Soulless sport stars

In sport, does the country come first or one’s own career?
This should-never-arise question sadly pops up repeatedly in India. Bringing us back to this question now is the tiff between Badminton Association of India (BAI) and three top players. The players are crying foul that their federation is jeopardizing their international careers, while the federation vehemently denies any wrongdoing.

First, the story so far is: The federation refused permission to three players from Andhra Pradesh – Chetan Anand, his wife Jwala Gutta and her doubles partner Shruthi Kurien – to play in two tournaments abroad and instead asked them to attend a six-week camp in Hyderabad during the same period. The players contend that they would have possibly gained some points by playing in these tournaments and improved their world rankings in their bid for an Olympic berth. The federation, on the other hand, maintains that missing two events when about 25 tournaments are still on the calendar does not make any difference. Valid point, indeed!

The fallout of face-off: the players refused to attend the camp and the federation ignored them for selection to the Indian team, citing government guidelines that stipulate that players attend the pre-tournament camp to be considered for national team.

Who is to be faulted? The players can insist on their right to chart their own individual careers and plead that the federation, if it’s not in a position to help their cause, should not at least come in their way. The federation too is right in demanding that players, while pursuing their individual careers, are duty-bound to serve the nation.

The fact that the issue is being keenly followed up by the media indicates that the players concerned are stars in their own right. Had it not been the case, neither the federation, nor the badminton fraternity or the media would have cared to give them a second look.

It is quite possible that the federation was keen on having the three top players represent the country — they are crucial to the team’s prospects. Chetan is the country’s top men’s player and Jwala-Shruthi is the top women’s doubles pair and the trio can boost India’s prospects. Maybe, being the best must be the reason why the players wanted to skip the preparation camp. They stand to gain little by attending camps where they have no equals to play against and improve their game. Therefore, the best way for them is to compete on the circuit and gain as many places as possible on the world rankings. Perfect logic!

But the point is do the players have a heart — for the game and its growth in the country? Agreed the top players have nothing to learn at the camps, but how about providing an opportunity to the upcoming players to play against you and better their game, contributing to their and the game’s growth? Surely, Chetan benefited immensely from his on-field clashes with Pullela Gopichand. Isn’t it immature for this boy-faced player to now indulge in ego-clash that benefits none and hurts all, most importantly the game and Indian team’s prospects?

Players should always remember that they are not bigger than the game. The reluctance of Indian Test players (including fallen star Azhar and fading star Sachin) to play Ranji matches has a lot to do with today’s paucity of cricket talent pool in India.

Not long ago, our Telugu bidda, the humpty dumpty Koneru Humpy committed the same crime. The chess player, having grown beyond everybody else in the country, found it meaningless to play in National tournaments. She avoided all tournaments in India, ignoring earnest appeals. Her participation would have helped other budding stars to improve ELO rating and secure IM norms, should they by chance defeat her, a GM. Humpy knew this, or at least her father-coach did, and avoided national events!

Do our much-adored sport stars every rise above petty personal goals and think and act as Indians? Will they ever put the game before themselves?
It is here that Leander Paes stands tall, without comparison. How playing for the nation motivates him to pull all the stops is a legend in its own.

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