Sports provide an excellent corollary to life. The many games, the failures and the successes, the competitive never-say-die attitude, the ability to fight against all odds and against one’s own devils of the mind and finally to act as a true sportsman, are all part of life as they are, of sports.

For many though, sport is synonymous with life because their life is only sports. We are talking about professional and amateur athletes.

India is a country of one billion people made up of engineers and doctors, a country rich in culture, tradition and values. What about sports?

The only sport followed religiously by an Indian is cricket. Alas, cricket is played only in a few countries. No other sport in any country has been so dominant as to stifle the very existence and progress of its other sports.

Cricket definitely has a rich tradition, being introduced by the British. India had been a dominant force in field hockey, but a subsequent change of rules, laws and the courts meant that the skills-alone requirement of the sport was superseded by speed, fitting the Europeans to the hilt.

In fact, India had long been known in the Olympics only because of field hockey. Subsequently, India has produced some stars of international quality in individual sports such as Viswanathan Anand in chess, Ramanathan Krishnan, Vijay Amritraj, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi in tennis (recently Sania Mirza is making waves), and Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand in badminton.

But, in a country of a billion people, these stars represent a microcosm of the stars worldwide. Some of the reasons may be genuine, reasonable, harsh, factual and utterly ridiculous.

First and foremost, India is a developing country, which is only about 60 years old (it gained independence in 1947) and has had the onerous task of rebuilding from the ground up after the Brits left. There were more pressing issues than sports at that time.

India was not doing economically great to invest money on sports like other countries. So, the minimum required facilities weren’t even there. Anyway, India had a world class team in hockey at that time.

Slowly, cricket became a part of everyone’s life and the people really did not show an inclination towards other sports. Unfortunately, it is not part of Olympics or the one that demands worldwide attention.

The second reason is the emphasis on education. Sports were viewed as the domain of rich and well-to-do and to the average man, he wanted to be a passive spectator instead of an active participant.

Sports were seen as one that has only entertainment value and not one to be pursued as a career. It was viewed as a luxury that a common man can ill-afford to spend his life, thinking he could succeed in it as a professional at the expense of education and a sure job.

It is none more so evident even today. Parents still think that their children should be excellent role models in education rather than in sports.

Subconsciously, this attitude has affected their children and dampened not only their skills or likeability for a particular sport, but also, any hopes of becoming a world-famous sportsperson one day.

This also showcases the tremendous authority and influence that the parents have on their children. There is a strong sense of belief and stubborn dependence on parents, without fully exploring their own actual interests or being bold enough to take their own decisions without waiting for an approval from them, for fear of being castigated or chastised.

Next, a typical Indian body doesn’t have the physique required for success in sports. The food habit forms a major part of this reason. Traditionally, Indians do not eat beef and some do not even consume meat or fish. It has to do mostly with the religious belief. Beef is an essential ingredient of any sport that requires power and stamina.

Very rarely do you see a boxer or a track and field athlete who is Indian. Even though a lot of people work out, there is no obvious substitute for beef.

Even the reason Indians are good at cricket is because of their extreme passion, skill and hard work. You rarely see any muscular individuals in cricket.

Another reason is the distinct lack of sponsorship. In India, it is very rare for a person to be sponsored for sports. Even if there are some sponsors, they form a beeline for signing cricketers than those from any other sport, even if they show promise.

There is also a paucity of funds, which corresponds to paucity of world-class trainers. But again, funds, trainers and sponsors are all inter-related.

Finally, there is also the concept of white superiority embedded in an Indian’s mind. Being second class citizens of their own country for more than 350 years under the British rule, the psyche of an Indian is made to believe that sports are for the white people who are physically and monetarily strong enough to bully the opposition. This creates a defeatist attitude in the mind even before a game starts.

All these reasons do not mean that an Indian doesn’t like sports. In fact, he enjoys watching, admiring and applauding the efforts and success of people from other countries in different sports including tennis, soccer, basketball, boxing, track and field and all the other sports in the Olympics. But secretly, there is also a feeling of frustration, inability, lack of sporting culture and facility.

All these reasons do not mean that an average Indian doesn’t take part in sports as fun rather than as a profession. But, he will be a jack of all trades and a master of none. He will be proud to be a part of any game involving skill and the usage of the mind without any necessity for physique.

Finally, is it fair to say that sports are not an integral part of every Indian? No. But, it is fair to say that India is not an integral part of sports.