Management Aptitude Test Sep 2013 Paper

As 2013 begins, Indian sport is standing at a fork in the road. From the high o f the London Games where Indian athletes registered the country's best ever performance at the Olympics, to the low o f the suspension o f the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), last year brought out the best and worst o f India's sports culture. On the one hand, the successes of Olympians such as wrestler Sushil Kumar, pugilist Vijender Singh and shooting ace Abhinav Bindra over the recent past have brought joy and a spurt in sporting interest among youth. This in turn could translate into a vibrant sports talent pool for the future. However, the country's sporting infrastructure continues to remain infirm and corrupt. If Indian athletes succeed at the international level, it is not because o f the system but in spite o f it.
The IOA’s suspension followed by that o f the Indian Amateur Boxing Federation — has exposed the deep politicisation o f sports administration. Unlike China, where success in sports is intrinsically linked to national pride, sports in India continue to be treated as a tool for disbursing political patronage. This step-motherly attitude also extends to India's Number 1 game, cricket, where the BCCl's opaque style of functioning - mired in conflicts o f interest has started taking a toll on the performance o f the national team. If India is to ever become a sporting powerhouse, it must completely overhaul its sporting infrastructure. Severing the link between sports and politics would be the first step, facilitated by the implementation of the National Sports Code limiting tenures end stipulating age ' limits for administrators o f all sporting federations. Lot the lessons o f 2012 pole-vault Indian sports to greater heights.