The flame dies here!

Interesting news byte

"PT Usha declines last-minute invite"

The IOC *Indian Olympic Committe* 's gaffe. A committee whose primary aim is to send more accompanying members than sportsmen to the Olympics. A shining example of all the Olympic gold's that India has ever won (Just 3 medals in over 70 years of participation and none of them gold!). A very interesting statistic. And the only member who came ever so close to making it in the top 3 , has been snubbed in a manner that can only happen in a country like India. The only athletic achiever in a nation of 1 billion had almost been given the cold shoulder in a bizzare act of ungratefulness by the IOC. The last minute invite didn't go down too well with the former athelete and she declined the invitation.

It's very easy to fix blame when it comes to the lack of genuine athletic talent in India. The lack of infrastructure, no money, lack of proper diet, lack of decent playground parks or recreational areas and the genuine attitude of people towards sporting activity in general. It's quite ironical, with fewer people having a genuine interest in any athletic sporting activity , the field is quite open (Forgive the pun, I assure you I do not have the Times of India syndrome).

In comparison the Chinese whip (literally) their atheletes into shape. I have seen videos of a four year old chinese girl who was unable to stay upside down while was beaten with a cane, while she was still in that position. The poor kid cried her guts out. What, you may ask is the penalty one has to pay for Olympic glory ? Pretty high I guess, to be the best in the world and to be settle for nothing less. It's often a matter of national pride, and none of that seems to be evident the way the IOC bears itself. I bet that Suresh Kalmadi doesn't know the first things about sports. Its a vicious cycle of putting dinasours in positions where vision, forthrightness and youth are important to drive people. I don't envisage any hope , direction or improvement with politicians at the helm. He did set a goal of 10 golds in 2000, well surprise, surprise it fell through. Even hockey doesn't seem to be a sure bet for a medal these days. The only other country which is consistently as bad or worse than India is Pakistan. Let's just not go there, terrorism isn't an Olympic sport yet folks.

If it weren't for cricket, Indians wouldn't be playing any sport at all. Alas, cricket isn't an Olympic sport.. yet :)