Interest and enquiries for sports have shot up, courtesy the Olympic medals

This year saw the largest Indian contingent at the Olympics. Many medal hopefuls, and many disappointments too. But the one silver and three bronze medals have done us proud — so much so that the medals have upped the number of kids and parents enquiring about and enrolling in badminton, shooting and other sports in the city.
That this Olympics is India's best, medal-wise, has made parents look up and take serious note of sports, feels assistant coach of the Indian shooting team Pawan Singh, who also started the Gun for Glory shooting academy with bronze medalist Gagan Narang at Balewadi, Pune."The situation has changed for sports. Now people have realised that sports help fitness, focus, confidence, etc. In fact, after our medals in shooting, we were flooded with enquiries from all over Maharashtra," Singh says.
City-based shooter 17-year-old Shreya Gavande has enrolled at the shooting academy. "I started the sport in 2007 but after Abhinav Bindra won gold in the 2008 Olympics, I started taking the sport more seriously. Olympics 2016 is my goal. I don't mind staying away from home for better training," she says. Enquiries about the sport have shot up in the city too, says shooting coach Monali Gorhe (Excel Target Shooter's Association), who also led a rally of all the shooters in city after Gagan Narang and Vijay Kumar won the bronze and silver respectively.
"Usually we approach the management at schools to convince them to accept our sport. Now they are getting in touch with us with a request to start the sport in their school," reveals Gorhe. The fact that younger participants are being selected for the Olympics and are winning has brought about a positive change in the way people view sports. "Fortunately these days we are getting good facilities and parents are willing to send their children for advanced training," Gorhe adds.
The Nashik Gymkhana has been busy attending to the enquiries pouring in over the last few days. Sanjay Marathe, manager, says, "Enquiries shot up ever since the Olympics started. People are mostly asking about badminton, lawn tennis, table tennis and basketball." The Big Games have in general upped the interest of people in various sporting activities.
Even though India didn't qualify for fencing this year, Ashok Dudhare, secretary, Maharashtra Fencing Association, is ready with a plan for his students to qualify in the next Olympics. Dudhare shares, "Though we lack the best of facilities for sports like fencing and archery, they are traditional sports and we have a natural talent for them. With a little more effort, we can not only qualify but also win medals."
In fact, at the Commonwealth Fencing Championship 2010 in Australia, Dudhare's son Ajinkya won a silver medal. "A lot of people are enquiring about the sport. We really hope that at least two out of 10 enquiries will translate into enrolment as that could better the current scenario," he adds.
Aniruddha Deshpande, president, Pune District Metropolitan Badminton Association, agrees. "At least, there are many playing badminton. Shooting, archery, and the like need more takers. From our huge population, even if five lakh opt for these, then we can really win more medals and do well," he says. But that said, he also adds that Saina's win, the cheers and celebrations and the rousing welcome she received, have ensured an increase in interest in baddy.
City-based coach Makrand Deo says that more people are now keen on badminton – and this he has noticed in the last few days. "Badminton is widely played in the city, but not seriously. Considering the performance at the Olympics, I hope that people are considering the sport more seriously now," he says.