Sports bodies must take care of potential talent
The Basketball Federation of India's decision to give a Rs50,000 monthly stipend to young hoopster Satnam Singh Bhamara's family may be well-intentioned, but it is misdirected and reflective of much that is wrong with Indian sports administration. The 19-year-old from Punjab is the first Indian (and South Asian) to be drafted into America's National Basketball Association, and if he is able to prove his mettle on the court, he will be earning millions of dollars by the time he is in his mid-20s. In fact, his current NBA contract already allows him, and by extension his family members, a more-than-comfortable living.
None of them requires a handout from the Government — which, no matter, how generous can hardly match an NBA fee. This leads us to the question: What is the point of this stipendIJ Cynics will point to populist politics: In India, Bhamara is already a star, and the BFI would like its own stakeholders (potential clients, political bosses) to believe that it did its bit in the youngster’s rise. In effect, the otherwise useless stipend is good PR for the BFI, paid for with tax-payer money.
Even if one were to give the BFI the benefit of doubt, and assume that the stipend is a genuine gesture of goodwill, there is still a case to be made for better utilisation of funds. India's sporting infrastructure, outside of cricket, is in shambles. Be it concrete facilities or training opportunities, there is no dearth of avenues wherein that Rs50,000 per month could be invested with far greater returns. A good example here is the IMG-Reliance scholarship that brought Bhamara and 29 other Indian child-athletes between the ages of 11 and 14 to the US for training.
That scholarship changed Bhamara's life. It gave him the platform he needed hone his talent. The scholarship, which notably is already supported by the BFI, is a great example of public-private partnership that could be emulated across different disciplines. The federation could have better used the stipend money to spread the programme net wider and bring in more talented youngsters, or it could set up more such funds and scholarships with additional funds. Wouldn’t that have been a better way to cherish and highlight Bhamara’s achievementsIJ After all, there was a time when Bhamara himself was struggling to find Size 20 shoes for himself.
There are still many like him across the country, and a Rs50,000 monthly stipend can actually make a huge difference to them. But this is a problem with not just the BFI — other sports bodies make the same mistake. Rushing to a rising star with money and medals is fine, but don’t confuse that with providing an enabling environment for young sportspersons and paving the way for their rise. If Indian sports can get its act together, it could become a regional power — and instead of a Bhamara going to the US to make it big, talented sportspersons from our neighbourhood could come to India to realise their potential. The opportunities here are many; we must effectively leverage them.