Poised for Better Performances: India in Asian Games and More
The 5th Edition of Asian beach games was held in Danang Vietnam; it was the second time for Vietnam to host it. It was organized by the Olympic Council of Asia from 24th September 2016 to 3rd October 2016. LBO took a look at India’s performance and what’s in-store for our athletes in future competitive games.
India’s in Focus
41 Countries participated with the total count of 2197 athletes. Indian Olympic Associations’ 208 players participated in 14 different games. India achieved the 20th position out of 41 countries. In this competition, India won 22 medals – 1 Gold, 4 Silver & 16 Bronze medals; under the guidance of team manager Mr. Kishor Yewale, coaches Mohammed Iqbal & Romadhon.
41 countries, 208 players participated, Indian medals 22 -is this a satisfactory number? Not only with the Asian Games 2016 but with Rio Olympics 2016 as well, India could do with a better performance. Even though the Paralympics contingent did an inspiring, brilliant job with the limited resources they had, India needs to focus better on honing our sporting talent.
Interesting Bites
The tournament hosted a total of 14 sports namely PancakSilat, Marathon Swimming, Water polo, Kabaddi, Soccer, Volleyball, Handball, Basketball, Sepaktakraw, Wrestling, Sambo, Ju-Jistu, Kurash, Vovinam, Muthay, Traditional martial art, Shuttlecock, Petanque, Bodybuilding, Woodball, Rowing and Athletics. I found their Logo very interesting and when I did some research, here’s what I came across. The waves and sand are designed to imitate the shape of young athletes, healthy and active, athletic performances and has the symbol of the Union Olympic Council of Asia inside it. The combination of sea and sand waved together reflects the strength and strong will of Vietnam. It also carries a sports friendly message and welcomes all athletes.
NITI Says
In accordance with India’s performance at the recent Rio Olympics NITI, National Institution For Transforming India Aayog, an Indian government think-tank, shared their action plan for 2024 Olympics. NITI has come up with a strategy to help India target 50 medals. This includes strategy to search for talent from rural and tribal areas as they fall under the underdeveloped infrastructure. There is a need of a strong marketing plan for drawing experience from Cricket’s Premier League to attract investment and viewership too. NITI is focusing to prioritise on 10 sports with high winning potential.
As part of NITI’s report titled ‘Let’s Play,’NITI has suggested several recommendations. Kids should be encouraged to take up sports from the young age of five to ten years. Improvement in sports equipment, techniques and training is the need of the victory. Unique marketing strategies are needed so that gradually India’s population will focus on sports beyond cricket.
India can and will excel in the sporting arena as we have ample talent. Given good infrastructure, training and opportunity, we can meet the targets set by NITI for the upcoming championships across the globe. It is just a matter of building a sporting spirit, that’s what will help light up the Nation.