In the coming months, politics and sports will remain in the national conversation, and will continue to benefit from each other. 2024 is the year of general elections in India and the Paris Olympics. Since excellence in sport appears to be a government report on policy, planning, implementation and vision around the world, medals and votes have at least a theoretical connection.
As electronic voting machines sound across the country in 2024, Indian cricket will have some big decisions to make. Ahead of the T20 World Cup, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, two superstars in their mid-30s, are expected to deal with the anxiety of a politician on counting day. The appointment of Hardik Pandya as the new captain of Mumbai Indians has put a question mark over the T20I future of Rohit and Kohli.
In some ways, cricket also has a federal structure. Besides the central national team, there are 10 state units in the ISL with their own strong regional governors and intra-party battles at the state level. Fans of TV drama Succession may want to keep an eye on the Mumbai Indians dressing room, where a similar leadership drama is expected to unfold.
Elsewhere, after years of speculation, the hugely successful Chennai Super Kings could do the unthinkable and look beyond MS Dhoni. 2024 will be the year time takes a break in Chennai – with an epic chapter about to end and another to begin. History at CSK will be divided into ‘Pre-Thala’ and ‘Post-Thala’ eras.
But before continuing on with the endless theater called cricket, let’s take a look at the greatest sporting spectacle of 2024: the high-stakes Olympics in July and August in Paris.
If we look at Tokyo…
At the last Olympics in Tokyo, India bagged one more medal than its all-time high of six medals. Among the seven podium winners was Neeraj Chopra’s gold medal in the javelin – the first time an Indian track and field athlete has been seen at the top of the podium in a mainstream team sport.
Neeraj’s 87.85m effort was a giant leap for India, and in a country deprived of success, the feel-good moment lasted for months. Neeraj was as popular as the top cricketers and the celebration of this individual victory at the Olympics was on par with the moments of India’s two World Cup wins on the cricket field.
With his long hair, soft features, and toothpaste ad smile, Neeraj has become a symbol of the government’s ongoing sporting push – with federations and private non-profit companies playing side roles. The Haryana boy is a product of the system, a true local hero.
Neeraj was supported by the Sports Ministry’s Targeted Olympic Games Podium Program (TOPS), a government ‘la partier’ project that eliminates intermediaries between donor and beneficiary. However, for some outstanding deficiencies in audits, the program directly funds the athlete’s designated programs and provides additional financial assistance for unforeseen requirements. Sports federations that were once powerful are mostly left out of the process.
For a nation whose five-decade track and field legacy revolves around missing out on bronze medals to Milkha Singh and PT Usha, aiming for an Olympic podium seemed like a pass. But a nonprofit brought in the critically important intervention of timely training and planning experts, and the government paid the bills. Neeraj’s spear gold showed that ambition was not outrageous.
…And talking about Paris
After the Tokyo Olympics record, there was more. This year’s Hangzhou Asian Games saw another glut of medals. India crossed the 100 medal mark for the first time. The number of medals in sports such as shooting, athletics and shooting has increased. There were medals in 18 sports in the previous edition, and this time it was 22.
In track and field, the parent sport, there were medals for the first time in the women’s javelin throw, the men’s steeplechase, the men’s javelin throw, and the decathlon. All graphs are heading north. As he did after the Olympics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited the top performers at the Asian Games to his home and gave them an impassioned speech. He used to say that Indian sports is moving in the right direction.
By the time the Paris Games are declared open in July 2024, the Lok Sabha elections will have ended and the country will have made up its mind. If the BJP returns to power, Prime Minister Modi is expected to be in touch with Indian Olympic athletes in France – to laud the medal winners and console the losers.
Will Paris witness another record showing for India? The jury is still out on this one but there are many hopefuls.
It holds a billion hopes
It will be a truly new feeling to head into the Olympics with an Indian as the favorite for gold in track and field. Neeraj will face Germans Johannes Vetter, Thomas Röhler, Andreas Hoffmann and Anderson Peters from Grenada, and Pakistani Arshad Nadeem. The other Indian bowlers – Kishore Jena, Manu DB and Rohit Yadav – are also improving steadily. Who would have thought that one day India would discuss the potential of gold and silver in javelin throwing?
Another athlete hungry enough for gold is boxer Nikhat Zarin – and Tokyo medalist Lovlina Borgohain is not finished yet. In badminton, Satwiksraj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will battle it out for gold in the toughest 8 badminton matches across categories and the big match temperament they have shown in 2023 is creating excitement. It came late in life, but HS Prannoy is not one to let opportunities like the Olympics pass easily, and he remains a dark horse.
India’s biggest comeback at the Olympics could come from its young shooters, if the federation makes its selections right this time. Sift Kaur Samra and Rudrankksh Patil are just two names among many, who have competed for the Chinese in the last two years. Golfer Aditi Ashok was left unfinished after her fourth-place finish in Tokyo.
Wrestler Antem Panghal has been making waves lately, but she will be judged on her showing at the Olympics; She has the right amount of courage to face the challenge. On the whole, the silent workers among the wrestlers and frequent shooters can produce surprises, although they don’t have much to show in the lead-up to the match. The men’s hockey team got through early qualifying this time, and they seem to have a solid plan for a podium finish, better than the bronze medal last time. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu is struggling with injuries, but is expected to go broke.
Olympic size plan
India winning medals on the world stage goes a long way in amplifying the Modi government’s sporting vision. At an IOC session in Mumbai in October, Modi said hosting the Olympics was the country’s “old dream”. I’ve thrown my hat into the ring – and India is officially a contender to host the 2036 Olympics.
Although the host city is yet to be decided, Ahmedabad is the favorite. A year after Modi was sworn in as prime minister in 2014, construction of a 100,000-seat stadium began in the city. Accompanied by presidents and prime ministers, Modi has made several appearances at the sprawling facility.
The IPL and World Cup finals were played at Modi Stadium. The city also hosted the National Multi-Discipline Games last year, a spectacular event that featured a dazzling, nationally televised opening ceremony, and all the trappings of a mini-Olympics. India as the host of the Olympics may have been part of the Modi government’s grand sports plan.
Cricket of thrones
And at the Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad too, Indian cricket witnessed its greatest heartbreak – as October 19, 2023, cannot become April 2, 2011. After their majestic march to the final, Rohit’s men were unable to clear cricket’s traditional high hurdle – Australia. The team that was just one game away from being crowned the modern-day Invincibles will now go down in history as the team that gave it their all.
Rohit was expected to break the long-standing jinx over the ICC incidents in India, but he was unable to do so. When Virat lost the captaincy, one of the reasons for the change at the top was India’s inability to win the World Cup. So what now? Will Rohit get another shot at the World T20, or will it be Hardik who will lead a young team in the USA and West Indies in June?
There is precedent to consider. In 2007, Indian cricket bet on a young captain in Dhoni. Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid were rested and the 26-year-old from Ranchi with the Tarzan haircut was put in charge of a team that included several talented 20-somethings. It worked, and India returned with the title and a captain who would win the World Cup again in 2011.
There are questions, though. Is Hardik Dhoni? Doesn’t Rohit Rahul Dravid deserve another chance? These are difficult questions to be addressed in 2024, and the answers will determine the future of Indian cricket.
What about Donnie though? Will he finally step away from cricket in 2024? Will the hermit disappear in his cave in Ranchi?
This is unlikely – the knee may be elusive but the mind remains alert to the millions of possibilities in cricket. Dhoni could return as a coach or mentor at CSK. There could be a bigger role for him in Indian cricket. He can be selected as margdarshak. After all, as we saw at the top of this article, sports can also borrow ideas from politics.
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