10 August,2010 02:15 PM IST | | Yasin Merchant
How sick does a sports person feel while reading about all the muck flying around before the Commonwealth Games? Hear it from one of India's finest cueists...
I always turn to the sports section first.u00a0 The sports page records people's accomplishments; the front page has nothing but man's failures.u00a0
ufffd Earl Warren
Imagine waking up each morning to news of corruption, malpractices, misappropriation and fraud ufffd and realising that these reports are connected with something that you have held sacred lifelong. Suddenly, your world comes crashing down.
You believed that sport, of all things, was pure, invulnerable, even hallowed, and now the evils of the world have ventured into forbidden territory, not only to desecrate its very fabric, but to destroy, demoralise and annihilate the dreams of the people who worshipped sport as a religion.
Not that these things have not happened before, but just when you think you've seen it all, up comes the next scandal to rock your faith ufffd and when it strikes really close to home, you tend to question the system which allows such scandals to fertilise. Suddenly, the unshakable conviction in the establishment develops a gash and you see yourself staring at a gaping hole, growing bigger by the minute.u00a0
We have barely recovered from the Padma awards outrageu00a0 followed soon by the IPL tamasha, when another issue has started hogging space in the media ufffd corruption and vilification in theu00a0 Commonwealth Games. The unthinkable has happened yet again, and sport in India has to shoulder the burden of the political shenanigans of a few self-obsessed individuals.
Amongst the cue sports fraternity, we have always lamented the non-inclusion of our discipline in the Olympics or the Commonwealth Games (why that still has not happened is the subject matter for another frustration-venting article which I'll leave for later).
Thank heavens
As of now, the only emotion going through our minds is one of gratitude, that we are not part of this ludicrous spectacle which has not even taken off and is already facing flak. How much more the plot shall thicken is anybody's guess, but from the regularity of frauds and corruption charges, we are in for a real fraud fest. Some of my fellow sportspersons who are unfortunately participating in this Magnum Opus will have to endure the sniggering from their counterparts in other countries, especially our "friendly neighbours" who shall not let any opportunity slip by to shoot their friendly jibes. And we have only ourselves to blame.
I happened to read an interesting quote the other day, which suddenly seems extremely relevant to the happenings around us. "The accomplice to the crime of corruption is frequently our own indifference" ufffd Bess Myerson. Can this be any truer? Repeatedly we are subjected to embarrassing issues where the governing bodies and their bosses have not done enough or have done more than their 'share' but have lived to brag about their conquests. Why have we allowed such individuals to survive, leave alone prosper? Nipping it in the bud was primary education - how come nobody practises what they learnt.u00a0
There is incessant chatter demanding answers and resignations, but the people above don't seem to hear it and unfortunately, our voices too do not reach the levels where we can trigger off an avalanche of accountability.
Soon the CWG shall pass and we would have forgotten about any such scam, quietly moving on to the next earth- shattering event, which unfortunately in India remains momentary fodder for gossip on the cocktail circuit, not to mention how it serves as front page news in the beginning, only to drift away to some obscure corner in the media as days pass.
Regret
Regrettably, it does not even get a proper obituary mention ufffd it just fades away as a distant memory. Sportspersons have finally found their tongue and are mouthing some audacious dialogue, worrying little about the establishment. Talk of allocated amounts for practice, bill reimbursements, and infrastructure budgets being eaten up have now started doing the rounds. Good sign ufffd but to what avail. A prominent sportsperson has even questioned the decision to hold these Games when we are completely unprepared, but let me educate that gentleman. Your views have been heard, but not absorbed. For the future, "you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or express shall be held against you in a court of law. Decreed ufffd guilty until proven innocent".
Did I hear someone say that we live in a democracy?
All said and done, the Games will go on. Of course, the world-beaters who have pulled out will be missed, but only just. India will win a few thousand medals and we will broadcast to the world how we staged a grand spectacle and won all the medals that were on offer. The curtains will come down in a stupendous closing ceremony where another few crores will be "meaningfully spent" and the promoters of the event will rub their hands in glee, for showcasing to the world what India can do.
Who are we fooling here? All talk and no action makes India a corrupt country. Are we actually waiting for a messiah to come and lead us to salvation, or are we now adult enough to weed out the trash from the good and clean up our act. I think that we as a nation have now lost it. No guts, no gumption and no pride left in us to fight our battles. We just let things lie till someone comes along to wake us up from our slumber.
We definitely need a crusader now to drag the wrong doers out in the open, expose their skeletons and demand public trials. A "Take no prisoners" attitude, just shoot to kill (of course metaphorically speaking) is the only panacea for all the immorality in our society. The decay has set in and if remedial measures are not adopted soon enough, then who knows, we may soon topple the top rankers in the list of most corrupt countries. That my friend, is no sporting achievement and I want no medal for that!
Yasin Merchant is a two-time Asian champion and Busan Asian Games gold medalist.
