Be a sport, Mr. FM

News Courtesy :: Mid Day Sports 01st March 2008

SPORTSPERSONS of our country, especially in those disciplines that fall under the Olympic platform will look at the Rs.781.83 Crore sports budget and bear the sad news with indignation, frustration and anger.

The sports budget is meant for us sportspersons. It is supposed to be used to buy shuttles so that our National badminton championships can be played with dignity. The money is meant for ammunition and equipment and trainers, so that our shooters can prepare for the forthcoming Beijing Olympics untroubled by concerns of when they will receive funds for their needs. The money is meant to provide international exposure and training to our track & field athletes, who train in perhaps the most pitiable conditions, staying in cockroach-infested dormitories. The money is meant to fund our trips for various national and international events where we represent our country.

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Ask any athlete who has represented his/her country how much time it takes for the reimbursement of expenses and the answer is always in years and not in days or months. The stock reply is that there are not enough funds. Mr. Finance Minister, you are a fine ambassador for our country at the global arena. You are articulate, well educated, well meaning and of course very enthusiastic.

When was the last time that your reimbursement for a trip to Davos got stuck with the Ministry for two years? Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Anju Bobby George, Yasin Merchant, Pankaj Advani, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Anjali Vedpathak and Gagan Narang are all gold medal-winning athletes and fine ambassadors. Then why Sir, are their bills not cleared with the same speed and intent as yours when you get back from your business trips?

The allocation of Rs.781.83 Crore for sport, clearly reflects the lack of priority in our collective political mindset. It is easy to discard and marginalise sport with arguments over the need to eradicate poverty and provide water, electricity to our villages. Yet, in one stroke you can reduce excise duty on small cars by up to 4%, which hurts the exchequer by an amount which is in many multiples of that 700 Crore.

Sir, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that the money filtering down to the athletes will not be more than 50 Crore.

The rest gets absorbed quickly and without consideration by the machinery which is supposed to run our country’s sport. When we come back from the Beijing Olympics in August, yet again empty handed or at best with a solitary medal, I will write another piece reminding you to give sport and sportspersons more dignity, power, priority and of course MONEY. 

Geet Sethi