ROAD MAP TO 2020 OLYMPICS

Dr .P. Ravi Kumar, Head , Dept. of Physical Education

National Institute of Technology , Warangal ,INDIA

Ancient Olympic Games

• No one is sure how the Olympic Games really began, but the first recorded event took place in Olympia about in the date of 776 BC.
• These Games were held at the place Olympia, every four years. The four year time span was called an “Olympiad”
• Many people came to visit Olympia to worship Zeus and his wife Hera; the king and queen of the Greek gods and the Olympic games began as part of a religious festival, which took place in Olympia, in honour of Zeus.

Eligibility to participate

• There were three main criteria for participation in the Games.
  • One had to be male
  • Of Greek origin
  • Women, slaves and foreigners were excluded.
• Women who wanted to race had a separate festival called the Heraia.
• Married women were not even allowed to watch the games – only men and unmarried women! It was only in the year 1900 that women were finally allowed to take part.

Events/Rewards

• Originally foot race was the only item and it was conducted in a single day. Later on other events like chariot race, horse race, Pentathlon (Running, Long jump, Discus throw, Javelin throw) and Wrestling.
• The Olympic winner was highly honoured. Poets immortalised his name in poems and sculptures carved his figure in stones. The concerned Olympiad was named after the name of the victor in 200 yards race called the staderace. To be a victory in the Olympics was the highest honour coveted by every Greek.
• In the modern Olympics, winners are presented with medals in gold, silver and bronze, but, in ancient Greece, there was only one winner whose prize was a wreath or crown of leaves. it was a wild olive.
• According to some sources, a lifetime seat at the table in the feasting hall. Winners were sometimes granted large sums of money by their own city state, when they returned home.

End of the Game

• The Olympic Games continued for many years but in 393AD, 1,166 years after they first began, a Roman Emperor named Theodosius I banned them.
• Olympia fell into ruin. There was an earthquake and a flood and the original ruins were buried and hidden underground.

It remained hidden for more than 1000 years and there wasn’t another Olympic Games until1896

Modern Olympic Games

• This time the Olympics were international and took place in the Greek city of Athens.
• It was Pierre de Coubertin of France who dreamt up this ambitious project and Planned for the modern games began in 1894, and implemented with setting up the International Olympic Committee (IOC) with a Olympic mottoCITIUS – ALTIUS – FORTIUS (Faster, Higher, Stronger) as the definition to the philosophy of sport.
• Thanks to Coubertin, This date of the first Games, April 6,1896 in the Panathenaic Stadium, marked the beginning of an extraordinary event that has now lasted for over a century!In all, 311 athletes from 13 countries participated with 9 disciplines of sports and 43 events.

Renovation
The important thing in the Olympics is not winning but taking part. For the essential thing in life is not conquering but fighting well.

Although the modern Olympic Games were inspired by the past, they are also quite different:

The ancient Olympics were conducted for five days. But the modern Olympics are conducted for 16 days More sports added apart from ancient ones.They were held in different places and Athletes from all over the world participated.A great deal of the ancient games still applies to the modern and yet so muchhas changed. 

Summer Olympic Games

• The Summer and Winter Games originally took place in the same year, but since 1992 the Winter Games have been held two years from the Summer Games.
• However the Summer Games and the Winter Games continue to be organized once every four years.
• In the Summer Games, athletes compete in a wide variety of competitions on the track, on the road, on grass, in the water, on the water, in the open air and indoors.
• The Winter Games feature seven sports practiced on snow and ice, both indoors and outdoors.

India at Summer Games

• India first participated at the Olympic Games in 1900, with a lone athlete (Norman Pritchard) winning two medals in athletics.
• The National Olympic Committee for India is the Indian Olympic Association, and was created in 1927.
• The nation first sent a team (Hockey) to the Summer Olympic Games in 1920, and has participated in every Summer Games since then.
• Indian athletes have won a total of 28 medals

Winter Olympic Games

• Winter sports made their Olympic debut at the Summer Games in London in 1908!
• Figure skating competitions were organized for men, women and pairs. The experience was repeated at the Antwerp Games in 1920, along with an ice hockey tournament.
• It was in Chamonix in 1924 ( at Chamonix, France ) that winter sports finally got their own Winter Olympic Games, held in association with the 1924 Summer Olympics.
• Six sports were on the programme: bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, figure and speed skating, skiing (cross country and ski jumping) and the military patrol race.
• The Winter and Summer Olympic Games were held in the same years until 1992, when the governing body for the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), decided to place the Summer and Winter Games on separate four-year cycles in alternating even-numbered years.

