Rupinder Singh
New Delhi, Feb 10 (UNI) Indian sports federations continue to ignore the importance of televising their sports, very much to their own peril.
Over the past few days, Indian sportspersons have delivered performances that, by any reasonable benchmark, deserve attention and acclaim.
Yet many of these achievements passed almost unnoticed, neither televised nor meaningfully covered in the print media.
At the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tianjin last weekend, India won five medals across a range of events. Tejaswin Shankar produced a record-breaking gold in the heptathlon, missing the rare distinction of becoming only the second Asian to cross the 6,000 point mark by a mere seven points.
India also won medals in the men’s and women’s high jump, the women’s long jump, and Pooja claimed a silver in the 1500 metres.
None of these outstanding performances was telecast by any television channel.
At an early stage, when a sport is still struggling for popularity, federations must actively encourage broadcast coverage, even if it requires financial investment.
Visibility creates heroes, heroes create audiences, and audiences attract sponsors.
This is precisely the hard, patient work that administrators like Prakash Padukone, Abhinav Bindra, and Jagmohan Dalmiya once undertook to raise the profile of their sports.
Yet the pattern of neglect continues. This week, a World Star Table Tennis event is being held in Chennai with no confirmed telecast.
A Challenger-level tennis tournament in the same city is also taking place without television coverage.
Meanwhile, television screens remain monopolised by World Cup cricket.
The irony is hard to miss: even as global cricket dominates airtime, the Board of Control for Cricket in India ensures that the Ranji Trophy, running simultaneously, is not ignored, with live telecasts in place.
This ecosystem allows an uncapped Indian bowler from Jammu and Kashmir to secure an Rs 8.2 crore IPL contract, while this week’s Indian tennis standout, Dakshineswar Suresh, remains largely unrewarded and invisible.
The Sports Ministry and national federations, with active support from the corporate sector, must make a concerted effort to ensure that all Olympic sports receive regular television coverage.
Only then can athletes across disciplines compete on a level playing field, financially, professionally, and in the public imagination.
In cricketing parlance, it is time for a DRS review. One can only hope someone is listening.
