Off-side: The paradox of India’s Olympic ambition
Off-side: The paradox of India’s Olympic ambition
In Gujarat — most likely the potential host for the 2036 Olympics assuming India fends off competition from the likes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey and gets the nod from the International Olympic Committee — over five thousand government primary schools, currently, don’t have a playground. The State government, while answering a query at the Legislative Assembly in February 2024, admitted that 5,012 of its government primary schools don’t have a playing arena. Gujarat has around 33,000 government primary schools and students in roughly one of six schools don’t have a playing field.
But this isn’t just a Gujarat-only issue. The State, in fact, does better than the rest of the country. Across India, according to a survey published by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Education, Government of India, in 2022, around 3.5 lakh schools don’t have playgrounds. Of the country’s roughly 14.9 lakh schools, only 76 per cent provide a dedicated playing space. Among the larger states — Punjab (97.5%), Delhi (96.5%), Maharashtra (93.1%), Haryana (89.9%) — have fared well, while Bihar (50%), Odisha (64%), and West Bengal (66%) hover at or below the two-thirds mark.
It’s not just the lack of playgrounds that plagues India’s sporting dreams. In Tamil Nadu, earlier this year, the State government increased the number of students per Physical Education Teachers (PETs) in schools to 700 from the old ratio of one teacher per 250 to 400 students. Even with the relaxed ratio, Tamil Nadu still has around 1,300 vacancies for PE teachers, and primary schools in the State don’t even have positions for PE teachers currently.
If we now pan out and look at the bigger picture — the Olympics — all this starts to feel even more distressing. Historically, host countries do quite well, finishing in the top 10 of the medals table. Though there have been outliers — Canada, at the 1976 Montreal Olympics, had the worst performance for a host nation, finishing 27th with 11 medals (five silver and six bronze). Brazil, in 2016, was in the 13th spot (seven gold, six silver, six bronze), while Greece was ranked 15th (six gold, six silver, four bronze) in 2004.
India, hoping to make an impression in 2036, would have to bridge an enormous gap. Its best-ever performance was in Tokyo, where it ended 48th, with one gold, two silver and four bronze medals. Germany’s 10th place finish at the Paris Games came with a dozen golds and a tidy stack of silver (13) and bronze (8) medals.
As a nation, it’s a strange kind of optimism we’re banking on, hoping for a miracle without doing the groundwork: widening the base of the talent pyramid by improving the school and grassroots sports setup.
In Australia, the winner of 605 Summer Olympic medals, the PE teachers are the bulwark of the school education system. “Some of the highest-paid [teachers] in the teaching system in Australia are the physical education teachers because they alone are the ones that impact the child more than the entire teaching fraternity at an institution. They impact outcomes socially, physically, mentally, academically, and inclusion-wise. So, they are put on a pedestal in the Australian education system,” says Australian John Gloster, the former conditioning coach of the Indian cricket team.
In India, until we stop treating our coaches like background extras and start rewarding them not just financially but also through education, upskilling, exposure and surrounding, we are going to stay exactly where we are, while the rest of the world sprints ahead.
