Sports have failed to lure the majority of Indian urban youth for career prospects since a meager 31 per cent only chooses to play sports from states like Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
Interestingly, most of these budding sports aspirants prefer to join high earning games like cricket, tennis, hockey and shooting, finds the latest survey from the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).
The survey brought out by ASSOCHAM clearly indicates that “Urban Sports Programmes” promoted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports are yet to prove their worth, as they have not been launched with the necessary vigour The other factor for such a dismal situation is the fact that corporates have only extended lukewarm support and measly scholarships for national games like Hockey, Football, Athletics, Boxing and Weightlifting. As a result, these games have not gained much recognition in India. The scheme, known as the Sports Authority of India (SAI) – National Sports Talent Contest (NSTC) scheme, has virtually proved to be a non-starter for the youth.
Urban youth from states like Karnataka, Andhra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Goa have also not shown their eagerness to tap sports for career opportunities.
Moreover, the huge amount of money garnered by winners of the 20-20 cricket world cup has oriented the youth of the country to the gentleman’s game as opposed to other national games. This is despite the fact that the Indian Hockey and Football teams recently won the Asia Cup and Nehru Cup respectively, says ASSOCHAM President, Sajjan Jindal.
Subsequently, the going has become quite tough for games like Hockey, Football, Boxing, Badminton, Shooting, Golf, Athletics, Weightlifting, Swimming etc. to get talented and enthusiastic young boys and girls from large metros and towns.
Surprisingly, 65 per cent of the urban youth from listed states was successfully lured by emerging sectors like FMCG, finance, retail, IT, BPO, aviation, hospitality etc by providing them with higher salaries and better incentives. Also, since youngsters do not have to face any hassles and constraints as those experiences in sports, there was a definitive preference for this field. In fact, freshers begin earning good money from the entry level only in these sectors.
The study, however, also revealed that over 72 per cent of rural and tribal youth from states like Orissa, Punjab, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Goa, North-East and Uttarakhand acknowledge sports as a lucrative career as most of them get jobs in the railways, state government departments, PSUs, corporate houses etc.
Among this section of youngsters, Hockey, Football, Archery, Shooting, Boxing, Weightlifting were their preferred choice as compared to cricket.
Part of the credit here goes to rural sports programmes that have boosted the sports culture among rural and tribal youths and created a vast pool of talented sports persons. According to estimates, by December of 2007 over 820 sports programmes had been organised in rural and tribal areas.