Gopalkrishna G. Hegde
Associate Editor
Prajavani, Bangalore.
Mr. Suresh Kalmadi, the organising committee chairman of the 10th Commonwealth Games held at New Delhi 15 months ago continues to cool his heels in Tihar Jail. Of course he has the company of some bureaucrats also in the jail. The Commonwealth Games were a grand success as far as the sports was concerned. The Indian athletes won as many as 100 medals which was a great record in the history of the nation's sport. But the Games were marred by the financials scandals. Few athletes tested positive in the anti dope tests. But the financial irregularities by the organising committee exposed the corrupt practices which has been spread like cancer in the sports federations and associations.
I do not like to start my today's subject with Mr. Suresh Kalmadi or the negative aspects of the sports. With my experience of more than three decades in the field of sports journalism i am convinced that the politics and sports are the both sides of a same coin. If Kalmadi is behind bars it is because the media brought to light the irregularities of the CWG. Nothing was in order till the CWG started. Thanks to media again the preparations for the CWG were taken up on a war foot and the events were held as per the schedule.
Today the media is in a 'love and hate' situation in the minds of the people. Just think what whould have happened without the media in this world. With all the negative approach or actions by some sections of the media, it has been proved on and again that the 'Pen is mightier than the sword'. Of course the media has played a great role in promoting sports and sports persons.
I would like to present a wonderful example here. I would be very happy if somebody here knows about Mr. Benu Balu Bhaat of Gadag. He must be around 80 now and still going strong with his hockey stick. His love for hockey was amazing. He was an extra ordinary player for the railways. He could have represented India in the 1964 Olympic Games if he had given seven thousand rupees to some officials. He had no money and he could not pay. And he missed the chance to play for the country. But he never regretted for that. He just enjoyed the game.
After his retirement he had to support his family of ten children. He worked as a watchman in a petrol bunk. But his love for hockey had not diminished a bit. His hand itched when he saw boys playing hockey. He volunteered himself to coach them. He belonged to the Settlement area and the Britisher's gift to the Settlers was hockey. One day my good friend Munna Guledgudda, a cricket lover, coach (he was instrumental in the growth of Sunil Joshi who became a test cricketer) introduced me to Benu Balu Bhaat. He narrated his hockey story wearing the Indian Railways team blazer. He expressed his intension to coach the youngsters even in that old age.
I was just waiting for an opportunity to help him. I had written a detailed article about him in Prajavani and Deccan Herald. When the state cabinet meeting was held in Gadag, I forced the then sports minister Mr. S.S. Mallikarjun and Mr. A J Anandan, Director of Youth Services and Sports to meet Benu Balu Bhaat. Both were very much impressed by his achievements. The minister immediately agreed to appoint him as a coach at the Gadag stadium to coach the youngsters. It was really a great triumh for me and the media. I just felt so happy that my reports helped a sportsman.
There are so many examples like this. The media have always highlighted sporting achievements in a great fashion. Apart from the live coverage of the matches, the media focused on the life stories of the sportsmen and women. Many of our sportsmen and women have come from a very poor background. Sports showed them the way of life. They came to sports hoping to get a job. The media reports helped them in this regard.
Any sportsman or woman needs to climb the ladder to reach the highest level. There is no shortcut for success in sports. Though there is politics, nepotism, corruption in the selection process no body can stop the genuinely talented athlete. Here the media plays a very important role. The media always keeps an eye on the selectors and other office bearers of the federation or association. Though there are few golmals nobody can get away with utter nonsense. What all did not happen during CWG but thanks to the culprits were finally booked and the enquiry is going on.
The media does the job of spotting the talent and encouraging the same to develop. Today the cricket is so popular all over the country thanks to print and electronic media. But at the same time cricket is blamed for the downfall of other sports in the country. It is not the case as it is generally visualised. That is a seperate story and subject which is not relevent here. But i can tell you with authority that media has played a very important role in the promotion of sports in our country.
A sports reporter is a complete journalist. He covers every aspect of a sportsman. He writes about the personality of the athlete, his growth into the sports field, his economic status, his positive personal lifelike marriage, children, his social activities and finally the obituary when the sportsman dies. The true stories of the champions are always a great motivation to the youngsters. Media kindles the light of hope in the mind of all youngsters who aspire to become successful sports persons.
Here i have to tell you about the importance of the physical education teachers in promoting sports in coordination with the media. There was a time when the PE teachers were considered as friends, philosophers and guides by those who aspired to excel in sports. Be a tiny school or the biggest educational institution in town, the relationship between sport-loving students and the PT masters was unique in several respects.
If these teachers were solely responsible for the boys and girls spending their evenings from Monday to Friday in a most purposeful fashion, then the seniors would look after the needs of the boys and girls during the weekend. They taught them not only the finer aspect of chosen games but aslo explained them the value of discipline, dedication and most other adorable qualities that go to make the aspirants 'complete human beings'.
Unfortunately, sport, thereby the physical education, has been pushed to the back seat as parents and many an educational institution chose to concentrate more on studies in an effort to produce academically brilliant men and women. This 'all studies no sport' situation is being condemned by sociologists and sensible thinkers of the society. Yet things have not moved in the desired direction as far as sport-lovers and sports-promoters are concerned.
Yet it is heartening to note that several universities in our country are still producing physical education teachers through some well-conceived programmes. Here one must appreciate those young men and women who join this course so as to serve the society in a telling manner. One of the items in the well-conceived programme is sports journalism. Just imagine a physical education teacher who possesses a huge list of promising young talents in various disciplines of sport in his/her school/college. How will he project these talents through the media? Sport Journalism, as a subject, would certainly help him/her.
Once he/she complete the physical education course wilth journalism as one of the subjects, he/she wouild be working in a school or college with greater confidence. The PE teacher can thake classes regularly and highlight the importance of sporting acitivities for the professional college students. He can narrate the great stories of the sports heroes in Olympics, Asian Games and world cup events. Only the Champions will motivate the younger generation. But unfortunately the PE teachers have been reduced to whistle blowers. It is time for them to change now.
The well equipped PE teacher will be in a commendable position of preparing reports of his students (sports) and the institution and release them as exaustive press releases. He can write profiles on boys and girls who excel at various levels. These writing excercises do help the aspirants and their educational institutions as the media will only be delighted to make the most of these well-furnished details with suitable photographs.
Here the PE students and their teachers must understand the situation that prevails in media. Gone are the days when newspapers insisted their sports reporters to concentrate on sports acitivities in schools and colleges. Now sports reporters, in general , want to turn global overnight. Activities happening in and around them are left to the 'desk man' and the press releases. If a press release is brief, it will, naturally, get only a brief mention in the newspaper. If it contains more details that too prepared with professional zeal, the desk man gets impressed. To attain this, PE students must be well versed in sports journalism. To get things done in our and our ward's favour, we must understand the needs, style and scope of the media. Hence, it is time sports journalism gets into the halls where the nuances of Physical Education are being taught. Let's prepare our future PE Masters through a fool-proof system. No social activity is complete without well-equipped PE teachers.