It is not only about the forgotten hero Kh Kothajit, the Manipuri hockey player who made it to the Indian Olympic squad. We have said earlier it does not matter whether an athlete brings home medals or laurels, what matters is the participation in Olympics. India has states which could not produce even a single Olympian. The state cabinet forgot about Kothajit when it made the decision for announcing cash awards and other incentives for the Olympians. When four out of the five state Olympians were given a grand welcome at Imphal, the Chief Minister apologised to Kothajit and his family while blaming the Sports Department for the fiasco. Okram Ibobi seems to have forgotten that the sports department is under his watch. Why blame the officials while he should be blaming himself? Promotion of sports is not only about cash awards and incentives when the athletes bring home laurels or medals, it involves much more. The role of the sports department is more of a facilitator. It is about creating an amiable atmosphere and of providing adequate infrastructure for our sportsmen to develop their skills. The efforts of the government towards creation of facilities and infrastructure are simply no match for the achievements of our sportsmen. And the government will not be able to catch up with our sportsmen till it changes its present mindset and attitude. Sports is not some place where you make ill-begotten money or wealth. The sports arena is about dedication and sacrifice. In a recent tour of state sports infrastructure including the Khuman Lampak Sports Complex, the Chief Minister had announced a Rs 100 crore project under the 13th Finance Commission Award, 2010-15. We had earlier questioned the sudden interest of the Chief Minister in sports infrastructure, who had otherwise remained aloof from this crucial sector which is the main breeding ground of achievers in the state. The up-gradation project includes improvement in hockey Astro turf and stadium, LCD booth, synthetic track and laying of synthetic track for practice, upgradation for Cycle velodrome, aquatic complex, Kangsang, and changing rooms and toilet facilities for different sports disciplines. These improvements will no doubt serve as a booster to the existing sports infrastructure. Yet, there is little on the equipment front. Sports equipments in these times indeed become a very important part for development of sports. For improving the quality of our sportspersons as regards international events we have to install the most modern and state of the art sports equipments in the state for the benefit of our talented youth. By providing them both modern infrastructure and equipments, they will be able to achieve more and bring laurels and recognition of the state. However, we also need to look at the present condition of the varied infrastructure at Khuman Lampak. Since the 1999 National Games in Imphal, the Khuman Lampak Sports complex remained a forgotten and neglected place. Thousands of budding sportspersons gather every morning at the complex only to return disappointed at the state of affairs there. The neglect is seen in the tall grasses, clogged drainages and damaged facilities at the complex. A Committee headed by the state Chief Secretary supposedly manages the complex. But, the Chief Secretary finds little time even to visit the complex. The different facilities at the complex are being looked after by a skeleton staff of a few peons and chowkidars who were appointed on casual basis who long back had lost interest in the task due to the lack of permanency and non-payment of wages. Another area which merits the attention of the government and the general public is the functioning of the different sports associations in the state. Almost all the sports associations are highly politicised and in search of state patronage they are installing ministers and MLAs as Presidents of the associations. This is not good for the health of the sports sector.
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