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I am not giving interview; infact didnt even clear prelims, but I used to play basketball and am a passionate follower of the game. So can contribute my bit. But I need the leads to build upon.
Ha, finally. @kake Never mind about the interview status - passion for the game is that matters. I haven't been following the latest updates but do have an outline about what to prepare for. Please add more points.
1. Problems endemic to the sport in India 2. Factional fight in the BFI 3. UBA Pro - turn out, success or not, how it can help in bringing popularity to the game. 4. Performance of India in Asian/ World tourneys 5. Why a country like Philippines or Iran is able to outperform India in this sport. 6. Future of the sport
8. Indians in NBA and NBA Academy/ reachout in/to India;
9. General issues/inputs/observations relevant (in general for all sports except CRICKET )-
9.1) don't we value a sportsperson (give them a menial job- railway TT, for eg), after all why does he even need to do a job at all (Anurag Kashyap's Mukkabaaz can also be cited)
9.2) It is not even infrastructure intensive- can pick up with with a decent nudge/support
9.3) it is surprising that it is popular in school, college level but post that the enthusiasm fizzles out. India ranks a good 64/145 (some years back it ranked 45-50).
9.4) Except traditional sports (wrestling), sports which have caught imagination for decades (cricket, hockey) and sports where individuals have catapulted on self effort(badminton, shooting, tennis etc), others need (and I vehemently state this) state/PPP Support
9.5) BFI need to be radically restructured- it is headed by a politician (as are other sports bodies)- WTF
10. specific example vis-a-vis Indian basketball- # some years back I came across a news item where an Indian basketball player was contemplating a career in fashion ( hoopsters are lambe-chaude and obviously owing to lack of opportunities in the game)- obviously things are changing now # Support to the sport is missing- eg- was not included in CWG 2010 ( India me hone ke bawajood)
I have very random, unorganized thoughts and opinion as of now. But yes I can contribute further as issues refine.
Those are really good points especially 9.2, 9.3 and 9.4. Need to deliberate on these topics. Glad that we can get this thread going. May become a reference point for future interview candidates.
What do you think about lack of height/physique being a factor affecting our players' ability to become world class athletes. How can we address it from grassroots level.
Physique is no doubt important in any sport (specifics vary with sport). As far as basketball is concerned, I think we are a country that is endowed with decent physical parameters. The issue is training, coaching at the right time. Even that wouldn't work (for eg- we can bring in foreign coaches, put up infrastructure etc) unless players (sportsmen in general) have the comfort of not navigating between their sport and a career ( padhe likhe bina kuch nahi hota- this attitude has to go); Isn't Satnam Singh excelling in America (NBA G-League; I myself have witnessed his game improve by leaps and bounds- US, obviously has one of the best ecosystems for that)- he was on a scholarship to US and is earning handsomely there now. At the same time, there were/are many players who were not fortunate enough to land up there- look u for T.J Sahi (youtube- self made basketball player; given similr kind of ecosystem support he too would have excelled) Also, there are many countries- not that naturally endowed vis-a-vis height etc- Phillipines, Korea, Japan etc but they still fare better than us. Therefore accordin to me, the kind of changes (all revolve around the ECOSYSTEM that is desired) required are
1. Fundamental attitudinal change (as mentioned above) in society (theoretical point but yes req.- also would take time, not doubt)- but that can be addressed through govt intervention (as the attitude owes its origin to lack of opportunity rather than some strongly held beliefs)
1. Grassroots 1.1 school level- in curriculum, pedagogy- sports period is sub-altern to academic periods (we know this stark reality). Platforms exist (zonal, district, national competitions)- but these need to be invigorated- children performing good there can be institutionally supported- hand held, guided, scouted and coached, without worrying for an academic career- which can be addressed (as mentioned below) (My personal case- when used to skip school to play zonals- I was marked absent- sheer insensitivity) 1.2 University- Majority of US Olympic champs are univ grads; In India- univ me toh sports ke naam pe keval wo hi khelta hai jo pehle se trained ho; the point is- the second chance wherein fruitful interventions can take place i.e. univ- is altogether cut-off from the sports consciousness.
