The hottest topic recently is undoubtedly the Winter Olympics.

Unexpectedly, India, which has always been in the limelight, has done nothing.

1 400 million population, why is there only1athlete in India?

Although the epidemic situation is still grim, there are still 9/kloc-0 countries and regions participating in this Beijing Winter Olympics, and the scene is quite spectacular.

Among them, 18 countries only sent 1 people to fight alone.

Most countries with 1 participants are excusable.

For example, Ecuador, Haiti, East Timor and other countries have relatively small populations and underdeveloped economies, so it is not easy to send people to participate in the competition.

For another example, East Timor, the youngest country in Asia, became independent in 2002, with a total population of only 1.32 million, and its materials are basically dependent on foreign aid.

In India, with a population of 654.38+0.4 billion, only one athlete participated in the Winter Olympics.

In fact, India has been marginalized in the Winter Olympics.

As early as 1964, Indian athletes took part in the Winter Olympics.

After nearly 60 years, not only did India not win a medal in the Winter Olympics, but the number of participants in each Winter Olympics was always pitiful.

In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, India sent the largest number of athletes, but only four people participated, one of whom was a female athlete.

Therefore, it is normal for India to send only one person to participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Perhaps many people think that most of India is in the tropics, and the performance of the Winter Olympics is average.

But in fact, India's achievements in the Summer Olympics are also very average.

Looking back at the history of India's participation in the Olympic Games, although the number of participants has been increasing, from the initial 1 to the Tokyo Olympic Games 120, the number of medals is pitiful, with a total of only 35.

Especially in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, India's powerful hockey team was devastated and never won a medal again. The record of the Indian Olympic delegation has also become even more terrible.

Since the 1984 Olympic Games, India has not won a medal for three consecutive Olympic Games. It was not until 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games that India won a bronze medal in tennis.

2008 is the Olympic year in India. In the Beijing Olympic Games 10 meter air rifle competition, Indian shooter abhinav bindra won the gold medal, which is the first individual gold medal in Indian history since India participated in the Olympic Games.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, the Indian delegation won one gold medal, two silver medals and four bronze medals, the largest number of medals in history.

But this achievement is really out of reach for India.

And in recent years, although India seems to have more medals, its ranking is actually declining.

1980 The Olympic Games can still rank 23rd, and the 2020 Olympic Games can only rank 48th.

It's hard to believe that a tiny place like San Marino can easily surpass India in the number of Olympic medals per capita. It's really embarrassing.

India has few Olympic medals, mainly because it is difficult for ordinary people to train conditionally, and the state does not support it.

In the movie "Wrestling Dad", the heroine's father applied for a sum of money from the Sports Department in order to buy a wrestling mat for his daughter.

Although she knew that the heroine had the talent to win honor, the official refused the heroine's father's request.

The reason is: the national allocation for sports is really too small, and even less money can be allocated to the women's wrestling team.

Although it is a movie, it does reflect the plight of Indian athletes. If there is no money, even if there is talent, it is difficult to get national training.

India, whose GDP used to be the fifth in the world, spends more than 60 billion dollars on military spending every year, but the total investment in sports is only 200 million dollars, which is a fraction of military spending.

20 16 Rio Olympic Games, the Indian delegation only won a silver medal and a bronze medal, which was a great blow, so the Indian government began to vigorously develop sports.

Although India's investment in sports has increased to $380 million, there is not much money for the Olympic Games.

According to the data of the Indian Federal Ministry of Sports, during the Tokyo Olympic cycle, the Indian government distributed 830 million rupees (about 65.438+million US dollars) to athletes, of which nearly 30% was dedicated to training talents to participate in the Olympic Games.

In other words, in fact, India spent $3 million to train Olympic talents, which is a drop in the bucket compared with other countries.

When Japan, as the host country, was preparing for the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to get into the top three in the medal list, a * * * plan invested 3 billion US dollars to train athletes, which was 1 1,000 times that of India.

Australia, which has fewer fans than Sun Yang and Weibo, spends $250 million on the Olympic Organizing Committee every year, of which more than $6,543.8 billion is spent on top athletes.

According to the statistics of Canada's National Post, the Canadian federal government will invest 200 million Canadian dollars (about 65.438+0.5 billion US dollars) every year, including the allowance for ordinary athletes, the cost of impacting Olympic medals, and the training of the next Olympic cycle and the next generation of athletes.

Specifically, the direct investment of Canada's big government in an Olympic cycle is as high as 654.38+0.3 billion Canadian dollars (about 654.38+0 billion US dollars).

Therefore, without the support of the state, it is actually very difficult for athletes to participate in the Olympic Games.

Those Indian athletes who can participate in the Olympic Games will find it more difficult to realize their dreams without wealthy families.

Aref Khan, 32, as the only Indian athlete in this Winter Olympics, actually participated in the Olympic Games for the first time.

