vital place but genetics is very important to be ''truly elite'', every race has its own distinct genetics making it suited for specific jobs (although exception occur), put for example aqn average Asian and African in a sprinting contest and more likely than not the African is going to be faster, taller and stronger but at the same time the Asian may be more agile, smart etc. Speaking in broader terms of the entire subcontinent I think that we are not a very athletically motivated lot, we rather churn out doctors and engineers then invest in sports etc, its all about priorities mate.....

 

[Indischer]

Although I do agree that diet, practice etc have a very vital place but genetics is very important to be ''truly elite'', every race has its own distinct genetics making it suited for specific jobs (although exception occur), put for example aqn average Asian and African in a sprinting contest and more likely than not the African is going to be faster, taller and stronger but at the same time the Asian may be more agile, smart etc. Speaking in broader terms of the entire subcontinent I think that we are not a very athletically motivated lot, we rather churn out doctors and engineers then invest in sports etc, its all about priorities mate.....

You're right, but that's not not what you said in your first post. The last sentence describes the whole situation in a nutshell.