Indian athletes exhibit remarkable fighting spirit unwavering will to succeed.

As we reflect on the Olympic performances, one thing becomes clear: Indian athletes exhibit remarkable fighting spirit, mental fortitude, and an unwavering will to succeed.

Yet, for all their grit, the question lingers—why does India struggle to secure its place as an Olympic superpower? 

The Need for Clinical Analysis Over Emotional Reactions

It's easy to react emotionally to a player’s disqualification or a missed opportunity for a gold medal. However, what we need is a clinical analysis of why these setbacks occur and, more importantly, how they can be prevented. Take, for example, the questionable decision to allow a wrestler to compete in an unfamiliar weight category, thereby denying another medal hopeful their chance. Or the perplexing inability of our celebrated javelin thrower to breach the 90m mark, while a neighbouring country, with a fraction of our resources, sets a new record.

Recurring Patterns and Missed Opportunities

After the Rio Olympics in 2016, I wrote about how most countries departed peacefully, with minimal controversy beyond the usual concerns of drug abuse and Zika. In contrast, India's Olympics were marred by a litany of issues—from Narsingh Yadav’s doping scandal to the sprinter who didn’t have proper shoes, from inadequate facilities to the oversized official delegations. Fast forward to 2024, and not much has changed. We remain a nation of post-mortem specialists, quick to analyse and play politics around what went wrong but slow to implement lasting solutions.

A Culture of Accountability and Strategic Vision

If India is to rise as an Olympic superpower, it is imperative that the government, in collaboration with the governing bodies, opposition parties, state governments, athletes, and their support teams, commits to a strategic Olympic mission. As it stands, much of our efforts seem designed to serve as mere bullet points in the government’s credential presentations. The Rs. 470 crore spent on the 2024 season is, without a doubt, a significant sum—but without a coherent strategy, it risks becoming a recurring expense rather than an investment in our future.

Consider this: India ranks 71st in Olympic standings among 84 countries that managed to win a medal, trailing behind countries like Slovenia, Turkey, and Ethiopia. Despite our spending of around 2% of the GDP of some of these nations for the current season, we’re outperformed by nations with far fewer resources. The current season was expected to be India’s best, 117 participants, competing for 95 potential medal opportunities, of the total 329 medals, and hopes for a double-digit medal haul. Yet, we will end up the season, making this our worst performance compared to Tokyo 2021.

Investment Disparities and the Need for Sports Education

The Rs. 470 crore spent underscores a troubling pattern—sporadic, last-minute investments made without a cohesive strategy. Even within this allocation, disparities are glaring: athletics received Rs. 96 crore, with 29 participants, badminton Rs. 72 crore, 7 participants, while boxing and shooting were allotted Rs. 61 crore each, 6 and 21 participants respectively, Hockey Rs. 41 crore, 19 participants, Archery Rs.39 crore, 6 participants, Meanwhile, wrestling received Rs. 38 crore, 6 participants,

Weight lifting Rs.27 crore, 1 participant and table tennis Rs. 13 crore, 8 participants, Judo Rs.6.5 crore, 1 participant and so on.

Indian Olympics starts have undertaken 377 foreign trips in the last 3 years for training and other event participations. Govt spent 5.75 Cr for Neeraj Chopra’s training alone and for that of PV Sindhu is 3.15 Cr. Satwik-Chirag (Badminton doubles) received training worth 5.62 Cr, while Mirabai Chanu’s (weight lifting) share is 2.75 Cr.

This raises a critical question: How strategic are these investments? What is India doing to cultivate an enduring Olympic ethos? How much are we investing in sports education at the grassroots level?

The composition of our Olympic contingent also reveals stark disparities. Almost 40% of the team come from two states, Haryana and Punjab. Haryana, with a population of 3 crores, produced 24 Olympians—one for every 12.5 lakh people.

Punjab, with 19 athletes, has one Olympian per 16 lakh people. These figures too highlight the need for more inclusive sports development initiatives nationwide.