âCRICKET HAS SPOILED OTHER STREAMS OF INDIAN SPORTSâ
No. of participants: Anish, Benville, Chetan, Darren & Eric Time: 20 Minutes
Anish
Hi all, I think it is not correct to consider cricket as a National Obsession. It is one game due to which all Indians are proud about. We have won 2 world cups. We should appreciate the efforts of the name of the country high.
In other sports as well, like Abhinav Bindra winning gold medal in Olympics, Indian hockey team winning 8 gold medals in past, are also highly appreciated. In 1983, when India won the world cup, the TVâs were just becoming popular.
Cricket fever was high on everyoneâs head. That made it more popular than any other sport. Every Indian wants to play cricket in streets. It is in Indian blood and no media is required for cricket. Cricket is, and will be the most popular sport in India although I hope other sports also will do well.
Benville
Hi Friends, I do agree with Anish
Even I think alike that cricket hasnât hurt any other sports. If cricket is more interesting, full of excitement, inculcating a nation patriotism feeling, then it is not the "SPORT'S" fault. I think it is just because cricket has a very interesting format and that is why it has become so popular and loved by all. It is followed as a religion and the cricketers are worshiped as God in our country. But also the fame that cricket has given to India, cannot be ignored.
Also, I would like to say that other sports have not lost their importance. Whether it is tennis, badminton or hockey they are still very popular. But yes, it is a fact that cricket is the most popular and followed by more people.
Chetan
Hi! Thank you for the opportunity
I don't think cricket as a national obsession is a deterrent to other sports. Cricket has got popularity because of the legends cricket has given to us like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, etc. Due to the achievement of these people it has become the most appreciated sports in India.
If we take an example, recently when Rajyawardhan Singh Rathore won silver in Olympics, just after that we won lots of medals in shooting. So, if we want other games to be equally appreciated, then we need some great legends in other games too.
As a whole I believe that if other sports will also produce great players then definitely they will get as much appreciation as cricket in this country.
Darren
Hi Friends, As the topic suggests, that cricket is detriment to other sports, I quite agree with it. It is because:
1) This game is promoted by different ways of advertisements 2) Cricket sport stars are seen in most of the advertisements related to cricket or promotion of any product. 3) One of the main reasons for the game of cricket being preferred is when there is a match between India and Pakistan. And the way it is advertised on the news make cricket not only detriment to other sports but to national peace. 4) In newspapers, most of the sports page is filled with cricket news, wherever it is held.
To summarize along with cricket the Indian media too is playing the role of detriment to other sports of India. As we all know media has the highest power today in our country, it they wish they can change the shape of sports too.
Eric
Hi Everyone,
I donât think that cricket is a detriment to other sports. It is our people in the country who have a supportive spirit towards cricket and this is what is destructing other sports. Most people do not even know that India has teams in Hockey, Rugby, Soccer, Basketball etc.
It feels affronted extremely, to know that a huge nation like India does not support its athletes. I hope that we will recognize our athletes of all games and support them in their respective sports.
Anish
As I said mentioned earlier, according to me cricket is not at all detrimental to any other sports, it is suppressed by ourselves, we the people of the country are to be blamed. According to me there cannot be a comparison between 2 sports. Each has its own existence, so how can cricket suppress the other sports?
It is just the matter of fact that Indian people are crazy about the cricket. So the comparison lies not in sports but in our thinking only. Few days ago, the Economic Times conducted a survey to find out who inspires the people in the field of sports and the results announced that almost â
43% people inspires with S R Tendulkar 35% people inspires with M S Dhoni 11% people inspires with S. Nehwal 04% people inspires with Vijendra Singh 04% people inspires with A. Bindra This survey observed that a total of 78% people inspired by the cricketers, that shows the craziness of the people towards cricket.
Darren
Well, I personally feel that obsession with cricket is a detriment to other sports. It is all because of the way it is promoted. It is just like in the case of a movie, if a movie is hyped about, all of us go to watch it. But on the same time some epic movie just gets neglected because of poor advertisement. Also, it is not the case that there is less talent in other sports. If other sports are unable to match up to the expectations, it is only because of improper training due to lack of finances.
Benville
Well friends, I am a cricket fan & support cricket a lot but I too feel that it has come to a point where it has become detrimental to other sports. The best can check with ourselves, how many of us watch other sports played by Indian sportsmen? Of course there are few but why so few?
One strong reason could be the support & hype cricket gets through media. People not only watch the match with shear attention but also the pre and post-match shows.
The other strong reason is the investment of money either by the Government and/or, now as we can see, by the business individuals which lures young minds to have a great profession in cricket.
Lastly, I would say that the Government should definitely see to this and take necessary measures to allow other sports perpetuate.
Eric - Concludes
To conclude the discussion, I would highlight the main points that were discussed.
First: most of us agreed that the game Cricket itself is not spoiling other streams of sports bit itâs the people of our country who go crazy for its favorite sport.
Second: Media should give the similar level of exposure to other sports, as it does for cricket.
Third: Government & other sponsors, who fund Cricket big time, should do the same for other sports as well, so that they get trained and bring the same popularity as it does for cricket.
Anish Confident and aware of his stance Knows how to take leadership Started the discussion and paved the way throughout Aware of current happenings Believes in producing proper data Strong chances of getting selected
Benville Confident but loses his stance Gets drifted by others persuasive arguments Believes in accepting what comes along Strong analyzing power Does stand a chance to get selected
Chetan Not very confident Spoke only once in 20 mins Believes in joining the bandwagon Not in a habit of going through newspapers and thus not updated about sport stars. Does not stand chance of selection
Darren Extremely confident Believes in walking down his own path Very clear on his stance Knows how to put across his points and views High chance of selection
Eric Confident Aware of current happenings Patriotic Analytical mind Does stand a chance of selection