3.Policy/State Support- restructuring BFI, flagship talent scouting/training (through self or collaborating with say, NBA). It can even support UBA- which is a good initiative. Concessions, for eg- tax breaks, land and other facilities for eg, to leverage NBA (eg- basketball without borders program)
3.1) Potential talent selected across India- can be coached and their aptitude further developed. I agree not all can play for India, so there can be a system of gradation, parallel academic opportunities, nurturing league systme (eg-UBA, again) to absorb remaining talent etc
3.1 This suggestion is a bit radical, but why differentiate between different sports. All eligible sportsmen (across al sports) can be paid a regular salary. They aren't doing something which- even if not a direct utility to society (though I feel it is)- is not worth paying them handsomely.
I know I have digressed a lot form the agenda (these can be addressed separtely). The crude point is, it is not the lack of physical attributes, rather it is the following factors that have stymied development of sports like basketbal 1. Culture/Attitude 2. Lack of infra and policy support 3. Lack of world class training- which leads to even natural talent being not/sub-optimally utilized 4. Lack of economic security
Lessons can be drawn from US, Australia, China (selectively though- we dont want athlete producing "factories")
You have summed up really well. The culture/attitude part is a major factor I believe, one that is the cause for Philippines being better than India because of its past as an American colony while we ended up with cricket.
1. About TJ Sahi, when I started it was S Robinson, who also couldn't make it big in the international stage. There is always this question - what could have been if these players were identified earlier and given proper coaching and perhaps given overseas scholarships like what is happening now.
2. There is definitely change happening and UBA is revolutionary much like ISL. Because basketball is such an attractive or 'cool' sport, there is no dearth of takers for it in schools. There has to be a system like in the West where players are offered seats in colleges (in sports or other disciplines) before they finish high school so that they don't feel threatened by the competitive exam process to get into colleges.
3. Much needed reforms in BFI and other similar sports bodies.
4. About the grassroots part, I feel the competition among Basketball is restricted to certain select schools who have that basketball culture. There is a need for top down as well bottom up approach in engaging schools in taking up basketball coaching seriously. Most govt schools have dilapidated courts with either 1 ring or no ring at all. So building infrastructure part is very pertinent and at the same time creating an ecosystem among the schools to make them compete for honors.
I have to agree with all your other points here. Thanks man. This has become a panacea for interview prep and in general discussion about the state of affairs of sports in our country. All the above points are applicable to every other sport except cricket.
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Comments
1. Problems endemic to the sport in India
2. Factional fight in the BFI
3. UBA Pro - turn out, success or not, how it can help in bringing popularity to the game.
4. Performance of India in Asian/ World tourneys
5. Why a country like Philippines or Iran is able to outperform India in this sport.
6. Future of the sport
9. General issues/inputs/observations relevant (in general for all sports except CRICKET
9.1) don't we value a sportsperson (give them a menial job- railway TT, for eg), after all why does he even need to do a job at all (Anurag Kashyap's Mukkabaaz can also be cited)
9.2) It is not even infrastructure intensive- can pick up with with a decent nudge/support
9.3) it is surprising that it is popular in school, college level but post that the enthusiasm fizzles out. India ranks a good 64/145 (some years back it ranked 45-50).
9.4) Except traditional sports (wrestling), sports which have caught imagination for decades (cricket, hockey) and sports where individuals have catapulted on self effort(badminton, shooting, tennis etc), others need (and I vehemently state this) state/PPP Support
9.5) BFI need to be radically restructured- it is headed by a politician (as are other sports bodies)- WTF
10. specific example vis-a-vis Indian basketball-
# some years back I came across a news item where an Indian basketball player was contemplating a career in fashion ( hoopsters are lambe-chaude and obviously owing to lack of opportunities in the game)- obviously things are changing now
# Support to the sport is missing- eg- was not included in CWG 2010 ( India me hone ke bawajood)
I have very random, unorganized thoughts and opinion as of now. But yes I can contribute further as issues refine.
