India at London 2012: Entertainment Quotient – ‘Bolt’ them

Today every Indian sports fan, and for that matter sports fans all around the world, would definitely have mentioned the name of one athlete in particular participating at London 2012. You guessed it – Jamaican ‘Sprint King’ Usain Bolt. Bolt successfully defended his gold medal at London’s Olympic park, and didn’t he do it in style. Several others before him have set the 100m track ablaze, thrilling audiences worldwide and injecting sports fans with a shot of adrenaline. But no one has entertained millions like Bolt has. He has transformed sprinting into a form of entertainment, just like other prominent global sports such as football, cricket and basketball.

If you saw his pre-race antics before the 100m showdown, you would know what I mean – the commentator described it as “such theatre”. I am sure many millions of fans tune in to watch the athletics, especially the sprints, due to the drama that surrounds the events, and part of that credit has to go to Bolt. What baffles me though is the immense confidence in his ability and the masked composure that Bolt possesses to ‘mess around’ like such before a race and still win gold. I am sure he knows that he and his theatrics would be ridiculed by the media and fans alike if he were to even win silver. But he soaks up the pressure of a big occasion and loves being in the spotlight.

Looking closer to home, I cannot think of many athletes in the Indian contingent at London 2012, who are pure entertainers such as Bolt. The ones with the most similarities, I feel, are the Indian boxers, and in particular, Devendro Singh. He has ruthlessly dismantled a few of his opponents at London 2012, and possesses a swagger and confidence that can be mistaken by some as being cocky. This can only be good for Indian boxing, and we will have to wait and see if he can back his attitude with a medal.

The other Indian athletes, unfortunately, lack the dynamism and charisma, as shown by Bolt, in going about their work. Anyone who saw the pre-London 2012 media campaigns surrounding the Indian contingent will know what I am talking about. This doesn’t mean to take anything away from these athletes – each one has his or her own style which works for them and with which they are comfortable with. But for an Olympic sport to raise its profile in India and for sports fans to really stand up and take attention of the sport, it requires an element of entertainment to it, which at times must be provided by the athletes in the spotlight themselves. India needs Olympians who carry themselves with flair, and have the ability to reach to the masses and inspire youngsters by not only performing well in their sport, but by entertaining them in doing so.

Many stakeholders in Indian sport can play a part in making an athlete ‘entertaining’. Coaches at the grassroots need to ‘guide rather than teach’ young athletes; they must allow athletes to express themselves and their individuality. For example, Sehwag would not be as entertaining as he is, if his coach had curbed his natural instincts and made him follow ‘the book’. It has started happening in cricket, and it needs to happen in other sports as well. National sports federations too can help elite athletes become dynamic and charismatic by providing media training and leadership development programs, which help them become comfortable in front of cameras and project confidence to the viewing public during media interactions, press conferences and interviews. Finally, corporates can also contribute to the personality development of Indian Olympians, to transform them from mere athletes to entertainers. Puma has done just that for Bolt, and Bolt has not let them down.

By Suheil Tandon
(The author is Co-founder & Partner, Pro4Sport Solutions, a high-performance coaching firm that trains young athletes in the sport of Basketball, Cricket, Football and Table Tennis)