Biswajyoti Brahma,TNN
NEW DELHI: Suddenly there’s hope. The hope that we can do it at the Olympics. Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Kumar and Sushil Kumar’s unprecedented feat at Beijing has made us believe that we can repeat the show, if not better it, at the London Games, four years from now.

Is the Bejing show going to be a watershed moment for Indian sport, as was the 1984 Los Angeles Games for China? (It was in the US city that China won its first-ever gold medal. And six Games later, they emerged as the leaders in Beijing with 51 gold medals!).
The answer should be yes. We can win medals at London too. But for that to happen, the need is to put together a herculean effort, in some ways, like the Chinese, and start preparing for the 2012 Games right now.

To make the dream of more Olympic glory come true, we need to think and plan in realistic terms and not gets sentimental about it.

We should keep aside the disciplines that India does not have any chance of doing well in in near future and just concentrate on the sports which offer medal possibility. The performance of Bindra, Vijender and Sushil has given us a clue, the need of the hour is to make use of it.

No doubt, most of those who went to Beijing are the best in their respective fields in the country at the moment. But how long can we go on expecting medals from athletes who can’t even cross the first hurdle?

Ideally, we should have a three-tier system in place and put the best medal prospect sports like shooting, boxing and wrestling in the top one. These three sports are doing well for quite some time now and they should be given the best-possible support. But before that, there’s need to have a proper four-year plan in place which should be followed sincerely.

“There’s still a long way to go. We are still behind other countries, but could catch up with them provided you give us enough facilities, like good coaching, training, foreign exposures, psychological help, latest equipment,” says eminent boxing coach Jagdish Singh, four of whose wards took part in the Beijing Games.

“As far as boxing is concerned, things have changed in the last some years, but still a lot is required to be done.”

The next level is peripheral sports, the ones which have an outside chance of winning medals in 2012. The archers, shuttlers, paddlers and tennis players should be placed in this category, and they should also be given extensive encouragement, with an eye beyond London.

On his/her day, any of the athlete from these disciplines can hit the jackpot and bag a medal, something that badminton star Saina Nehwal almost did in Beijing.

Of course, we cannot forget the hockey team. They may be down, but certainly not out. The recent showing in some international tournaments is an indication that the hockey team can only improve, provided they are given proper support and guidance. The weightlifters can also be put in this category, only that they have to stay away from dope and don’t get banned, yet again.

Put the rest (no-hopers for now) including track and field athletes in the third rung. Put a strong dope-checking mechanism in place and make them perform at national level more often. And last but not the least, make the administrators accountable.

The government can’t simply keep pumping in money while the officials are well aware that nobody is going to question them even if they don’t utilise it properly.

The biggest problem is to have a proper plan in place, forget about following it. The impending elections of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the 2010 Commonwealth Games can also shift the focus of the administrators from the London Olympics.

“The problem is that we will think about the London Olympics just days before it begins. Ideally we should do it immediately after Beijing, which most countries including China will do,” shooter Samaresh Jung had told TOI just before the Olympics.

Jagdish says: “the need to have a transparent system and for people who are willing to take responsibility. Without it you can’t do anything.”

The four-year plan
1. Shortlist disciplines which have medal potential for 2012 Olympics

2. Identify the best talent in the short-listed sports

3. Draw a plan of action and stick to it, no matter what

4. Look after the athletes and provide them with the best possible training and support

5. Make officials/coaches accountable for the performance of the athletes