Analysis : India’s aim for the Gold at the 2012 London Olympics has dashed. Abhinav Bindra the gold medalist in the Beijing Olympics in Air Rifle event failed to make it to the finals this time, disappointing Indians.

Nevertheless, the Indian contingent came back with the highest medal tally so far of six and taking the 55th position. However the quest for the elusive gold remained unfulfilled. Notwithstanding, it could win six medals including 2 silver and 4 bronze compared to three medals including one gold and two bronze in the Beijing Olympics. India has to really thank its wrestlers for if not them; the medals tally would not have reached six.

However, India’s hope for the gold from badminton ace Saina Nehwal, too ended on a disappointing note as Saina had to be satisfied with a bronze, that too after her Chinese counterpart retired from match following injury. The last hope for gold was from Sushil Kumar, the wrestler in the 66kg freestyle category and that too was out when he lost in the finals when he was reportedly suffering from a stomach upset and dehydration.

The first medal for India came from Gagan Narang, followed by Vijaykumar, Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar, Yogishwar Dutt and  Saina Nehwal. However, considering that India is the  largest democracy in the world and also the global importance of India, these medal tally looks really insignificant. India still has to go a long long way to achieve wonders in Olympics.

The grim fact is that patronage in the field of sports is far from encouraging in India. The situation has improved  only in the recent past when some encouragement is given in the form of cash rewards to successful sportspersons.

There is no denying that there are still enough talents hidden in India  for want of exposure. The medals tally of USA, China and Britain should be a wake up call to India to give importance to sports.

The need of the hour is to identify talents at the grassroots levels. Talented sportspersons should be picked up at primary school level itself and they be put under expert coaching, so that they excel in their respective game.

Sadly nothing much is happening in this direction. However Sports Minister says India would eye 25 medals in the 2010 Olympics. If that has to be a reality, then works should begin right now. It is true that India is facing criticism for giving undue patronage to cricket while neglecting other games. The Indian hockey too needs enough encouragement. It has to be mentioned here that Indian hockey team miserably failed in Olympics where it occupied last position in rankings.

India sent a total of 63 players out of which only 6 came back with honours.  It’s high time India encouraged sporting talents and coached them so that they could bring laurels to the nation.