Do all the good you can, and be remembered

“Do all the good you can, and you will be remembered for not only what you achieved, but also for what you left behind”

Our sportsmen (read cricketers) earn in millions, through endorsements, sponsorships, advertisements and finally a meager amount by playing. Recently, rewards were heaped in countless numbers on the members of the Indian cricket team in cash and kind for having won the World Cup. Those who have been around for a fairly decent time period, having tasted success in small quantum are rich and would have surely amassed a fortune by now.

An interesting fact to be observed over the next few years, is where do these people venture? Saurav Ganguly has retired from International Cricket (has he??) and is now into commentary along with a lot of others. Some former cricketers (Kumara Dharmasena, Paul Riefel) etc have ventured into umpiring. A few of them like Anil Kumble get into cricket administration. What do the remaining people do?

I am curious to know what successful stars, living legends, God for many, idolized by millions in this country do post retirement. More importantly, I am keen in knowing how will such a person patronize sports. Pullela Gopichand has done it. After hanging his boots, he opened a badminton academy, started identifying young and raw talent, groomed them with rigorous training schedules and as a result, today you find a Saina Nehwal, consistently in the top 3 in the International Circuit. We can find petty examples like these in other sports too.

In a country, where cricket is a religion and Sachin is God, other sports are conveniently neglected. In a country of 1.2 billion, all we can boast of, is a single individual Olympic Gold till date. It is not that there is not talent in the country. There is ample amount of talent. Otherwise, Sania Mirza would not have risen to the heights she did. Pankaj Advani would not have become the World Champion. Abhinav Bindra would not have won the Olympic Gold and our shooters, boxers, wrestlers and weightlifters would not have given the consistently good performance that they have given of late. It is only that the talent is not identified at an early stage and groomed properly. And even when it is identified, there is a lack of facilities or infrastructure or financial support to sustain the talent and bring in consistency in the performance. Saina Nehwal, to this day finds it difficult to meet the expenses of her training and other needs. If a World No 2, has to face such days, what will motivate people to play for India? We have world beaters, but we do not have a consistent world beater. We cannot boast of a Michael Phelps or a Lance Armstrong or a Michael Schumacher or a Roger Federer. We cannot boast of a Usain Bolt or a Carl Lewis, for similar reasons. All we can boast of, is a Sachin Tendulkar.

To encourage other sports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, once announced a yearly grant of funds from its kitty. I don’t know how effective that scheme has been, or was it only on paper. But hey, this is an opportunity for successful cricketers to do something about it. This is an opportunity for them to set standards, as people worship cricket and cricketers. When people like a Tendulkar or a Dravid, a Yuvraj or a Harbhajan do some kind of a gesture, which can benefit others in whatever way, it is bound to go down well and in a very positive way with millions of people.

Just take it a step further. Imagine a scenario, where these people, who have been successful and have amassed fortunes enough for a generation to survive, can do something for the betterment of sports as a whole. Help talented sportsmen from other disciplines, to achieve their goal, their dream of playing for India, of winning for India and of making a place for India in the World Map in that sport. If that can happen, it will be a great chapter in the history of sports. If by their patronage, India is able to win more medals at the Olympics, if by their support, India is able to make a mark for itself in Hockey and in Football, in Formula 1 and in Athletics, in Tennis and in Badminton, it will be a great example of solidarity and compassion towards fellow sportsmen.