Olympics 2028: India must mull its Paris debacle, start preparing for Los Angeles Games

Expectedly, all has gone silent. After the less than tepid performance at Paris 2024, we have that familiar and famous forgetfulness curve kick in. And that too in under a month. I don’t even think a review meeting has happened at a policymaking level, let alone at the federation level, to either discuss the debacle or plan for the future.

While the Olympic medal count over the last decade or so has been higher than total medals won before that since independence, it is still far from respectable for a country like India.

Besides, much of the achievement can be attributed to individual enterprise and less to a planned institutional programme. Flagship programmes like Khelo India and Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) have added some focus, but much needs to be done to aid the trickle-down impact to the grassroots. Here are a few suggestions:

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Policy Stability

If ministers for important portfolios like finance and defence can remain constant, why not sports? Sports, by its nature, requires policy stability. A sportsperson plans for the long term and adheres to a strict roadmap, and if policy is stable along that roadmap, it just helps in results.

Aquatics, Athletics, and Gymnastics

These three disciplines are the largest medal-winning categories at the Olympics. If we don’t focus on these three, there is no point even discussing why we don’t get a respectable medal haul. While the Athletics Federation of India can be seen doing some work, it is anyone’s guess what the Swimming Federation of India and Gymnastic Federation of India are doing.

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It would be great to know about their stellar achievements.

Federation Accountability

In India, every Olympic sport has a policy-executing arm in its federation. While some do good work, most are a political and bureaucratic dynastic cesspool. Even if no athlete for a sport is represented at the Olympics, the office bearers get privileged viewing seats for these events, and they religiously attend. It must be incumbent on every federation to publish a 5-year roadmap of a plan for the Olympics along with resource allocation, specific athletes, and an event calendar on their website.

States Commitment

Thankfully, sports have moved from state to concurrent list, aiding the possibility of central programmes being implemented. But most states themselves fall woefully short of their individual commitment to sport. Many get away by mere lip service in their annual budget, allocating peanuts for prize money and grants rather than making any meaningful infrastructure-related commitment.

State-Corporate-Federation Partnership

Large corporations like Tatas, Reliance, and Adani, through their foundations, are already supporting sports, but a focused tripartite partnership can yield magical returns. Orissa, for example, has been a beacon when it comes to hockey, along with the Hockey Federation of India.

If the sports ministry can broker a tripartite partnership through an open and public call, results will be guaranteed.

Defence

Our Defence Services have been doing yeoman service to sports, especially in disciplines such as rowing and sailing, probably because of facility access. A selection of discipline should be left to the forces with full funding backup by the sports ministry with no federation interference.

Full Overlap Plan

The event plan for Los Angeles 2028 (LA2028) has been firmed up. There are approximately 35 disciplines with 350 medal events. The vision endeavour should be to qualify for all disciplines with a contingent size that at least exceeds the number of events. An immediate national-level planning conclave should be called without delay to address a roadmap.

TOGS not just TOPS

Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) is the flagship programme of the sports ministry to support elite athletes, but what is perhaps required is a Target Olympic “Grassroot” Scheme that aids in identifying talent in organised and unorganised catchments. For the life of me, I can’t imagine why we can’t get kids to qualify for gymnastics despite our Yoga and Mallakhamb traditions. Or, for that matter, find swimmers among kids in our coastal states or riparian cities.

“KREEDAPATH” like “AGNIPATH”

Perhaps there is a case for the sports ministry to fashion a “Kreedapath” programme on the lines of “Agnipath” by the Defence Ministry. A short-term sports enlistment programme where selected young athletes are funded with an incentive-based exit lump sum once they are done with their sporting career. A disciplined ex-sportsperson can be as valuable as a disciplined ex-serviceman to society and will go a long way in spreading a sporting culture. The application process for Kreedapath can be based on best practices adopted for Agnipath.

All the above suggestions can be implemented only if there is committed sports-policy stability at the top. We have the money, and operational imperatives like infrastructure, coaches, etc, will fall in line once policy direction is firm.

For LA2028, India’s time starts now—or else another medal ignominy looms on a not-so-distant horizon!

The author is an entrepreneur and a columnist with keen interest in history, social anthropology, public policy and economy. He tweets as @vikramlimsay. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.