Let's say no-no-no to Olympics

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script> <br />NEW DELHI: This is Part 2 of our sport debate. Should we participate in the Olympics? And we if do eventually, when should we?<br /><br />We have been flooded with opinions from our surfers. A lot of them backed the no-Olympics argument. An equal number rejected the no-Olympics argument.We select some insightful opinions, and solutions, triggered by the debate: Let''s say no to Olympics.<br /><br />"Why not try Yoga or other such variations and then some Mental Masters for disciplining and mentoring the abilities..." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[drsureshiyer]</span><br /><br />"It is really pathetic...if you do not have a world class level, please do not send a bunch of losers to the Olympics." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[kumarkumartimes]</span><br /><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="71.0%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Earlier debate: </span><a href="/opinions/837538.cms" target="_blank" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">Why India should say no to Olympics?</a></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br />"Until (and) unless we don''t see the talent of other sportspersons (from different countries), we will not get the feeling of how much more hard work is needed to win that game." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[imnitish]</span><br /><br />"It is a very skewed thinking that we should not be participating in the competition. Media, which otherwise treats only cricket as the sport in India, is making sure that rest all sports die by asking such silly questions." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[surya_av]</span><br /><br />"It''s better not to participate, because India is not well prepared to win gold medals. Hence, (it is better to) remain out of the competition until you are sure you can win gold." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[nlsh123]</span><br /><br /><span style="" color:="" ff0000="" font-weight:="" bold="">Poll:</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold=""> </span><br /><a href="http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/showpoll/msid-850500.cms" target="_blank" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">Should India pull out of Olympics?</a><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><br />"It is a baseless decision, which will bring shame on the nation. Rather we should prepare our participants for a whole period of 4 years so that they can win in the toughest competition. Anyway winning and losing are part of the game, but the true spirit lies in the game itself." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[kamal_deep_sharma]</span><br /><br />"Vinay, NO...it doesn''t even take a second to utter...Winners don''t quit. It''s foolish to forfeit our chances in the Beijing Olympics. A race gives a chance to compete. Don''t run from the race. Don''t show them (athletes) the exit door." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[krsna_k]</span><br /><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="71.0%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Earlier debate: </span><a href="/opinions/837538.cms" target="_blank" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">Why India should say no to Olympics?</a></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br />"Bringing Oympics to India will expose our boys and girls to the best sportsmen and women in the world and some day many of them will emulate them. Olympics will also improve our infrastructure as it did in case of Barcelona and Athens." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[spjunnarkar]</span><br /><br />"For heaven''s sake, don''t send the Indian team to Olympics anymore. It is better not to send than to send and spoil the image of India. If China can win those many medals, why can''t India?" <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[tom_andrade]</span><br /><br />"We shouldn''t spend money on vacation trips to the Olympics." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[bgthomas]</span><br /><br />"But is ''quitting'' the only option? Have Indians laid down arms? Is it all over and we are ready to be the ''kid-who-hates-to-lose''? Instead of this pessimistic attitude, and saying that success is only possible after we humiliate ourselves further by quitting, I think the time has come for India ... to rework its strategy. More money needs to be put into sport... better infrastructure... better sponsors and better public-support." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[gautamsarora]</span><br /><br />"The article is against the very spirit of Olympics. To race is not to win, but to assert yourself. The ultimate winner is the Game. Yes, we may need some soul-searching, but not by withdrawing from the game." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[skkar1963]</span><br /><br /><span style="" color:="" ff0000="" font-weight:="" bold="">Poll:</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold=""> </span><a href="http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/showpoll/msid-850500.cms" target="_blank" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">Should India pull out of Olympics?</a><br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section3"><div class="Normal"><script language="javascript">doweshowbellyad=0; </script><br /><br />"I think it''s hugely disappointing that the author of the article can come up with sentences like ''If it can''t win, why should India race?'' A race, ultimately, is competition against yourself. If you go flat out and register a personal best, there is no disgrace in not winning..." <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">[abhinandandeb]</span><br /><br />Abhinandan Deb makes a strong point by saying that "a race, ultimately, is competition against yourself."<br /><br /></div> <div align="center" style="position:relative; left: -2"><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" align="center" border="1" width="71.0%"> <colgroup> <col width="100.0%" /> </colgroup> <tr valign="top"> <td width="100.0%" colspan="1" rowspan="1" style="" valign:="" top="" background-color:="" f3f3f3=""> <div class="Normal" style="" text-align:="" center=""><span style="" font-weight:="" bold="">Earlier debate: </span><a href="/opinions/837538.cms" target="_blank" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">Why India should say no to Olympics?</a></div> </td> </tr> </table></div> <div class="Normal"><br />Yet, the discipline of global sport is all about winning. Winning golds. Let''s look at the trigger-points that provoked the debate.<br /><br />1. India''s dismal performance graph at the Olympics. In fact, the less said about it the better. The last gold we bagged was at the 1980 Moscow Olympics. We triumphed in hockey but the championship was boycotted by top-notch hockey teams. <br /><br />2. China''s performance has only shown how the training and discipline can create a culture of excellence. In China, global standards have been seeded at the grass-roots. There, baby Olympic muscles are developed in schools.<br /><br />3. We have created IITs and IIMs, the enclaves of top-class entrepreneurship. Surely, we can create a culture of rigour in sport if we start planning today.<br /><br />4. In the arena of epic conquest, "to race is to win." It is basic instinct. An athlete in Chariots of Fire echoes as much when he says that if he can''t win, he won''t race. The obverse of this is also true: If you don''t race, how can you win? <br /><br />India''s inspiration, and the debate''s reasoning, lies in the first dictum: "to race is to win." And India must plan and train meticulously for at least a decade or two before returning to the Olympics as a serious contender.<br /><br /><span style="" color:="" ff0000="" font-weight:="" bold="">Poll:</span><span style="" font-weight:="" bold=""> </span><a href="http://www1.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/showpoll/msid-850500.cms" target="_blank" style="" font-face:arialfont-size:10ptfont-weight:boldcolor:0066cc="">Should India pull out of Olympics?</a></div> </div>