(Ajit Agarkar is a former Indian cricketer and a commentator. The column was first published in the Economic Times on October 2, 2021)
- The world over, countries that invest in grassroots sports have shown that investing in bringing communities together for recreation rather than targeting champions is a crucial foundational step in planning ahead for a ‘podium’ strategy. This is true of any world-stage sporting event. As a country of 1.3 billion people, we obviously love winning and show it as if we played a significant part in these victories with our cheering support. But the reality has been that either individual federations or families have had to create opportunities, platforms, global coaching networks, support systems and funding to ensure that individual athletes scale the heights.
