'Quo Vadis' Indian sports?

Quo Vadis is a Latin phrase and translates as "Whither goes thou?". A more apt phrase cannot be found to summarise the state every Indian sport with the exception of chess and kabbadi finds itself. Whats even more appaling is that the problems that plague these sports are due to the petty politics played by the administrators. Nothing else. The players are as committed as anyone else would be in their respective fields. Let me summarise a few points:

Cricket:
Though the team is doing well, we can trust the five monkeys aka the selectors to torpedo a steady ship. Yes, I am talking about the exclusion of Sourav Ganguly. He has his shortcomings, but he accepted punishment with humility and proved his worth in the domestic circuit. Selection followed naturally and he was told that performance alone would count. Accepting the challenge, he played two gritty innings in the Delhi test which were vital in the context of the game. Imagine the scenario if he had got out cheaply. One, of course he would have lost his place. But secondly India would have collapsed like a pack of cards. Will the selectors care to explain their action whose foolishness was compounded by the fact that ganguly's replacement is an opener named Wasim Jaffer who ideally should have replaced Gautam Gambhir. Strange are the ways of the five monkeys!!!!

Hockey:
A true prince to pauper story. Countries used to fear us and envy the rich pool of talent that we had (and have even now). But again trust the administrators to make silly errors in selection, constant chopping and changing, no extended run being given to a coach....

Football:
The fact that we struggle to win the South Asian title should convey the status of the 'beautiful game' in our country. no schemes are undertaken to popularise the game and even in case it is being played, active discouragement is given. My own school is an example: we were prevented from playing footer cos the PT teachers were scared that we would hurt the girls.......beat that reason!!!!!!!!!!!!! (please don't read any male chauvinism in this statement. i am just stating the true ground realities sometime arnd 1997-1998 where my school girls played nothing other than throwball, badminton and tennikoit. )

The lesser said about the other sports the better. Its only due to the perseverance of a few sportspersons that we get flashes of recognition in these sports. Of course there is potential in fields like tennis, golf, chess...But what is to be noted is that these are sports which rely on the individual more than anything else. The real challenge is to perform in team sports. Is India in a position to give a fitting reply to the question "Quo vadis?" or will the reply be "Que Sera Sera" (whatever will be; will be).......