SAF IN THE TIME OF CRICKET

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..The best thing that has happened to SAF in recent times are the Sri Lankan athletes. Some of them, like the chiselled Damayanti Darsha, are at the brink of breaking into the world league. Darsha finished her 100 metres run in Kathmandu at 11.19 seconds. No Asian woman yet has run faster, but it was not counted as a record since there was no wind-gauge meter in Kathmandu. What the Sri Lankan athletes have done is to upstage the Indians, a task not easy given the condition of sports that prevails in the region; India is infrastructurally less poor than other South Asian sporting nations. Besides, the laws of probability alone support India because it has so many more athletes in competition..The Games should also go on if only for the smaller countries (with fewer players and poorer infrastructures) to vie to end the Indian supremacy, and for Indian players to be given a run for their expertise. This kind of competition will ultimately lead to giving SAF that vital edge of competitiveness, which can lead to the region's sportspersons attaining Asian and world standards. The boost that Nepali sports received as a result of SAF, itself is indicative of how the Games are not to be scoffed at..But all said, SAF suffers from an acute lack of glamour. To that extent, the Games represent the anonymous and sombre small-town South Asia. To put some dash and verve into the proceedings, the SAF governing body could seriously think of adding cricket to the list of disciplines. Instead of lamenting about how cricket is digging the grave of other sports in the region, the bat and ball game's popularity could be exploited by cottoning on to it and adapting it to SAP's requirements in the one-day format. Anything that can be done to make people passionate about SAF, should be tried out..The next Games is to be held in Peshawar in 2001. While the Pakhtun city is sure to get a face-lift in the run-up to SAF, that should not be the only positive. Let South Asia's sports too get a leg-up, with cricket's help.