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TL;DR: It is high time we considered providing serious encouragement to sub-junior and junior sportspersons, if India wants to prosper in international sports. Otherwise life of sub-junior and junior sportspersons will continue to be difficult and there will be no outcome in the internal sports arenas. It is a collective effort. Even the common local resident has a lot to contribute.

This is a request to all my fellow countrymen who can afford go that extra mile to support Indian sports.

If you really love Indian sports and want Indian sports to prosper at International level, please go and watch local competitive matches of sub-juniors and juniors wherever you stay. Please do not restrict yourself just to cricket. You may watch basketball, hockey, football, badminton, tennis, swimming, athletics, shooting, equestrian, fencing etc. Encourage the kids by offering small token gifts (vouchers, sports equipment etc.). Talk to them and positively suggest them how to overcome the obstacles. If possible, practically contribute towards removing their bottlenecks. For example, some of them may face challenges just to reach the sports arena. Pick up and drop them in your vehicle whenever possible or arrange for car pooling, if feasible.

Very few Indian sub-junior or junior sports trainees are able to get support from their parents and can traverse the journey in sports without much external help. The rest opt out due to lack of resources. I know many athletes who were forced to quit early and become coaches to make both ends meet.

How much an Indian family of an athlete needs to spend to reach up to the international level? Lets us consider Srihari Nataraj who, along with 14-year-old Dhinidhi Desinghu, will represent India in swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympics. There is interesting article titled "Srihari Nataraj and the cost of creating India’s best swimmer" though the article is nearly four years old. In that article, dated August 30 2019, we learn that:“We have spent nearly ₹8 lakh for Srihari’s two World Championships within the last one month or so, the senior worlds in Gwangju in July and the junior in Budapest, which ended a few days ago. We spend ₹70,000-80,000 every month for his swimming and have spent nearly ₹30 lakh for his sport over the last few years,” said Kalyani, a former Tamil Nadu junior volleyball player who hails from Pudukottai.The support from Government may come after later. Till then the family just has to burn cash without expecting any returns.

In addition to the above, the family has to provide an ecosystem for day to day support to balance sports training and school education. This only adds to the hardship and stress since one has to constantly juggle between school time table and sports time table and they will never remain aligned with each other..

How many middle class families can afford? The bigger question that rattles the minds of an Indian middle class family is whether it is worth pursuing sports without any support from the society and the Government at early formative stages.

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cc: @mastodonindians@a.gup.pe