Why is it that India always performs badly at the Olympic Games? At every Olympics, our severe shortcomings in Olympic sports are laid bare before the entire world. Ahead of every Games, we are led to believe by the media and the sports administrators that India will win a good number of medals. Every time we are disappointed at the end.
According to Dr. Maxwell Trevor, former national champion cyclist who ruled the sport for more than a decade when he was in his prime, India’s problems can be solved if the right methods are adopted. He says that the foundation of India’s sports structure is not strong and that is why we fail repeatedly. India must start from scratch and train children to become champions of the future.
“Our schools are a gold mine of sports talent but we are not tapping and developing this resource. I believe that every school in India can produce an Olympic medalist if we approach this task in a systematic manner,” Maxwell Trevor told Siasat.com in an exclusive interview.
“We must start at the bottom. It is very important to train children in different sports from the ages of 6 or 7 as is done in China, Japan and many European countries. They take sports very seriously and their sports administrators have a specific target in mind. They want to produce Olympic medal winners in the future,” said Maxwell.
In India sport has low priority
“In India sports are a very low priority activity. Many schools do not have playgrounds. On paper schools are supposed to have playgrounds and games facilities but in reality they have nothing. Sports are so unimportant that nobody bothers about this violation of the laws,” explained Maxwell.
“Our schools are focussed solely on academics. Getting a 100 percent pass result is their only aim. Because then the name of the school will gain respect. But I would like to ask — If the school produces an Olympic medal winner, will the school not become just as famous and highly esteemed – perhaps even more so?”
“The schools that have playgrounds carry out a certain amount of sports activity but not at a highly professional level. By professional, I mean instructing children in all aspects of sport including diet. Diet plays a very important role in taking a player to the highest level. But children are never told about the diet that they should follow.”
Even parents have no idea
“To top it all, even the parents who want their children to do well in games, have no idea of the right diet that their child should be provided with. Indian food habits are not attuned towards producing top quality sportsmen. Generally Indian meals contain too much carb and little protein. At every meal the plates are piled high with rice and a little vegetable or some chicken pieces which are there only to help us to consume the mountain of rice,” explained Maxwell.
“If we are to produce sports champions, we must change our food habits to include more protein and reduce carbs. This change must be implemented from childhood. We must teach our children to eat right. And the modern trend of eating fast food is adding to the problem,” he said.
“Now let me come to my sport which is cycling. I often feel that parents must encourage their children to do more cycling. If they go to school on cycles, it will not only help them to stay fit, but will also reduce pollution. Cycling is not just a sport, it is also a way of staying fit and healthy,” said Max.
“Unfortunately on Indian roads, we do not have space for cyclists. Even on the wide main roads, all vacant space is taken up by hawkers. The Indian Motor Vehicles Act has no provision for cyclists. People using cycles on the roads do not even come into consideration of any laws. It shows that we are completely indifferent about it,” he stated.
The proposal
“Now I have a proposal that can start a change for the better. I am willing to conduct inter-school sports meets in cycling for any interested schools. Moreover, neither the schools nor parents will have to spend their money. I will provide all the cycles for the children to ride on and my team of officials from the Maxwell Trevor Cycling Welfare Association (MTCWA) will conduct the event. All that the children and parents have to do is turn up and take part,” said Max.
“I had put up this proposal to a few schools but I got a very lukewarm response from them. There wasn’t a great enthusiasm for sending the children to participate in a sports event. I hope some schools will come forward. We will do everything and bear all the financial burden. I appeal to all school principals and parents to allow their children to shine at a sport. I am sure there are many talented children. Let us help them to fulfill their potential,” said Max.
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