If you didn't know, the eighth edition of the South Asian Federation (SAF) Games was held in Kathmandu in October-November; and as expected, there were no earth-shattering performances. All that seemed of relevance was that Nepal's capital got spruced-up, with flyovers springing up, traffic islands suddenly greening, and a brand new sports complex got built with the Chinese government's help. A word of praise here for Nepali spectators, they seem to be the only ones interested in SAF, perhaps because the Games' began in Kathmandu 15 years ago, in 1984, or even because Nepalis do not have a high-profile cricket team to worship.
SAF doesn't have cricket in its itinerary. And for this reason, naturally, most of the Subcontinent does not really care about the Games. Anyway, the athletes and most other sportspeople of our region reckon nowhere in world or Asian ratings. So why, one may ask, have SAF at all if it's not a spectator event, and if it does not produce world-class performances?
The Games should go on. If only to give due respect to the hundreds toiling in each of our infrastructure-poor countries, in that pursuit of excellence against frustrating odds. SAF is a venue to highlight the real, archetypal South Asian non-cricket sportsperson, who lives in an unattractive world where the fruits of labour are not always achieved. SAF is a showpiece event of sporting contingents populated by politician sports managers. For, we all know that each of the major sports bodies of our countries are infested with sport-illiterate hedonistic political agents who belch the luncheon beer, even as they may jeeringly watch that grand old lady of South Asian athletics, P.T. Usha, making younger, fresher sprinters chase her shadow.
Thirty-five-year-old Pillavukandi Thekeparambil Usha is a symbol of all that has gone wrong and right with the Games and South Asian sports in general. If her younger rivals are still not good enough to stop her from winning, at least a silver, it should mean that South Asian athletics have not really progressed from the days when Usha began her career as a 16 year old. The symbol of Usha holds promise because it reflects upon a grandness of purpose and a perseverance that are worth emulating.