INDIA’S OLYMPIC PERFORMANCE
The Olympics Games is an international sports competition that is held every four years in different cities. Thousands of athletes from all over the world compete against each other in individual and team sports. Over 1 billion people watch the games on T.V. The first Olympics Games were held in Greece in 776 B.C. They were called ancient games and lasted until the 4th century A.D. The Modern Games began in 1986 when the Frenchman Pierre De Coubertin revived the games to bring peace and friendship to young people all over the World. There are Summer and Winter Olympics which were held in the same year, but now they are staged two years apart from each other. The Olympic flag has five interlocking rings, representing the five continents of the world.

HISTORY OF INDIA IN THE OLYMPICS
Indian athletes won 33 medals at the Summer Games a period between 1928-1980. The run included 8 gold medals in total and six successive gold from 1928-1956. There was once a time when India dominated the international hockey circuit and Dhyan Chand was at the center of all these triumphs. He helped India win three Olympics gold medals in 1928,1932 and 1936 and was nicknamed the ‘Wizard’ for his extraordinary goal-scoring skills. Milkha Singh, also known as the ‘Flying Sikh’ was the Indian track and field runner who got introduced to the sport while serving in the Indian Army. He represented India in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, and the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. First-ever Indian woman to win an Olympics medal, Karnam Malleswari brought a bronze medal in the weightlifting 69 kg women’s category of the Sydney Olympics. It was a historical milestone for Indian sportswomen as India’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and boxer Mary Kom won bronze in their respective sports in London. Eleven Indian shooters qualified for London Olympics with seven male and four female competitors. Shooters Vijay Kumar and Gagan Narang joined the elite group of Indian marksmen with silver and bronze medals respectively.
CHALLENGES FOR SPORTSPERSONS
India’s performance in the Olympics sounds very disgraceful for us Indians and for our country. India has the world’s 2nd largest population (almost 1/6th of the global population) and it is the sixth largest economy. It is the biggest democracy in existence. But, why does India, despite a population of over one billion people, lack behind in the race for Olympics Glory? Every self-respecting Indian knows that India’s strike rate at the Olympics has been less than encouraging. The Indian culture has hindered local sports development. Most families want their children to become doctors, engineers, and accountants. Sports talents are persuaded by family and even neighbors, stopping them from taking part in high-level competitions. Corruption has become synonymous with sports administration in India. Whether it is the most popular cricket, hockey, or weightlifting, most of the sports authorities in India have come under attack due to corruption charges. Besides the involvement of politicians in the administration of sports bodies for a very long period, a controversy surrounding the 2010 Commonwealth Games dented the image of sports administration in India. The major one is the lack of facilities. We have thousands of education centers all over the country but there are few schools and colleges which have adequate facilities for any sport. Over 90 of these educational institutions have not engaged any regular professionals to promote sports. Wherever they exist, the concentration is only on cricket and all other games are ignored. The poor infrastructure can be judged by the fact that in hockey we have about 10-15 AstroTurfs in the entire country whereas, in Holland and Australia, there are more than 200 each. Our athletes might not have bagged many medals but they sure are trying harder and doing better. In years to come with more attention towards sports infrastructure and world-class facilities for their training, these athletes will go ahead to make India proud. Most importantly, our encouragement and media focus on sports other than cricket could do wonders.
SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE INDIA’S PERFORMANCE IN THE OLYMPICS
Most people do not understand the importance of increasing the number of facilities that sportspersons may utilize for pursuing sports. They also ignore the importance of increasing the quality and accessibility of the existing sports infrastructure. In India, there are a number of sports that just need some open space and the right equipment. However, to pursue a sport in an organized way, one must focus on the proper facilities to play. Many of the elite athletes in India need proper facilities to train and push the game to the next level and make the country proud. People and especially parents develop an interest in sports in general. Parents get convinced that sport is one of the possible options for their kids to make great careers and earn enough money to lead a comfortable life even if they do not reach the highest level of performance. ‘Sports’ is a state subject. It is the primary responsibility of the State Government to develop sports including the development and creation of sports infrastructure of international standards. However Central Government also provides financial assistance under its scheme of ‘Khelo India’ to States/ UTs to develop critical sports infrastructure and other infrastructure, where are gaps including sports science and sports equipment on the basis of a viable proposal from them.
CONCLUSION
- There is no doubt that its performance of India is improving in the Olympics as the number of participants participating is increasing year by year in the Olympics as well as the number of medals is growing in India’s basket. But there is a lot of scope for improvement there and it can be achieved by providing adequate infrastructure and encouraging people to make their career in sports.