India at Winter Games

• India competed at the Winter Olympic Games for the first time at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
• India did not win any medals till now.
• 1964 - The sole athlete representing India was Jeremy Bujakowski, who competed in the Men's Downhill event in Alpine Skiing.
• 1968 – Again Jeremy Bujakowski in represented India in Alpine Skiing
• 1988 - After 20 Years India again sent athletes to Winter games.
  • Women's Slalom skier Shailaja Kumar became the first woman to compete for India in the Winter Olympic Games. Gul Dev and Kishor Rahtna Rai both represented India in Men's Slalom.
• 1992 - Nanak Chand and Lal Chuni both competed in the Men's Slalom and Giant Slalom events in Alpine Skiing
• 1998 – After missing 1994 Games,in 1998 India's only competing athlete was Men's Singles Luge competitor 16-year-old Shiva Keshavan.
• 2002 - India's sole competitor was Shiva Keshavan in the Men's Luge, who placed 33rd overall.
• 2006 – 4 Athletes participated.
• 2010 - Three athletes represented India .

Youth Olympic Games

• The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) first held in Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010.
• The games are held every four years in staggered summer and winter events consistent with the current Olympic Games format.
• The age limitation of the athletes is 14 to 18.
• 204 Countries participated in Summer Games.
• 2012 Winter Youth Olympic Games at Innsbruck, Austria, officially known as the I Winter Youth Olympic Games (from 13 to 22 January 2012) .

Approximately 1100 athletes from 70 countries competed

India at Youth Summer Olympics

• The Indian squad comprised 32 athletes competing in 13 sports: aquatics (swimming), archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, judo, rowing, shooting, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.
• India won 8 Medals.( 5 Silver , 3 Bronze )

India at Youth Winter Olympics

• One girl athlete represented India in 2012 Winter Youth Olympics, Aanchal Thakur in alpine skiing.

Paralympics Games

• The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete.
• Disability includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral palsy.
• Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
• The Paralympics have grown from a small gathering of British World War II veterans in 1948.

Here also we have Winter and Summer Paralympics Games, which are held immediately following their respective Olympic Games

India at Summer Paralympic Games

• India made its Summer Paralympic début at the 1968 Games.
• 1968 – Held at Aviv, Israel from November 4 to 13, 1968. Ten Indian athletes competed, eight men and two women. The team did not win any medals.
• 1972 - Held at Heidelberg, West Germany, India sent ten competitors, seven male and three female. Petkar won the Gold in Men's 50 m Freestyle.
• 1984 – At NewYork ,6 Athletes,all men, participated winning 4 medals (2 Silver , 2 Bronze )
  • Bedi, Joginder Singh ( 2 Bronze, 1 Silver ) – in Discus, Javelin,Shotput
  • Kesarhar, Bhimrao ( 1 Silver ) – Javelin
• 1988 – At Seoul, 2 Men and 1 Women participated.No Medal.
• 1992 – At Barcelona,7Men, 2 Women Participated from India.No Medal.
• 1996 – At Atlanta,9 Men participated. No Medal.
• 2000 – At Sidney, 4 men Participated , No Medal.
• 2004 – At Athens , 11 men and 1 woman participated, and won two medals at the Games, one gold and one bronze.
  • Devendra Jhajharia, Javelin thrower, won gold and Rajinder Singh won bronze for powerlifting in the 56-kg category.
• 2008 – At Beijing, five athletes (all male) competed in athletics, power lifting and shooting. India did not win a medal at these Games.
• In Total India Won :
  • 2 Gold , 2 Silver, 3 Bronze

Winter Paralympic Games

• The 1976 Winter Paralympic Games were the first Winter Paralympics. They were held in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden from 21 to 28 February 1976.
• The 1992 Winter Paralympics were the first Winter Games to use the same facilities as the Winter Olympics.
• India has never participated in the Winter Paralympic Games.

Policies &Reports

• Educational Policy 1904
• The Calcutta University Commission (1917-19)
• The Physical Education Committee of the Government of Bombay ( 1937,1946)
• Radhakrishnan Commission (The University Education Commission) 1948-49
• Secondary Education Commission (1952-53)
• Education Commission (1964-66) popularly known as Kothari Commission
• National policy on Education (NPE) -1986

The National Policy of Education -1986, has very rightly mentioned that "Sports and Physical Education are an integral part of the learning process, and well be included in the evaluation of performance. A nation-wide infrastructure for physical education, Sports and games will be built into the educational edifice" (cited on 8.20, NPE-1986).

