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

To say that Indiarsquos athletics campaign at the AichiNagoya Asian Games has been disappointing would be an understatementIndiarsquos track and field contingent finished with one gold nine silver and 14 bronze medalsmdasha 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 fivemedal drop may not appear alarming the sharp decline in gold medals has left a distinctly dull impressionThere is no denying that some Indian athletes came agonisingly close to gold Twotime Asian Games champion shotputter Tajinderpal Singh Toor missed out on a golden hattrick 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 ldquoimporting champion athletesrdquo 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 wrongYet social media has gone into overdrive with some claiming Bahrain has ldquoboughtrdquo Africanborn 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 footballFrom Mumbai former India U19 stars Saurabh Netravalkar and Harmeet Singh have represented the USA along with Ranji Trophy player Shubham Ranjane while Vasaibased Swapnil Patil represented the UAE mdash all at ICC World Cups Indian football also has Australianborn Ryan Williams who recently helped the Blue Tigers hold world No 44 Panama to a 11 draw in Bengaluru Naturalisation of elite sportspersons is not restricted to the Gulf either Brazilianborn footballers Deco and Diego Costa were naturalised by Portugal and Spain respectivelyand went on to excel for their adopted countriesIf anything nations that provide elite athletes with opportunities facilities and financial support should be recognised for helping sporting talent thriveComing back to Bahrain I remember a similar uproar at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta when its Africanborn athletes denied Indiarsquos star sprinters Dutee Chand and Hima Das gold medals Dutee won silver in both the 100m and 200m finishing behind Nigerianborn Bahrain sprinter Edidiong Odiong while Hima was second in the 400m behind another Nigerianborn Bahrain athlete Salwa NaserNaser now 28 continues to excel on the Asian Games track In AichiNagoya she won the 400m gold in a Games Record of 4920 secondsmdashthe first sub50second timing in the womenrsquos event in Asiad history She also added mixed 4x400m gold to her impressive medal collectionI remember trying to speak to Naser in Jakarta but access was difficult because she was the cynosure of all eyes even then ldquoShe has to rest as she has another race coming uprdquo a Bahrain official accompanying her told me And right enough Naser returned to win a second gold joining Odiong in Bahrainrsquos 4x100m relay quartetHowever I did manage to speak to a couple of other Africanborn Bahrain runners Though most refused to discuss their financial benefits on record one told me he received around USD 2000 a monthmdashenough he felt to thrive in Bahrain while also sending money to relatives in AfricaThey 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 overlookedIf a country offers athletes better training facilities financial security and the opportunity to compete at the highest level why shouldnrsquot they accept itSo rather than looking for darkness in Bahrainrsquos success perhaps Indiarsquos emotionally charged fan fraternity should look at the bigger picture Bahrain has invested in athletes from around the world and provided them opportunities to excelIndia 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 Indiarsquos athletes showed they can do exactly thatKiran Pahal MR Poovamma Prachi Chaudhary and Vithya Ramraj produced a memorable performance in the womenrsquos 4x400m final as India beat none other than Bahrain to claim goldRamraj 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 Indiarsquos athletes have both the power and grit to excel on the biggest stage mdasheven against Bahrainrsquos worldclass Africanborn starsmiddayrsquos Sports Editor Ashwin Ferro loves to play ball fair and square and everywhereHe tweets ashwinferroSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper