Column | India@Olympics: Stop pondering over failures, learn from near-misses
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After a splendid start, to Paris 2024, where the shooters did the nation proud, the second week turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment for India, with only three more medals added to the kitty. There were many near misses in almost all the disciplines, resulting in more heartbreaks than successes.
The three medals came from Neeraj Chopra in javelin, Aman Sehrawat in wrestling and field hockey. We performed extremely well to finish with a bronze in hockey, while Neeraj was unable to repeat his golden streak of Tokyo ending up in second place and Aman kept the flag flying for the nation in wrestling.
The highlight was the podium finish in hockey, where the national side electrified the entire country with a string of excellent performances that brought back memories of the golden era of India in this sport. The quarter-final match against England, where we fought heroically after being reduced to 10 players to take the game to a penalty shootout, will remain etched in the memory of all those who witnessed it. Though India went down fighting to Germany in the semis, the side did the nation proud by defeating Spain to clinch the third place.
The heroes for India were Sreejesh, the goalkeeper from Kerala who stood like a proverbial rock to foil all the thrusts from the opponents, and captain Harmanpreet Singh, who must be amongst the most accomplished players in the world in this sport at present.
Sports lovers in India had expected nothing short of a gold medal from Neeraj Chopra, given his win at Tokyo in the last edition of the Games and the consistently good form he has displayed since then. He qualified for the finals in his very attempt with a throw that sent the javelin to a distance of 89.34 metres. However, in the finals, he could not meet the challenge of Arshad Nadeem of Pakistan who set an Olympic record with a throw of 92.97 metres. It was, as Neeraj put it so pithily, “Arshad’s day” and the better performer deservedly walked away with the gold.
Aman Sehrawat’s bronze in wrestling came as a welcome respite for the nation that was reeling under a horde of bad news regarding our contestants in this sport at Paris. A wave of disappointment had spread across the country upon hearing the news of the disqualification of Vinesh Phogat after she was found to be 100 gm heavier than the maximum weight allowed in her category. Even worse was to follow when Antim Panchal was sent back from Paris after her coaches and support staff created embarrassment for the entire country on account of their misbehaviour. Aman’s success was like a breath of fresh air, showing that all was not bad with this discipline in the country.
The major setbacks for India were in badminton, archery, wrestling and boxing where, despite possessing the calibre and skill to win medals, our sportspersons could not do so due to a slew of reasons and circumstances. In addition to these disciplines, Mirabai Chanu came within a whisker of winning a medal in women’s weightlifting but was unlucky to miss out by a narrow margin as her total lift of 199 kg fell one kg behind that achieved by the contestant placed at the third place!
While the Vinesh Phogat saga caught the nation's attention, there are important lessons to be learnt from the disappointments in other events as well and hence a detailed analysis will be in order.
In archery, India stood a chance to win medals in the men's and women’s team items and the mixed doubles. In team events, both men and women lost in the quarter-finals, while in mixed doubles, the pair of Dhiraj Bommadavar and Ankita Bhakat reached the semifinals, only to lose to the South Korean pair. Even more disappointing was their loss in the match for third place, where they went down fighting to the duo from the USA. Deepika Kumari won her first match only to lose in the quarter-finals.
Thus, despite sending a full contingent, the team had to return without a medal. One felt that the absence of chief coach Baek Woong Ki of South Korea, who was not given an accreditation, was the main factor behind the colourless performance of our archers. The team had trained under Baaek and he was sent by the Archery Association of India (AAI) in advance to Paris to help the athletes prepare for the games. But, unfortunately, his name was sent as the fifth one by the AAI, after two Indian coaches and physio and psychologist, despite the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) informing this sports body that only four names would be cleared.
Hence, Baek’s name was not forwarded by IOA. As a result, the archers did not get the services of the head coach at the critical period when they needed him the most. Some better planning on the part of AAI and IOA could have helped avoid this mess.
In badminton, Lakshya Sen raised hopes of a podium finish by reaching the last-four stage, defeating Chou Tien-Sen of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals. But he could not get past the ultimate winner and world No 2 Viktor Axelsen of Denmark, going down in straight games. In the tie for the third place, he lost to Malaysia’s Lee Zia Jia, after winning the first game. Though it was disappointing to return without a medal after reaching the semifinals, Sen’s performance holds plenty of promise for the future as he is only 22 years old and appears capable of scaling greater heights in this game.
The bigger disappointment in this discipline was the defeat of the top-ranked pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in the quarter-finals. Their successful run in the events before the Olympics and their top ranking had raised hopes of a podium finish. But they tripped at the last-eight stage, going down after winning the first set comfortably against the Malaysian pair of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.