In fact, he had the opportunity to participate in the last Pyeongchang Olympic Games, but he had to give up halfway because he had no money.

Since Aref was a child, his father has run a small ski shop, so he became attached to skiing and embarked on a career path.

In 2008, 18-year-old Aref officially entered the professional ski team for professional training. During the period of 14, participate in the 127 international competition.

In order to practice skiing, Aref spends an extra 6 million rupees (about 500,000 yuan) every year to go abroad for training and competition.

Because there is no sponsor, Aref's expenses for participating in skiing competitions are basically at his own expense, which brings a heavy economic burden to his family and makes life very difficult.

Before the 20 18 Pyeongchang Olympic Games, Aref launched a crowdfunding plan to raise enough funds to participate in the Winter Olympics qualifiers.

However, after participating in four competitions, Aref had no money to continue to participate in the fifth competition, which eventually led to her failure to advance to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

However, Aref did not give up. The local Indian government and some Indian enterprises sponsored his training, travel and equipment, and the money he got from the second online crowdfunding enabled him to successfully participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics.

Although the ranking of the competition is not good, as he himself said, it is a dream come true to be on the stage of the Winter Olympics.

Compared with Aref Khan, striker abhinav bindra undoubtedly achieved better results.

He is India's first individual Olympic gold medal winner, breaking the curse that India has no gold medal for 28 years.

However, Abbina's success has much to do with his wealthy family.

Because India's training level and equipment can't meet the basic conditions of training, he was sent to Germany by his family for professional shooting training since he was a child.

In order to facilitate practice, Abbina's parents also built a private indoor shooting range for him to help him improve his grades quickly.

It can be said that the experience of both Aref and Abbina shows the fact that you can't be an Indian athlete without money.

You know, for high-end sports such as golf, equestrian and rugby, it takes an astronomical amount of money to train athletes, and it takes almost a year for a middle-income family in India to wear a set of qualified equipment.

Even football, basketball, swimming and other relatively civilian sports, without suitable training venues, it is difficult to make progress.

However, a slightly decent training venue and equipment need a lot of money to support.

But in India, the number of basic sports fields is pitifully small.

Cricket legend Kapi Dave once lamented: "There are more than 200 grass sports fields in a small country like the Netherlands, while India, a populous country, has only 15."

At the same time, well-equipped trainers, team doctors, nutritionists, coaches and other necessary trainers also need sufficient financial support. Without anything, players can't make achievements.

Because of the lack of money, many good sports seedlings in India have been delayed, so it is naturally difficult for Indian sports to develop greatly.

In India, people with a family background like Gu Ailing may succeed, but people with a family background like Quan Hongchan will never succeed.

India's poor sports are also due to race and religion.

As we all know, the caste concept of Indians has always been deeply rooted.

In the Indian concept, the high caste is born to be pampered, while the low caste needs long-term manual labor.

Although India's caste system was abolished as early as 1947, the concept of giving physical activities to the poor at the lower level has never changed.

Running, jumping, swimming and other sports activities are not low in the eyes of the upper class, but they are not noble, just games for aristocratic entertainment.

At the same time, many people in India pay attention to abstinence because of their religious beliefs, while athletes consume a lot of physical strength and need to eat meat often.

Therefore, the upper and middle classes are bound by the concept of caste and naturally stay away from sports, which also affects the sports atmosphere of the whole Indian society. Athletes of "lower caste" dare not make a higher level breakthrough and pursuit in sports.

Yoga, a static exercise, has become a popular fitness method for Indians.

The New India Express once reported that "under the caste system, intellectual achievements are more valued, while labor and activities related to physical strength are considered to be completed by low-caste talents. This cultural edification is also reflected in the way schools and parents treat sports. "

Of course, the main reason is that India is too poor.

India's agricultural population accounts for 70% of the total population, and most of them live in places where water and electricity are scarce and traffic is blocked.

For India, improving the living standards of residents and popularizing literacy education are the focus of government work.

Without the support of the state, ordinary people can support their families first, even if they have sports talent.

After all, filling your stomach is the most realistic choice than being an athlete.

Most sports have no future in India, and it is extremely difficult for India to win an Olympic champion.

Sports is an important symbol of social development and human progress, and an important embodiment of comprehensive national strength and national soft power.

With the advantages of being a member of the Commonwealth, India participated in the second Paris Olympic Games as early as 1900.

It was not until 32 years later that China had the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games for the first time.

In this respect, India started earlier than China.

However, 122 years passed, and only 1 Indian participated in the Winter Olympics. China not only successfully hosted the Winter Olympics, but also won seven gold medals in this Winter Olympics, ranking first in Asia at present.

Only when the country is rich and strong can sports prosper.

Looking at neighboring India, we can better understand the meaning of this sentence.