Mid-Day Opinion: Nothing dark about Bahrain’s reign

Bahrain’s Salwa Naser stands beside the clock showing her new Games Record in the 400m final at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games recently. Pic/AFP

To say that India's athletics campaign at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games has been disappointing would be an understatement.

India's track and field contingent finished with one gold, nine silver and 14 bronze medals - a total of 24. At the 2023 Hangzhou Games, India had won six gold, 14 silver and nine bronze medals, for a total of 29. While the five-medal drop may not appear alarming, the sharp decline in gold medals has left a distinctly dull impression.

There is no denying that some Indian athletes came agonisingly close to gold. Two-time Asian Games champion shot-putter Tajinderpal Singh Toor missed out on a golden hat-trick, long jumper Ancy Sojan fell short by just two centimetres and high jumper Sarvesh Kushare finished second on countback. However, to single out Bahrain for "importing champion athletes" reflects poorly on the sporting spirit of some Indian fans, who have launched an online campaign against the Gulf nation. Naturalising athletes who meet eligibility rules is permitted, so Bahrain has done nothing wrong.

Yet social media has gone into overdrive, with some claiming Bahrain has "bought" African-born athletes for the Asian Games. By that logic, athletes born in one country should be barred from representing another in other sports too, including cricket and football.

From Mumbai, former India U-19 stars Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh have represented the USA, along with Ranji Trophy player Shubham Ranjane, while Vasai-based Swapnil Patil represented the UAE - all at ICC World Cups. Indian football also has Australian-born Ryan Williams, who recently helped the Blue Tigers hold world No. 44 Panama to a 1-1 draw in Bengaluru. Naturalisation of elite sportspersons is not restricted to the Gulf either. Brazilian-born footballers Deco and Diego Costa were naturalised by Portugal and Spain respectively and went on to excel for their adopted countries.

If anything, nations that provide elite athletes with opportunities, facilities and financial support should be recognised for helping sporting talent thrive.

Coming back to Bahrain, I remember a similar uproar at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, when its African-born athletes denied India's star sprinters Dutee Chand and Hima Das gold medals. Dutee won silver in both the 100m and 200m, finishing behind Nigerian-born Bahrain sprinter Edidiong Odiong, while Hima was second in the 400m behind another Nigerian-born Bahrain athlete, Salwa Naser.

Naser, now 28, continues to excel on the Asian Games track. In Aichi-Nagoya, she won the 400m gold in a Games Record of 49.20 seconds - the first sub-50-second timing in the women's event in Asiad history. She also added mixed 4x400m gold to her impressive medal collection.

I remember trying to speak to Naser in Jakarta, but access was difficult because she was the cynosure of all eyes even then. "She has to rest as she has another race coming up," a Bahrain official accompanying her told me. And right enough, Naser returned to win a second gold, joining Odiong in Bahrain's 4x100m relay quartet.

However, I did manage to speak to a couple of other African-born Bahrain runners. Though most refused to discuss their financial benefits on record, one told me he received around USD 2,000 a month - enough, he felt, to thrive in Bahrain while also sending money to relatives in Africa.

They specifically spoke about how well they were treated in their adopted country. At the same time, they also emphasised the lack of facilities and opportunities in their Nigerian, Ethiopian and other African hometowns compared with the infrastructure and support available in Bahrain. That is perhaps the part of the debate that is largely overlooked.

If a country offers athletes better training facilities, financial security and the opportunity to compete at the highest level, why shouldn't they accept it?

So, rather than looking for darkness in Bahrain's success, perhaps India's emotionally charged fan fraternity should look at the bigger picture. Bahrain has invested in athletes from around the world and provided them opportunities to excel.

India has its own talent pool too, and will do well to build an ecosystem with better facilities, financial support and opportunities for its athletes to flourish. And in Japan, India's athletes showed they can do exactly that.

Kiran Pahal, MR Poovamma, Prachi Chaudhary and Vithya Ramraj produced a memorable performance in the women's 4x400m final as India beat none other than Bahrain to claim gold.

Ramraj, in particular, outran the legendary Naser to give Indian athletics a hugely significant victory. Her vigorously swinging arms and gritted teeth as she crossed the finish line proved that India's athletes have both the power and grit to excel on the biggest stage - even against Bahrain's world-class African-born stars.

mid-day's Sports Editor Ashwin Ferro loves to play ball, fair and square, and everywhere.

He tweets @ashwinferro

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The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper