Not a straight win anymore

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">MUMBAI: The pantheon of Indian sports heroes could soon start looking for a two-bedroom place. It might get crowded in the house now that Narain Car-thikeyan has made it to Formula One and Sania Mirza has established her potential. <br /><br />"India''s body language is changing," says Krishna Bhupathi, father of tennis player Mahesh Bhupathi, on the health of the nation''s sports."Economically we are doing well and that reflects in our results on the field." <br /><br />Asked if he thought Indian sport was acquiring diversity, Sanjay Manjrekar, former opening batsman, said, "I hope so. I always felt for non-cricket sportsmen because they put in as much effort, perhaps more, than cricketers. But they''ve not got the same recognition as the media chose to put cricket in the limelight and the masses responded to it." <br /><br />And have the country''s competent performances made households more sports-oriented? Has sports muscled its way up the priority list of the average family? <br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Not quite, if you ask former badminton player and ex-Bombay Gymkhana secretary Gautam Thakkar. "The interest has gone down," he says. "We struggle to get entries when we conduct tournaments. The academic pressures on children have gone up and they have little time to play. If a few people still use the courts, it is to lose weight." <br /><br />The situation seems better in other cities where children have more time to spare. Nandan Bal, the Pune-based former tennis national champion and tutor, says 15 girls between eight and ten years have enrolled at his coaching scheme in the last two weeks. "I guess it''s the Sania effect," he says. "We rarely get new students in February with examinations just a couple of months away. This year has been an exception." <br /><br />Are more people taking to sports now that Indians are shining in tennis, racing, shooting and chess? While interest levels have gone up, many who have the time and inclination to embrace a sport are obstacled by costs or playing facilities. "You can''t afford to do it on your own steam, not even if you are a multi-millionaire," says G R Karthikeyan, Narain''s father. "Corporate backing is a must. And you need backers who are CEOs as well as sports lovers." <br /><br />"The basic hurdle is money," says Bhupathi. "Even cricket finds it difficult to get sponsors unless there are stars involved in the deal." S Raman, national table tennis champion and Olympian, suggests the adoption of different games by different companies. "There could be a rotation system whereby each firm supports one game for a period before moving on to another," he says. <br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal">However, Karthikeyan Sr, a former rally driver himself, says infrastructure has improved in motorsport. "Chennai has a racing school and the rest of the country has a few go-karting tracks. So, you can at least start somewhere," he says. <br /><br />Cricket sits snug in that department. The game''s special status and its tradition in India—almost every local and national tournament has a rich history - have helped create a strong structure. Competitions, coaches and grounds abound. The willow sport thus offers a <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">pucca</span> road for those coming its way while other games provide a vague trail. <br /><br />"We have a great system," says Manjrekar. "Developing your child''s talent is far more easy in cricket. When I was 14, my parents did not have to spend a single paisa on my game. The one challenge today''s cricketers face is jobs. In my time, a first-class player or an A-Division club player was assured of a decent job. That is no longer the case. So, children have to be careful when making the cricket-or-studies decision." <br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section4"><div class="Normal">Bhupathi names social norms as another potential hindrance in the development of a sporting career. "Indians are if-it-is-Tuesday-it-must-be-Belgium people," he says. "If your boy is eight, he''s got to be in fourth grade. That''s the attitude. You cannot fall in that trap if you have a child with athletic aptitude. You''ve got to be different, even arrogant, about the way you plan his life." <br /><br />Ultimately, you''ll only be good if you want it bad. As Karthikeyan says, "Becoming a F1 driver is such an enormous task that we couldn''t imagine Narain achieving it. But today''s generation is different. They believe they can accomplish anything." </div> </div>