Now, govt must shift focus from cricket to other sports

Yogesh Mishra

Raipur, May 02, 2013

With success comes responsibility. After successfully organising two IPL matches in Raipur, the government is expected to do a bigger job in sports world by shifting its focus from cricket to other sports and then conceiving in direction of developing Chhattisgarh as a sports hub. 

After IPL shows, the government is overwhelmed by wide acclamation it received for building fully-facilitated international-level stadium at Parsada in Raipur. Now, it aspires to host longer formats of cricket – the one day internationals (ODIs) and test matches. 

Fair enough. However, since Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (CSCS) is already there to pursue this task and deal future events, let the government concentrate in developing world-class support infrastructure for cricket events. In fact, post IPL matches, the government’s primary job of putting cricket on right track is over.  

The government is rather expected to take care of other sports in a similar fashion. It should build infrastructure for each of these sports so that Chhattisgarh’s talented players may not migrate to other states in frustration. 

However, the government alone cannot achieve this task. It will have to take help of large and medium business houses. For this, it needs to remind these houses about corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ask them to adopt and develop at least one sport by establishing sports zones at block, district and state levels.

In doing so, the government must ensure that the business houses adopt especially those sports that are played in Asian games and Olympics so that more and more number of players from Chhattisgarh could represent the nation in such international events in coming years.

Since every state government is expected to provide job to its talented players, Chhattisgarh too has similar pressure. However, even if the government would like to give jobs, only few will be picked and others left, for not meeting the requisite criteria. 

Now, it’s the government’s job to think out of box and make future of every player safe. The bitter fact about the players is that they usually face financial crisis in the fag end of their career. Some even die in anonymity after getting retired. 

This is injustice to all those players who, despite sacrificing their studies, families and a bright career to bring laurels for the state/country in sporting events, have to crave for even a penny in old age. To make every player financially strong, the concept of sports zones can really click.

Hence, the sports zones should constitute executive bodies comprised of players. The job of these bodies will be to monitor activities of sports zones and ensure transparency in selection of new talents for training and nurturing. The trainers and instructors in sports zones should again be players at district, state and national level. The members of these executive bodies, trainers and instructors should get respectable honorariums. 

This is how, the government’s dual purpose will be solved through sports zones as they will not only develop sports culture in every part of the state, but also give financial succor to the players in terms of honorariums.

With roles and responsibilities defined and financial need met, the players in the form of mentors, trainers and instructors would surely put their optimum effort in making state a sports hub of the country.