With better infrastructure, India will win more Olympic medals in hockey, says cricket legend Kapil Dev
Mumbai, March 26: Cricket legend Kapil Dev, who led India to World Cup triumph in 1983, has emphasized on providing the best infrastructure to sportspersons so that they can go on and win medals and titles for the country, saying with the best infrastructure, India will win more Olympic medals in hockey.
"We as a country need to give the infrastructure first," cricket legend Kapil Dev said of the necessity for increased sports facilities in the country. "If we have it, the kids will be free to choose any sport they want. Cricket has reached new heights as a result of enhanced facilities. However, if we do the same thing in other sports, such as having 200 extra astro turfs, India will win more Olympic medals in hockey than any other country," he said at the ABP Network's inaugural 'Ideas of India' summit at which country's greatest sporting minds shared their thoughts on how India should progress toward being a sporting nation.
The summit, held here on Friday, has brought together some of the best minds from many fields to examine India's 75-year journey, current state, and future plans. ABP Network is India's most popular multilingual news channel, with a viewership of 535 million people.
At the session titled, 'We Are The Champions: Patience, Perseverance, Practice', Kapil Dev said there has been a change in the mentality of promoting sports in the country in the last four decades.
"The most important thing I'll say is that what I have seen in the last 40 years is that today the parents bring their kids on the ground and say 'make them a player.' In our time, no parents got time to bring their kids to the ground. Today, they come to us and ask whether they can play IPL or if they can they play for India?"
Besides Kapil Dev, the session featured World Champions bronze medal-winning long jumper Anju Bobby George, who is also vice president, Athletics Federation of India, Zafar Iqbal, member of the Olympic gold medal-winning hockey team, and 18-time Grand Slam Champion Leander Paes.
On the lack of scientific support for athletics, Anju Bobby George said, "If the parent is not ready to send their kids how we can support them. So, it should come from the parents first, and then scientifically we have to look at that kid. First, there is a coach's eye, so we can see and we can tell if he is talented or not. Then we have to scientifically test them and then we need to identify in which event they are good enough."
"My Academy, Anju Bobby Sports is nurturing 16 kids, including Shaili Singh, who is currently ranked second in the world at the junior level. So, in 2024 or 2028, I'm expecting one of my students to have a podium finish. I'm still chasing my dream. Our female athletes, I feel, are excellent fighters, and we can expect more athletic medals from them," she was quoted as saying by the organisers in a release.
Speaking on the Champion mindset, Olympic bronze medallist in singles and 18-time Grand Slam champion Leander Paes, said, "I think most people assume winning Olympic medals is about physical fitness. I think most people believe that winning world cups is about technique. The majority of people, I suppose, believe that winning world cups is all about technique. But it's the difference between your two temples that determines whether you win or lose. Champions have a natural ability to think on their feet. My win-loss record shows that I've lost 74.1 percent of the matches I've ever played. Today, though, you have won 18 grand slams and an Olympic medal. As a result, even if you lose a lot, the accomplishment is in getting back up every time you fall."
"In the late 1990s, we were number one in the world in diabetes and in obesity. Both those have changed because of the efforts and the inspiration that the men on our stage here, Kapil Paji winning the World Cup and Zafar uncle winning the gold medal in the Olympics, have inspired all of us to take up sports as a serious career option," he continued.
Reviewing the history of Indian Hockey, Zafar Iqbal, former captain of the Indian hockey team, said, "I would say that we have done tremendously good in hockey particularly if you consider 75 at the beginning of 1948 London Olympics games. So, naturally, hockey was on the top in the world also. But at the same time, I would also like to tell you that as far as hockey is concerned there is no doubt about it that in the last thirty years we could not do much but this team is the best team in the last 30-40 years and this team has shown to the world that yes India is coming back in particular in hockey. There is a general increase in the participation in the sports by the people."
The summit involved visionary businessmen, cultural icons, and civil society pioneers, who discussed wide-ranging ideas over 25 sessions, spanning more than 20 hours. The speakers include Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Aaditya Thackeray, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, former deputy Vice-Chairperson of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Aditya Birla Education Trust Founder & Chairperson Neerja Birla, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, Managing Director & CEO of Mahindra Group Dr. Anish Shah, innovator & educationist Sonam Wangchuk, actors Aamir Khan, Vidya Balan and Taapsee Pannu, singer Usha Uthup, film directors Ramesh Sippy, Karan Johar and Kabir Khan, lawyers Indira Jaising and Harish Salve, motivational speaker Gaur Gopal Das, renowned journalist Fareed Zakaria, and Super 30 founder Anand Kumar.