• In deciding the curriculum load the need to allocate sufficient time to sports and physical education which the NPE, 1986 holds as an integral of the learning process, should be kept in mind.
• Physical education and Yoga should be introduced for at least 45 minutes per day, preferably just after
• Approved games should be included in the school time-table for at least two periods in a week.
• Special incentives will need to be given to students who perform well in sports and games.
• The basic equipment, such as Footballs and Volleyballs may be provided to each school, similarly, some amount of contingency may be provided to each school.

National policy on Education (NPE) -1986

• A scheme for creation and improvement of playgrounds should be taken up on a phased basis under Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JRY) and Nehru Yuvak Kendras (NYK).
• An intensive and extensive programme of teachers training to equip all subject teachers with necessary skills to impart training in physical education, games and Yoga will be necessary.
• The present programme to train and recruit physical education teachers for high schools should be expanded.
• New schools may be established/recognized only if playgrounds are available.
• A comprehensive system of inter-school tournaments and championships in select disciplines should be introduced over a period of time. This system should culminate in a National School Championship.
• Special cash awards to winning schools and a special system of incentives for successful athletes also needs to be introduced.

Demographic Projections of India

Youth of India is going to be the major advantage over the other countries? Young India!

If so, Is India going to be strong nation in Sports? YES

Schools and University Sports

There are about 10,30,000 Schools!760 Universities!38,000 colleges!

23 crore youth in the age of 10-18 it is possible if we focus on School and University sports

Where are we searching for talent?

• Not in schools! Not in Colleges! Not in Universities!

So we left the mainstream and searching for talent in side streams!

Who Has to fund the National level university player for long term coaching and participation in world universiade

University? UGC ? AIU ? Ministry of Sports ?

No! Every agency tries to disown. Player survives on the Mercy of individuals operating these organizations

Fate of talented sports persons in university sector

• No financial support from govt.
• Only few universities promote sports
• No sports scholarships
• No prize money

Many Universities are not extending financial support even when their players get selected for the world universities team Some Universities feel that it is the AIU or country’s responsibility

The sports leading countries consider World Universiade as final stepping stone for Olympics

Country Percentage of Olympians who participated in

World Universiade

USA 95%

Canada 90%

China 92%

India? 0%

Why our Olympians do not participate in World Universiade?

• No opportunities for players
• Organizations work in isolation
• No national commitment in organizations
• Sports Federations, Universities, SAI hostel, NSOs like Railways, Air India, ONGC, promote players for their own organizations and no commitment for country

Rarely organizations consider players as Nation’s Wealth.

Are the universities playing their role?

• Development of sports culture?
• Financial support for their respective players for long term coaching and to participate in the World University Championships?
• Sports Scholarships for the Inter University Medallists?
• Conduct of long term Coaching camps?
• Incentive marks and exemption of attendance during sports participation?

Winning formulae for Indian Universities team in OLYMPICS

AIU has to plan long term sports programs

• Identify some universities as centres of excellence in sports and support
• UGC/ Ministry of sports to fund the centres
• Select the probable’s of the Indian Universities teams in the Inter University tournaments
• Admit the outstanding employed players also (Olympians, international medallists within age limit of 28) in Open Universities and select them for the Indian Universities contingent
• Keep long term training for each team in one university
• Involve concerned federations to bring best players to university sector
• Make India flag high in the Next Olympics.

Mission Olympic 2020 possible only with

• Team Work of
• Governments
• Sports Associations
• Education Sector
• Parents

Concentrate on…..

• Clearly building clusters of excellence by sport is the way to go.
• Pullela Gopichand has single-handedly built a cluster for badminton in Hyderabad. This can be further developed to field a large number of players, in order to dominate this sport in Tokyo??
• Haryana & Punjab is a cluster of excellence for boxing and wrestling. This should be given a thrust with the intent to win big in these two sports.
• The Northeast has shown remarkable energy in sports, with the likes of Mary Kom and Dipa Karmakar. Focussing on sports there is a sure-fire way of bringing the region into the mainstream.
• Kerala is big in boat racing and martial arts, a natural place to develop capabilities in canoeing and sports like judo and Taekwondo.Mallakhamb is big in Maharashtra, and gymnastics is a natural extension for this

Road Map to Olympics

• Concentrate on 10 priority sports
• Host maximum number of major international events .
• Individual academies and IPL-style sports leagues should be encouraged in the 10 identified Olympic sports
• Hire best national and international coaches; grade them periodically to maintain quality
• All sportsmen to be divided in three categories based on their past Performance and world rankings
• Identify talent at a young age
• Have a national sports Injury Insurance Scheme to cover all sportsmen between the age of 5 and 35 years
• Implement Draft National Sports Development Bill, 2013 to bring transparency and accountability in sports bodies.

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