history, wants to quit his sport, because he cannot take on the
"system" and is frustrated with it. Why wouldn't he be? His name has
been left out of the list for the Commonwealth Games! The reason
behind this - The "System" wanted him to attend "regular trials" which
form the basis for selection. They won't let him train like he wants
to, but instead want him to attend "regular trials".
Apparently, Bindra has been training abroad for months, and yet, he
came back from Germany to attend one such "regular trial" in December
but it was postponed at the last moment. He then wrote to the NRAI
(the apex clown body that has the power to hinder winners like Abhinav
Bindra), and the Sports Ministry asking that he be allowed to prepare
in a manner similar to his run-up to the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
Till yesterday, he'd got no response.
A case of norms and bureaucracy versus a professional attitude.
Collectively, we're not good at displaying either, but when the latter
shows up, we are somehow capable of throwing the former in its path.
In another incident, unconnected but symptomatic of our very Indian
attitudes towards excellence, West Bengal Sports Minister Kanti
Ganguly and PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami violated FIFA protocol when
they touched the World Cup Trophy just after Germany's 1990 World Cup
winning captain Lothar Matthaeus unveiled the original 18-carat gold
trophy to begin the world-wide tour. The honour of touching the cup
is reserved only for people who have won it, and for heads of state.
These clowns will never be world champions, and hopefully will never
become our head of state either. How can they be ignorant of the
simplest of protocols - respect the FIFA World Cup. It is not for
unfit people to touch and fawn. One of the idiots even tried to lift
it! I wonder if he would have stolen it if there had been a power
outage and the lights had gone out.
What we have in India is a systemic disrespect for excellence. We
love to trash champions and make them "equal" to us, make them
submissive to meaningless protocols and rules that really shouldn't be
there at all in the first place. How else would P T Usha be refused
accommodation at a national sports meet? End of the day, the system
has not only failed to deliver - it stands directly in the way of the
simplest things getting done.
Look at the fiasco with our hockey team. They had to threaten to pull
out of a world championship before their pleas were heard. It was
about getting paid "properly". The cricket team is the only bunch
that are above most of this haggard nagging, only because they have
too much money. It is very cool that they have decided to gift one
crore rupees to the hockey team, but they shouldn't have to.
Abhinav Bindra is a proven champion. Not of some arbid district in
Uttarakhand, not of India, but of the world. He should know a thing
or two about preparing for a major championship like the Commonwealth
Games. He has already delivered. He should focus on his goals rather
than attend some local trials in order to inspire other shooters. For
heavens sake, if his Olympic Gold cannot inspire other shooters, how
can his mere participation in trials do it!?
Champions versus bureaucrats! It has been happening for a long, long,
time, but now it is coming out into the open. Our bureaucrats are by
no stretch of the imagination, champion material. So, what better way
to cut the champions down to size than by showing the power of their
ability to prevent our champions from reaching their goals? It is the
only way dumb and lazy bureaucrats who have never aimed for anything
excellent all their lives can show their power over true champions,
and they are!
Abhinav Bindra has never given undue respect to our "system" because
he didn't come from it. He came up despite the sytem's every attempt
to slow him down. This is no secret. He doesn't make too many
patriotic statements because he is frustrated by the country. He is a
consummate professional instead. What is so hard to understand about
that? Why can't we respect that?
Speaking of protocol, which we seem so eager to throw in the face of
our champions - These ass clowns in WB touching the FIFA World Cup
really have no clue what the meaning behind the FIFA protocol is.
Now, FIFA could take action against the All India Football Federation
and make it very embarrassing. All the efforts of our football
players undone by the PWD Minister of West Bengal! Why does this fool
even have to be anywhere near the World Cup? But how embarrassing can
it be for a country that has hardly ever found itself within the first
100 in football rankings? Probably not much. Life goes on. The same
bunch of idiots left Saina Nehwal's name out of the official list of
participants in the Badminton championships in China. Poor kid lost
out.
This is exactly how not to nurture champions. We seem to think the
"system" needs to do more to produce champions. Sure it does, but it
isn't good enough to do that yet. Right now, our champions are all
finding ways to do it on their own. So, why should the system get in
the way or even get some credit for just being there? Just because
there is an office building somewhere, two ass clowns getting paid to
switch on the air conditioning and warming the seats?
Most Indians have no clue what it takes to be the best in the world -
in anything. Some of us do, and one of the best realizations we have
come to, and Abhinav Bindra has come to exemplify that, is that our
country as a whole is a trash can when it comes to making things work
efficiently. We are corrupt, lazy, focussed on the wrong things,
unwilling to work hard, and glaringly, unwilling to learn. We show
respect for all the stuff that doesn't count for anything in a
champion's pursuit.
With all the mediocrity that India stands for, I'd be embarrassed to
say I am an Indian if I won something of merit and had to unwittingly
represent our country, especially right here in India. Look at the
number of fiascos we have on at the moment. Not an ounce of integrity
in most cases. The message we need to send out should be clear - stay
the fuck out of the way, bloody government punkasses, and we'll bring
home all the gold medals we really aim for. Oh, yeah, we wouldn't let
you touch anything we won, either.
BSK.
No comments:
Post a Comment