Why is india so weak in the olympics?

[romelus]

i know there's a sports forum, but this is more of a social issue question i have

india is a monster population wise, which normally would lead to at least a decent performance at the olympics. i was surprised when i saw their small delegation, and also surprised when i looked up their olympic record. their cricket team seems to be the only strong point, they are weak in almost everything else and their medal count is puny.

now i understand GDP level plays a part in sports performances, but i was under the impression india's economy was decent and growing. china is a developing country also, but it is a sports superpower.

i know there are people familiar with india on this board, any comments on why this is?

 

[Immortal]

lack of funding, both private and public for athletes, same problem we have in canada.

 

[zjl56]

lack of funding, both private and public for athletes, same problem we have in canada.

I don't understand how you could have a lack of funding though it probably has to do with the fact that you have only 20 million people in your country.

 

[Immortal]

first of all we have 32 million, which is by no means a tiny population considering how many medals Austrailia has from its population at the moment.

Second of all the NSS national sport school in Calgary is chronically low in funding for its development programs and the CODA Canadian Olympic Development Association is the same. Cant train athletes if you dont have the money to invest in building new training programs.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

There was a small article in USA Today yesterday about it, citing mostly underfunding. India's gold medal winner in shooting was complaining loudly about it.

Apparently, though, some US millionaire who studied Indian religion and culture in college is donating a ton of money to India for them to train Olympic athletes.

 

[~Corsair#01~]

now i understand GDP level plays a part in sports performances, but i was under the impression india's economy was decent and growing. china is a developing country also, but it is a sports superpower.

And there was me thinking India was one of the poorest countries in the world...

 

[SeleucusNicator]

China has an interesting Olympic strategy. They want to maximize their medal count, so they are setting up government academies for all of the obscure Olypmic sports, which they hope to sweep in 2008.

 

[Immortal]

oh china, just as the western worlds interest in the olympics starts to wane, they start getting into it.

 

[stormbind]

Lack of food might prevent the larger population from performing well.

Those that can afford to eat well, generally don't want to work hard

 

[romelus]

oh china, just as the western worlds interest in the olympics starts to wane, they start getting into it.

i can understand how canadians might lose interest because of the poor performance, but i haven't seen any evidence of the western world losing interest

 

[CurtSibling]

I wonder how low it will take for this thread to degenerate into racialism?

 

[Immortal]

as far as I have seen, both in this forum, and others, as well as television ratings figures from nbc, viewership is down this time around.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

I wonder how low it will take for this thread to degenerate into racialism?

I don't know, I'm pretty content with tribalism at this point.

 

[Syterion]

Racialism isn't bad Curt, Racism is.

But anyway, generally underfunding. China tests young children for hints of athleticism at an early age and they are trained for their life. That's why they are a powerhouse. Not so in India.

 

[CurtSibling]

I don't know, I'm pretty content with tribalism at this point.

Isn't tribalism un-American or something?

 

[CurtSibling]

Racialism isn't bad Curt, Racism is.

Depends who you ask.

I detect a healthy amount of assumed superiority in the thread's premise...

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Depends who you ask.

I detect a healthy amount of assumed superiority in the thread's premise...

There is a difference between "the country of India produces few good olympic athletes" and "people of Indian descent are incapable of being good olympic athletes".

I hope you understand that difference, for it is a great one.

 

[CurtSibling]

There is a difference between "the country of India produces few good olympic athletes" and "people of Indian descent are incapable of being good olympic athletes".

I hope you understand that difference, for it is a great one.

Whatever -
I understand more than you have any way of discerning, SN.

Some people's words can be typed, but their thoughts are made clear in the prose.
And can be obvious to be observer, even if it is not to the author.

 

[betazed]

Some people's words can be typed, but their thoughts are made clear in the prose.
And can be obvious to be observer, even if it is not to the author.

Ah! We have a betazoid among us.

I guess it is time I changed my username.

 

[SeleucusNicator]

Curt: Even if any poster here felt superior to India, such feelings of superiority are not necessarily based on race and could just as easily be based on nationality.

For instance, I feel superior to you because I am an American citizen and you are a British subject, not because I think that my West Slavic ancestors could beat up your Germanic ancestors (history shows that it works the other way around, after all). It is nationalism, not racism. They are not one in the same.