Monday Musing
[ M Doley ]
Arunachal Pradesh’ gold medal count decreased to four in the 38th National Games from the six they had won in the two previous editions.
This time, female athletes outperformed their male counterparts as the state’s all four gold medals were won by the female athletes. It is worth mentioning that all of them had also won gold medals in their respective events in the previous edition of the Games.
The just concluded Games in Uttarakhand were also memorable for Arunachal Pradesh as Devi Dada became the first from the state to win a medal in kayaking in the National Games. She won a bronze in kayak cross event in the Games.
Arunachal finished second, behind Manipur, in the medal table among the Northeastern states, and 23rd in the country, overall.
The state could have equalled the previous six gold-medal mark had two of the medal hopes (weightlifters) not suffered injuries while lifting weights during the competition. Lifters had been the major contributors to the state’s medal tally on several occasions earlier in the National Games.
While winning a medal at sports events like the National Games is not an easy task, the state needs long-term planning to produce athletes of international repute or Olympians from Arunachal.
The government, as a first step, should constitute a committee, involving officials from the Arunachal Olympic Association (AOA) and state level sports associations to identify young sports talents. After the identification, the budding sportspersons should be provided with sustained training based on their yearly progress under the guidance of trained coaches. But, unfortunately, this is not happening in the state.
Balanced diet or right nutrition plays a vital role in the performance of an athlete. Burning more calories than consumed can not only affect the athletes’ performance but can also lead to serious health complications. But the state’s athletes hardly get the necessary diet requirements and training before taking part in competitions, which adversely affects their performance.
Besides, the government should invest in sports science and high-performance coach development programmes to meet the requirements.
The state government, like many other states, should start offering government jobs to the medal winners in the National Games. This will not only secure their financial future but also motivate the youngsters to make a career out of sports.
Many states, including neighbouring Assam, offer government jobs to National Games medal winners. It is hoped that the Arunachal government will follow suit.
The government is often accused of not providing sufficient funds to the sports associations, or making delays in reimbursement. The associations say it has become a great challenge for them to promote sports without sufficient financial backing from the government.
There are a total of 67 state level sports associations affiliated to the AOA. Out of them, only eight are ‘very active’ and 16 ‘active’.
AOA secretary-general Bamang Tago said that associations, including athletic association, volleyball association, etc, are lying dormant or inactive, which is depriving many aspiring athletes from taking part in various state and national level competitions.
It is not known why these associations are lying inactive. However, it sheds light on a grim reality of the state’s sports scenario. The authorities should do the needful to revive these inactive associations, especially athletics.
Addressing these long overlooked issues can go a long way in developing the sports sector in Arunachal.
