By Tushar Bhaduri
We have entered two months of a non-stop sporting spectacle that is expected to keep fans and followers busy and excited. Thankfully, with the Asian Games in China and the Cricket World Cup in India, the favourable time zones should not result in too many people losing too much sleep.
The Asian Games, along with the Commonwealth Games, were once considered the pinnacle of Indian sporting ambition. Medals won at these competitions occupied pride of place on the mantelpiece. Though that has not necessarily changed altogether, India’s development as a sporting nation in recent times has ensured that the Olympics are now a realistic stage to look forward to for many Indian competitors – and not just qualifying for them. And performers like Neeraj Chopra have brought about a change in mindset where Indians are not shy in eyeing a gold medal and not just a place on the podium.
The Asian Games being a continental multi-disciplinary event, the degree of difficulty will vary across sports. For instance, the value of a medal in badminton or weightlifting will be considerably higher than, say, in athletics or hockey when one considers world standards. With the Games coinciding with the ICC men’s 50-over World Cup, the cream of the cricket crop would anyway be absent from Hangzhou, while the women’s game in the rest of the continent has only recently started making strides, implying that anything other than gold would be a major disappointment.
The official broadcaster has set a target of 100 medals this time – one’s not sure whether or not that’s an arbitrary decision – but with India returning with a tally of 70 from the 2018 edition in Indonesia, it would be some achievement, even though the programme includes several disciplines that are not part of the Olympic schedule – such as esports.
Given India’s size, population, resources and facilities allocated and sporting ambition, eighth place on the medal table is too low. China’s tally of 132 gold, compared to India’s 16, five years ago, points to the gulf. Japan and South Korea are strong sporting nations in their own right, but the fact that tiny countries like Chinese Taipei sat above India five years ago points to the fact that a lot needs to be done to bridge the gap, especially for a country that aspires to host the Olympics one day.
When it comes to the Olympics, our improvement has only been incremental. The target set for next year’s Paris Olympics – in some circles – is double digits after the nation-best haul of seven medals in Tokyo a couple of years ago. Even if that mark is achieved, it wouldn’t get India a place on the top table, but only confirm that progress is being made.
The overall performance in Hangzhou will give us some idea of where we stand, at least on the continent.
All eyes at home
The Asian Games will run till October 8, but it’s fair to assume that most of the casual fans will shift their focus to the ‘other’ big sporting event even before proceedings come to a halt in Hangzhou.
India hasn’t won a major ICC tournament in a decade, and the last time they were called world champions was in 2011 when they triumphed on home soil. And after the Asia Cup title and the impressive return of some key personnel, expectations are high. India has always been formidable at home, and with teams like Australia, New Zealand, and Pakistan having injury trouble leading up to the big event, India’s stock has only risen over the last few days.
If off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is indeed drafted in the squad – left-arm tweaker Axar Patel is racing against time to overcome a hamstring injury – it can only strengthen the squad considering the surfaces that they are likely to play on. Ashwin played a crucial role at the business end of the 2011 campaign, and his experience, nous, and guile can make a vital difference in a format that has seen totals ballooning in recent times. Teams like England, South Africa, and Australia have been amassing scores close to, or sometimes even beyond, 400 in almost every other match these days. Getting to a 100 before the 10-over Powerplay is over is not unheard of. The 50-over format is often treated as an elongated version of a T20. This quite often results in teams struggling to chase down middling totals, as they lose too many wickets in the early phase going for quick runs, even when that approach is not the need of the hour. It remains to be seen whether that approach will still be in vogue when all teams will have their strongest available bowling attacks at their disposal.
However, there will be a lot of time for hair-splitting analysis in the weeks to come. For the time being, the casual sports fan and the sporting aficionado alike can just sit back and enjoy the high-level fare on offer.