PV Sindhu, who had not been in great form of late, also lost in the last-eight stage, thus extinguishing all medal hopes. Badminton has a well-developed infrastructure in the country and does not face any paucity of good coaches and training academies, besides boasting about possessing plenty of success stories for the younger generation. India is one of the major forces in world badminton and it is high time that our potential is transformed into Olympic medals. One hopes that the next few editions of the games will bring better returns in this discipline for the nation.
India expected medals in boxing, with Nikhat Zareen and Lovlina Borgohain listed as strong contenders based on their international ranking. However, Nikhat failed in the pre-quarter-finals, while Lovlina reached the last-eight stage before being losing to Li Qian of China. Amongst the men, Nishant Dev did well to reach the quarter-finals but fell at this stage after putting up a tough fight against Marco Verde of Mexico. The poor returns in this discipline were surprising as India had won four gold medals in the Women’s World Championship in 2023. Here also the frequent changing of coaches - three in as many years - played havoc and led to poor preparation by the boxers in the final lap before the Olympics.
The story of Vinesh Phogat has been told and retold many times and there exists any need for further repetition. While one’s heart goes out to this gutsy wrestler who defeated the World No. 1 to earn a place in the final, only to be robbed of the opportunity of securing an Olympic medal on account of being overweight by a mere 100 gm, this episode raises some difficult, yet basic, questions. Media had reported extensively on the tremendous efforts she had taken after the first three rounds, including fasting, using a treadmill and sauna the entire night and even cutting her hair - to ensure that she remained within the allowed weight category.
The commitment behind these sacrifices is certainly impressive; yet, they also raise the question as to the physical conduction she would have been in and whether she was in any shape to take on the opponent in the finals if her weight was within the allowed range. One also read reports that the poor performance of Antim Panchal in women’s 53 kg wrestling was on account of the contestant fasting during the 48 hours preceding her bout to ensure that her body weight did not exceed the prescribed limits. This leaves one with the question. Is it not better to compete in a category where one fits in rather than indulge in measures like these to lose a few critical grams on the night before the big event? This will be a tough call to take but in future, the sports body concerned should ensure that this rule is strictly adhered to and the various methods adopted to bring down the body mass solely to take part in lower weight categories are not allowed.
Further, irrespective of the outcome of the appeal filed on behalf of Phogat, we should make it a practice to respect and abide by the rules governing a competition, which are published in advance and known to all teams and contestants. One can understand the immense disappointment of Vinesh Phogat which could have triggered the decision to file the appeal. One remembers a similar instance in the 1986 Asian Games at Seoul where Shiny Wilson of India finished first in the 800m race, only to be disqualified later as it was found that she had changed lanes earlier than mandated. It was evident that Shiny did not gain any advantage on account of this honest mistake, but one had to abide by the prescribed rules and she was forced to return without the gold medal she so richly deserved. The results of a contest should be decided on the field rather than in courtrooms or arbitration chambers.
India’s final tally of six medals (one silver and five bronze) is a comedown from the seven, which included one gold, that was won at Tokyo in 2021. With some better luck and more focused planning, we could even have improved on the medal tally and touched the magical double-digit level. However, rather than crib and cry over the past, it is more important to learn from the mistakes that bogged our athletes down this time and ensure that they are not repeated. To achieve this end, we should first stop the practice of holding enquiries about poor performance, which only helps to find scapegoats. All sports bodies must try to focus on the future and work towards developing a pool of talent who should be provided with access to the best facilities, including participation in top meets/ tournaments and services of top-notch foreign coaches. IOA must be made a partner in this process so that they too contribute to this activity and do not place any barriers that hamper progress.
In the final analysis, it must be remembered that success is a team effort even in sports disciplines having a strong individualist streak. All athletes require a committed team of coach, physio and other support staff to attain peak prowess and stay calm and focused during major meets. It is the responsibility of the concerned sports body to ensure that such a team is made available to all sportspersons who take part in important championships. Sports administrators must change their mental makeup and start acting as facilitators to promote and support athletes rather than behaving like regulators who are keen to crack the whip at the slightest pretext. A close association based on mutual respect and love for sports should evolve between the officials and the sportspersons. It should be the endeavour of all sports bodies and their administrators to work towards developing an atmosphere congenial to the development of sports while sportspersons must remain committed to their craft and discipline to the exclusion of everything else. Once this equilibrium is achieved, success will follow and the nation will have many more proud moments to celebrate.