So far this Olympics, Indian athletes have garnered a grand total of one medal– a gold in the 10-meter men’s air rifle event (whatever that is). This matches the total number of medals India earned during the entire 2004 Games– one silver in men’s double trap shooting.
For a warm-weather country of 1.1 billion, you’d think India might fare better than this. So where are all India’s medals? Here are a couple possible explanations:
1. Cricket is not an Olympic sport. In many ways, cricket is to India what baseball is to the United States. It is the country’s most popular sport, and India’s national team is consistently one of the best in the world. But cricket games can last for days, and this does not lend itself to Olympic competition. There may be hope, though: Some are suggesting that a shorter version of cricket called Twenty20 should be added to the 2020 Olympics.
2. Many Indians eat strictly vegetarian diets. In many ways, vegetarianism is just as healthy– if not more so– than a diet that includes meat. But vegetarian diets can also be lower in protein, which is important in muscle development. About a third of India’s population are vegetarians.
3. Much of India is still poor. Though India’s economy is developing rapidly, much of its population remains poor. In general, people are only free to pursue athletics once they’ve achieved a certain standard of living. But this does not explain why countries like China, Romania, and North Korea are still able to do well in the medal count.
4. India’s government has nothing to prove. Tyler Cowen writes in his post on the same topic that the dearth of medals can largely be explained by a “lack of government subsidies, combined with the possibility that non-democratic, authoritarian governments feel greater need to prove themselves on the international stage and to their people at home.” This would explain why places like China and North Korea do well– they subsidize Olympic training, and they view the Olympics as a place to prove their worth. India’s government feels no such pressure.
5. Indian parents encourage academics over sports. Much of the reason India is developing so rapidly is because of the emphasis its government, and its people, have placed on education. Many Indian parents realize that the best way to help their children is to make sure they get an education, and yes, sometimes time studying must come at the expense of sports.
Be sure to check out Tyler Cowen’s post for a few more explanations.