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The summer of sport isn’t over yet.
There are still a few days left of the Paris 2024 Paralympics. India, in particular, is hoping for a better ranking than the 71st place it garnered at the Olympics — below tiny Dominica and North Korea. It looks promising. Its medal tally is already higher. Para shooter Avani Lekhara’s second successive gold medal has been the country’s highlight so far.
But whether it is the Paralympics or Olympics, India underwhelms on the global sports stage, relative to its demographic heft. It has won just 41 medals at the Olympics since 1900. On the balance of probability alone — accounting for 1 in 6 people in the world — the nation’s recent performance is embarrassing. It amassed just six medals at the Olympics this year.
Of course, athletic prowess depends on far more than people power. For instance, America sent over five times the number of athletes India did to this year’s Olympics, despite having just a quarter of its population. Indeed, Rory Green, chief China economist at TS Lombard, finds that GDP explained about 90 per cent of the variation in medal counts at the Paris games. But, India is also the world’s fifth-largest economy. If it has the people and the money, why is it so bad at sports?
Success at the Olympics tends to scale with GDP partly because it acts as a proxy for sports expenditure. “Capital-intensive sports — including gymnastics, sailing, swimming, rowing and diving — accounted for 28 per cent of available medals this year,” notes Green. America, China and Britain excel in many of these. “Economic development also means more leisure time and the creation of a sporting culture.”
India’s economic emergence has, however, not translated into stronger investment in sports, or more recreation. Expenditure on physical recreation has not been a priority for successive governments. As a result, wannabe athletes have faced significant hurdles in the form of poor funding and a lack of access to facilities, coaching and equipment.
Poverty remains a challenge. India’s GDP per capita by purchasing power parity is just over $10,000, according to the World Bank, placing it below the likes of Iraq and Eswatini. Parents and teachers, understandably, encourage children to pursue better paid, high-status professions as doctors and engineers.
“Traditionally, jobs that involve performing for others, such as domestic work, dance, and sports were often associated with lower status,” says Dr Gurnam Singh, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Warwick.
There is a self-reinforcing dynamic here, too. A lack of national sporting role models (beyond cricket and chess) means the risk-reward ratio for making a living as an athlete continues to look unfavourable.
Societal expectations to get a degree, accumulate wealth and look after family mean Indians also tend to dedicate less time to sports in their daily life compared with peer nations. Women face different pressures; to marry and bear children at a young age which hinders sporting ambitions. And cricket has also become so dominant in India that few look to other sports.
There are, however, reasons to be optimistic. Indian officials increasingly recognise the soft power and economic opportunities that sport brings. National sporting budgets have increased in recent years, and programmes including “Khelo India” — which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2017 — aim to unearth and nurture young sporting talent.
Businesses also want to tap into India’s large, young market for sporting goods and viewers. Just last month, sport retailer Decathlon announced a €100mn investment in the country. Sport industry revenues — including media spending and sponsorship — have more than doubled since 2014.
India has also declared interest in hosting the 2036 summer Olympics. A bid could support its sporting status. Green notes that higher medal tallies for host countries are less about home advantage, and more to do with the investment that goes into sport ahead of the event.
Turning India’s athletic woes around will take time and persistence. It notched a national record number of fourth place finishes at this year’s Olympics, but getting into the medal spots warrants ongoing investment in training and preparation. Success on the global stage, alongside continued championing of sports by India’s leaders, may then be necessary to change attitudes towards athletic pursuits.
Until then, India can at least look forward to the return of cricket to the Olympics for Los Angeles 2028, after a 128-year hiatus.
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