Will 2021 be another 1983 for India?

Will 2021 be another 1983 for India?

In 1983, something magical happened in Indian sports. In a cricket crazy nation, for the first time we won the World Cup. When no one expected, we beat the mightiest teams in the world at that time West indies, England, Australia, South Africa etc. A Billion plus nation not known for sporting excellence, a perennial underdog, was suddenly a world champion in a sport which was a national passion.

I was a teenager then. Immersed in the moment. With my room splashed with posters of sporting heroes like Kapil Dev who was our team captain. Hardly could I have predicted the changes which would soon follow.

Cricket academies sprung all over India. My school, Madras Christian College School, hosted the MRF Pace foundation to produce future fast bowlers, under the guidance of Australian pace legend, Dennis Lillee. There were similar sporting academies around India. We started winning more tournaments in India. Eventually we became unassailable in India and no visiting team could take us for granted like before. And most importantly we travelled better and started winning abroad. We won the 50 over world Cup, T20 world Cup and Eventually became the top test cricket team. Sponsorships poured in. India became a power house both the sport of cricket and its Administration.


What changed post 1983?

1. The belief we can be WORLD BEATERS

2. Parents giving more respect to sports in a education and jobs focused nation.

3. Sporting academies started coming up at grass root level. Remember later champions like MS Dhoni came not from Big cities like Mumbai, but from our hinterland.

4. Corporate sponsorships for local and global tournaments

5. The creation of Indian Premier League or IPL, which became aspirational as a career for many youngsters both for sportsmen and allied functions like fitness trainers, coaches, dieticians, sporting goods makers and merchandisers, marketing, ground staff, broadcasters etc. The size of the cricket economy in India runs into Billions of dollars.

Now, in 2021, Neeraj Chopra shattered the ceilings and won Indias first ever athletics gold in Javelin. can a single gold medal, inspire a nation to become a force in athletics and Olympics? Only Time will tell.


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