India's Olympics glory model and similarities to growth model..

This is an old article by Rajdeep Sardesai and was publishde just when Olympics started (27-Jul-12). I just keep forgetting to mention it.

He was much hopeful of India shining during these Olympics. His hopes looked optimistic initially but has been sort of matched as times moved.  It has been a mixed bag so far. India has the  highest medal tally of 4 medals (as on 10-Aug-12) in its Olympic history. However, there has been no gold so far (1 silver and 3 bronze) where as in Beijing we had 3 medals which had one gold. Some big names have performed and some could not deliver.    Anyways, I leave that to experts to decide..

Sardesai points to three models of Olympics fame:

Olympic glory can be related to three competing worldviews. The first is the belief that sports represents the ultimate triumph of a ‘state’. In the Cold War years, the Soviets and the countries of the Communist bloc saw in the Olympics an opportunity to proclaim the supremacy of their ideology. Trained in the highly secretive and regimented world of communism, their athletic achievements were designed to prove the ‘superiority’ of a political system. What the Soviets, East Germans and Cubans successfully attempted through the 1970s and 80s, the Chinese have taken to another level in recent years. Number one in the medal tally in the Olympics is seen as confirmation of China’s ascent as the new global superpower.

The second successful Olympic model was designed by the Americans. At its core was the affirmation in the American ‘way of life’, a belief that sports was best practiced in open societies based on the principle of equal opportunity. It is no coincidence that Jesse Owens was the first American Olympic superstar. What even elections in the 1930s could not provide the American black – a right to vote – Owens was seen to provide on the sports field, a right to equality and dignity. Since then, American triumphs in the Olympics have revolved around the principle that sports can break all barriers, aided by a dynamic market economy that sees every medal won as having commercial value.

The third medal-winning Olympic model is built around the belief that sporting success is intrinsically linked to birth, race and environment. The Kenyans and the Ethiopians in middle and long distance running, the Jamaicans in sprint, the East Asians in sports like table tennis and badminton are seen to be beneficiaries of a body type and an environment that promotes excellence in specific games.

However, India has its own mixed model:

We in India, by contrast, have borrowed elements from the other models but eventually created a unique model of our own. Central to it is the spirit of democracy. It is in the ‘democratisation’ of sport, the realization that sporting success, like an IIT or IIM degree, is now a vehicle for upward mobility in a highly aspirational society that lies at the heart of the rediscovery of Indian sport. So long as Indian sport remained an elite pre-occupation or was confined to clubs and gymkhanas, we had no chance of competing with the best. The day Indian Olympic sport (much like cricket) discovered the maidans and the far-flung remote corners of the country, the dynamics were changed and new heroes thrown up.

The remarkable boxing mother of two, Mary Kom is a reminder that there is more to Manipur than blockades and insurgency. Deepika Kumari’s story is proof that Adivasi girls from Jharkhand can overcome all obstacles to excel in a tough sport like archery. The Phogat family in Haryana with their success in women’s wrestling help defy the conventional stereotype of a state burdened by khap panchayats and declining sex ratios. That states like Manipur and Jharkhand have dominated the National Games is a healthy sign, evidence of the vaulting ambitions that cannot be restricted by social or economic neglect any longer.

Sports, in that sense, has come to represent the ultimate Indian dream of a more merit-driven, egalitarian India. Politics is a closed shop dominated by dynasts. Economic opportunities too tend to be monopolized by those with access to better education. It is only on the sports field that the rules are now fairer, where individual growth is directly linked to talent and determination. We may still be well behind the Olympic superpowers, but the gap is slowly narrowing. And by 2020, don’t be surprised if the Indian medal tally reaches double digits. The journey to the top has only just begun.

Keeping the medal tally aside (Rajdeep might be disappointed with the final no), this Indian Olympic model is interesting.

This is much like the Indian growth model as well. Some things have been picked up from global growth ideas but then much of it is India’s own way of doing it..

Interesting. Open to debate though…