What do you think about lack of height/physique being a factor affecting our players' ability to become world class athletes. How can we address it from grassroots level.
Also, there are many countries- not that naturally endowed vis-a-vis height etc- Phillipines, Korea, Japan etc but they still fare better than us.
Therefore accordin to me, the kind of changes (all revolve around the ECOSYSTEM that is desired) required are
1. Fundamental attitudinal change (as mentioned above) in society (theoretical point but yes req.- also would take time, not doubt)- but that can be addressed through govt intervention (as the attitude owes its origin to lack of opportunity rather than some strongly held beliefs)
1. Grassroots
1.1 school level- in curriculum, pedagogy- sports period is sub-altern to academic periods (we know this stark reality). Platforms exist (zonal, district, national competitions)- but these need to be invigorated- children performing good there can be institutionally supported- hand held, guided, scouted and coached, without worrying for an academic career- which can be addressed (as mentioned below) (My personal case- when used to skip school to play zonals- I was marked absent- sheer insensitivity)
1.2 University- Majority of US Olympic champs are univ grads; In India- univ me toh sports ke naam pe keval wo hi khelta hai jo pehle se trained ho; the point is- the second chance wherein fruitful interventions can take place i.e. univ- is altogether cut-off from the sports consciousness.
3.Policy/State Support- restructuring BFI, flagship talent scouting/training (through self or collaborating with say, NBA). It can even support UBA- which is a good initiative. Concessions, for eg- tax breaks, land and other facilities for eg, to leverage NBA (eg- basketball without borders program)
3.1) Potential talent selected across India- can be coached and their aptitude further developed. I agree not all can play for India, so there can be a system of gradation, parallel academic opportunities, nurturing league systme (eg-UBA, again) to absorb remaining talent etc
3.1 This suggestion is a bit radical, but why differentiate between different sports. All eligible sportsmen (across al sports) can be paid a regular salary. They aren't doing something which- even if not a direct utility to society (though I feel it is)- is not worth paying them handsomely.
I know I have digressed a lot form the agenda (these can be addressed separtely). The crude point is, it is not the lack of physical attributes, rather it is the following factors that have stymied development of sports like basketbal
1. Culture/Attitude
2. Lack of infra and policy support
3. Lack of world class training- which leads to even natural talent being not/sub-optimally utilized
4. Lack of economic security
Lessons can be drawn from US, Australia, China (selectively though- we dont want athlete producing "factories")
You have summed up really well. The culture/attitude part is a major factor I believe, one that is the cause for Philippines being better than India because of its past as an American colony while we ended up with cricket.
1. About TJ Sahi, when I started it was S Robinson, who also couldn't make it big in the international stage. There is always this question - what could have been if these players were identified earlier and given proper coaching and perhaps given overseas scholarships like what is happening now.
2. There is definitely change happening and UBA is revolutionary much like ISL. Because basketball is such an attractive or 'cool' sport, there is no dearth of takers for it in schools. There has to be a system like in the West where players are offered seats in colleges (in sports or other disciplines) before they finish high school so that they don't feel threatened by the competitive exam process to get into colleges.
3. Much needed reforms in BFI and other similar sports bodies.
4. About the grassroots part, I feel the competition among Basketball is restricted to certain select schools who have that basketball culture. There is a need for top down as well bottom up approach in engaging schools in taking up basketball coaching seriously. Most govt schools have dilapidated courts with either 1 ring or no ring at all. So building infrastructure part is very pertinent and at the same time creating an ecosystem among the schools to make them compete for honors.
I have to agree with all your other points here. Thanks man. This has become a panacea for interview prep and in general discussion about the state of affairs of sports in our country. All the above points are applicable to every other sport except cricket.
P.S. missing prelims give me ample time to follow NBA