through over the last few years since Tokyo Olympics 2020. Though the nation witnessed gruesome behaviour of weather at many parts of the country especially Kerala, heinous crimes of murders and rapes during this Olympic season, the performance at the games bore more vocal and written reactions.The athletes gave their best at the games in spite of overwhelming pressure from us who almost forgot them since the last Olympic events. But we can’t blame ourselves because we are designed to act and react when the season comes and expect our players to win bags of medals with the support which is going to last for the days when the Olympics are on. Some critics and highly opinionated people will say that our performance over the years have improved. Who must show the bird’s eye view of data of our feat in the Olympics since Independence. The graph below shows a comparative analysis of the contingent and the medals tally in all Olympics since 1948 of India, China and USA. I could have included other countries as well but I was afraid that it would have been hurtful to see the medals tally of some of the nations whom we can’t even point on a map is higher than us.
It can be seen, the negligibly visible orange marker of our medals as compared to the pronounced colour code of China and USA is cause for concern. This is because we are the largest country in terms of population, third largest economy of the world and going to be second largest by 2049. Does it mean we do not have the talent? Or do we not have the grit, determination or will to win? Well I would like to differ on all these questions as I believe that we are the finest individuals who could achieve anything through our will power.
This article is not to take a dig at the politics, media, athletes or staff like what has been done since the disheartening case of Vinesh Phogat has surfaced. People voiced their opinions through many platforms expressing their support, anger, grief and some stupid comments as well. But I guess some of us were really concerned and some just found this incident to be popular again. The beauty of our thought process is that we can make anything political or politically motivated. The pressure and agony on Vinesh Phogat for losing out on a likely Gold medal was so much that her physical and mental state following her disqualification was shattered to the core. Following this mental state, an athlete of her stature decided to quit the sport forever.
An athlete faces a silent killer in the form of pressure. This pressure is created by peers,the social standing, national level pressure to bag the prestigious medal and at international level to represent the nation. Media coverage and social media trolls adds on to this stigma. Some even don’t care for the sensitivities these athletes have and relate them to various groups and thought processes. Body language and displayed frustration by support and coaching staff lay the last straw on the pile to make it crumble. To overcome this, the athletes need to have positive and healthy counselling as a regular process. The counselling needs to be independent and must aim at the mental well-being of each of them. Counselling is scientific and can address major mental blocks and strengthen them mentally. It is imperative that the mental state of these athletes is assessed, and they be handled carefully to make them strong enough for the competition. Performance is the sum total of their physical state,
their skill and sound mind which when addressed correctly will pay rich dividends in the long term.
The prestigious Olympics come once every four years for a reason. It gives time for each nation to prepare and select their best athletes to participate. The athletes work hard, prepare, practice and sacrifice to come up to their expectations and to take the name of the nation high. However, we also need to understand that we form part of the same nation, and we have responsibilities too. Medals won’t come if we cheer our heroes only during the events, play motivating advertisements for a month and then let our memories fade in due course of time.
It is important that we let our athletes feel that come what may , we will be with them from the beginning of their journey till the end. Our athletes should not feel the pressure of the society or the media who constantly build pressure on them for their precious bites. It is time for us to tell our heroes to go and enjoy the game, keep only your game and India’s pride in your mind while competing, and the medals will flow. We all go crazy with the achievements of Cricket and its continuous dosage that we remember our athletes only for an Olympic season that lasts for a month.
Performance at International level is a collective and continuous process wherein we are required to be more supportive, more empathetic and show more patience. After all, we desire that the flag always goes high and we get to hear our National Anthem played at the International Arena more often. Let us join together to hail our heroes and prepare them emotionally and mentally to face the Olympics 2028.
