By Irineu Gonsalves.

There is mass scale unemployment in the country and earning for one’s bread and butter has become a serious concern. The rising prices have added to the woes of the rural folk. Hence, it is not surprising if the hidden talent in the villages hasn’t surfaced. Ironically it is our village folk who are better placed in terms of finding sufficient time for sports activities as well as in respect of health, strength and stamina. They have the best physique compared to the urbanites.

But these are the people who are least exposed to sports grounds, sports academies and colleges. The village folk inspite of possessing attributes that are so essential in the making of a sportsman get much less opportunities for participation in sports events. The urbanites today have got a large number of distractions to spare time for sports and therefore, it is hardly surprising that they don’t take up sports seriously.

Apart from that, there are inadequate openings for the budding youth. In the prevailing scenario there is hardly any system to provide opportunities for recognition and participation of our rural youth. There are so many tribals in the remote areas of our country who have such good physique that can be compared to the best athletes of the world. Have we made any efforts in spotting sports talents from among the tribals and other backward classes? During one of the college sports meets, I was astonished to see an unknown participant take part in a triple jump event and beat the previous winner of the event hands down. This athlete had abundant potential to become a shining sports star. Likewise, there must be so many hidden raw gems waiting to be unearthed and polished.

Well, sports demands plenty of time to practice consistently which virtually makes it difficult to perform well in studies. In our country parents are generally too obsessed with academic performance of their children to let their wards devote time to sports. Besides, there are hardly any avenues for the sports persons to get well-paid jobs. Since we do not have adequate career opportunities in sports, parents aren’t interested in taking the risk of making their children sportsmen and sportswomen. At the most, sports-loving parents tell their children to pursue both sports and studies. Parents seldom want their wards to opt for sports as a career.

Promoting sports has to start from the school-level, making it a compulsory subject in the curriculum up to standard XII. A student who participates in any sport or in athletics can be given up to 50 marks. This way the sports quota for admission into professional colleges can be made more comprehensive. At the school-level, the Physical Education teacher should be given enough importance so that he or she can spot talent and get the boy or girl selected for better coaching. The sports associations should go to rural sports events to spot young talent.

Children’s enthusiasm for the sport which has taken a sharp nosedive could be rekindled by spelling out the benefits. It is true that not everyone has the physical and mental attributes necessary to become highly skilled in sport. But there is healthy sport suitable for everyone and everyone can perform a little better than he does at present through study, practice and greater effort.

If our country really wants to show its potential in sport at the world level any amount of speeches in the Parliament regarding the performance of our athletes would not help. We should start from the ground up. Sports Authority personnel should watch the games of young students, now attended only by their parents. Currently, even local professional football league matches fetch only a few hundred spectators. Temporary nationwide fervour and quick oblivion should no longer be the nation’s trademark, neither in football nor in other areas.

Most of the anomalies are the result of childhood habits, which in turn trace back to poor infrastructure and unscientific training and therefore cannot be rectified in a day. But there is one thing they can, and should, maintain - mental stability. It is true that lack of resources can be construed as one of the reasons for our lack of sporting success. But then, this is only a partial answer. If not, how does one explain the stunning success of athletes from the much poorer countries of Africa?

Clubs and youth groups such as parish youth and so on can do wonders if only they know to spot talent and nurture it. The activities in the villages give children an opportunity to show their skills and have fun too. However, sports and youth groups can also present problems if the people who organize and run them are not serving the best interests of the children.

The new millennium, with its expected challenges and the growing needs of the youth, require novel schemes to generate enthusiasm in youth men and women. I wish to unfold a blue print of the novel plan for longer involvement of the village young people in the next Goan Observer issue.

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