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ESPN staff
How to make more PV Sindhus? Road to Indian tennis resurgence? How can Mirabai Chanu’s Olympic medal be put to good use? In honor of National Sports Day, we continue to take a look at the state of India’s major (non-cricket) sports with some goals and roadmaps.
Focus on the people on Sports Day
badminton
state of play
Badminton is one of India’s most successful sports, with traditional indicators such as Olympic medals, world championship titles and world number one ranked players. From national age structure to national coaching and fundraising, the system is all in place. However, there is still room for improvement for India to become a dominant and consistent power globally.
what do i need to do?
Increase bench strength, especially in the women’s section. Saina It’s been 10 years since her Newal breakthrough, but she and her PV Sindhu remain the only outliers to make it into the BWF Top 15. Your her third ranked player is good.
how do you do that
Simply put: keep it up. Talent must be identified and built early on, as evidenced by Raksha Sen, who was scouted at age 11 and moved to Bangalore from Uttarakhand. Much of it comes down to age-old factors. Getting more young girls into the sport, focusing on fitness with physically strenuous training and conditioning for power hitting, and finding the finishing touches with the right coaches. and academy.
But it’s still a largely individualized process and probably needs to start working long before the athletes arrive at national camps. You can have a pool of female players who regularly challenge the best players.
– Xenia Decuna
weightlifting
state of play
Indian weightlifters once again impressed at the Commonwealth Games (CWG). This time in Birmingham, India won her ten medals, including her three gold medals. Since the turn of the century, India has won her over 50 weightlifting (including para powerlifting) medals at the Commonwealth Games. Compare that to the Asian Games, where the sport’s top nations compete. India has not won a medal since her 1998. At the moment Mirabai Chanu is the only lifter of world class quality and she proved it at the Tokyo Olympics. she won a silver medal.
what do i need to do?
Close the gap at the Asian level and avoid issues such as doping.
how do you do that
India has produced elite weightlifters for decades, but they have not been able to take the next step. Only Maleshwari.
Finding talent is part of that, but another important thing is giving them the best resources. Sports like weightlifting require technical coaching to be integrated with sports science. To learn proper technique and alleviate back and shoulder problems ahead of the Olympics, Miravai worked with his coach, Dr. Aaron Horsig, at Strength & Conditioning in the United States.
Young and future weightlifters need the same support in India. Weightlifting is also notorious for doping, so another important aspect is providing proper guidance and education on the issue. Not just for the players, but for the coaches as well.
– Anish Anand
boxing
state of play
Three bronze medals at the Olympics, a string of medals at the World Championships (courtesy Mary Kom), and a ton of medals at the Asian and Commonwealth Games: Indian boxing has made steady progress over the past decade. I was. India, an Asian powerhouse, certainly has room to grow to further establish itself at the global level.
what do i need to do?
We need to focus on grassroots development to create a more diverse pool of talent coming from all over the country.
how do you do that
First of all, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) needs to get its house in order. All boxers must go through the same selection process regardless of past performance. And everyone should have equal access to resources and coaches, and no single athlete should be given special benefits.
That said, the BFI has a five-year plan aimed at making India the premier boxing nation by the 2028 Olympics, but a lot of work is needed to make that goal a reality.
For starters, the federation has launched ‘fight nights’ at the National Centers of Excellence of a number of Indian sports departments. This provides an opportunity for lower-ranked boxers to compete against top-ranked boxers, a concept that has also been applied to his camp at the National Sometimes motivates lower boxers.
The federation is considering more events. Hosting the annual India Open Tournament, Fringe is now considering hosting an invitational event to give more exposure to his athletes. The easiest way to nurture talent that has already been screened and brought into national camps is to give them exposure, and top institutions are trying to do the same.
More exposure for lower ranked boxers improves their skill sets and increases the level of competition within the national camp, thereby creating a more dominant talent pool. maybe not.
Federations can and probably should do more to develop women’s boxing. After all, in India she has won two Olympic medals.
– Shyam Vasudevan
table tennis
state of play
Table tennis in India is on an upward curve. The second consecutive Commonwealth Games, in which India outperformed in sports and won its first two medals at the last Asian Games, is a testament to its (slow but steady) growth. It now appears to have several companies at the top of table tennis in India.
what do i need to do?
Challenge China. No, seriously.
how do you do that
At first glance, this is one of the most impossible tasks in world sports. China has won her 32 gold medals since the TT was adopted for the Olympics. The second closest is Japan, which comes in third. But if your goal isn’t to beat and then be the best, are you really aiming high?
It may be too basic and unrealistic to imitate China, but there are aspects of what they have achieved that have India incorporated. To start very young, focus on this one sport from the beginning, focus on technique rather than ability at the time, and ensure availability. With experienced coaches at all levels of the journey, a strong network of ongoing national competitions (now run in a smaller way and already supported) expanding to international exposure, all government support at the level of Plus… Patience. Such a plan will not produce results in the short term. But once you start getting into it, it lasts a long time.
– Anirudh Menon
tennis
state of play
not good. He is the only Indian to play in the ongoing US Open and that is his 43-year-old Rohan Bopanna. In the men’s singles qualifying he was beaten by three Indians and was also close in the women’s singles. Sania Mirza, who is playing his final season, withdrew due to injury. At his WTA Chennai Open next month, Indian entrants needed wildcards just like at his ATP Maharashtra Open, both with just 250.
what’s next?
The basic goal is to make the main draw of a Grand Slam ranked in the top 100. This gives her a regular chance to qualify for an ATP/WTA Tour event instead of her lower ITF or Challenger events where most Indians currently play. Consistent performance on tour is the only way to get your ranking high enough. The Indians did it even after the days of Amritraj, Paes Bhupati and Mirza (think Yuki Bamburi, Sumit Nagar), but it was very precarious.
how do you do that
Professional sports like tennis require collaboration between private organizations and the Indian sports administration. Tennis is one of the most expensive sports he pursues, and funding is provided directly to players rather than associations. There are no national camps and it is individualized as most Indians train abroad as youth and have to cover their own travel expenses for tournaments spread around the world. One way is to host more tournaments in India. This means less moves and more chances for his points in the rankings. Private companies can play a big role here. Some of the former Indian players have also been involved in coaching and building academies in India, and it is hoped that these in-house centers will soon be able to deliver results.
– Xenia Decuna