Kamal Ghorui
Little Ishank Singh, all of 7, by all accounts is a water baby. He started swimming at age 3. Once his Sri Lanka to India 29km swim was chalked out, he trained up to 8 hours daily. And came good with a world record – crossing Palk Strait in 9 hours, 50 mins: the youngest and fastest. It is little wonder he’s dreaming of Olympics, when others of his age are in Class 2, learning basic three-digit numbers, nouns and verbs.
How does India make sure Ishank has a stab at his dream? Oops, missing a blueprint. India lacks the basic ecosystem for nurturing young sports talent. As Ishank showed, there’s no dearth of sporting potential. But, it took decades for diverse cricketing talent to dare dream about access to funds, 360-degree training, alongside those with similar potential. No individual sport gets that attention. Even chess academies are run by civil society, led by former players. It ends up with either parents investing, or cold-calling corporate houses. This is unsustainable if India is ever to expand its sporting base.
Where does Ishank go now?
Government, India Inc, must both step up. He needs not training alone, but competition; not just funds, but support; not just stamina, but mental fortitude. One winner is reason enough to lay the training foundation, and go scouting for more. And, just as important – no child must feel pressure to pursue their talent for solely competitive purposes. But to train, for its very sake, for the love of sport and technique. This is not to dissuade parents from aiming high for their super-talented kids, but it is best to recognise that gruelling physical training can lead to childhood sacrificed at the altar of a records/medals race. This risk is especially high, when there is no institutionalised safety net of funds, guidance and emotional support. Ishank’s a star. What’s to be done to keep it that way?
END OF ARTICLE
