O-28 Petition
Dear Mr. Prime Minister,
As the 2016 Rio Olympics wind down and we celebrate the couple of athletes that won medals this is also a time for us as Indian sports fans to reflect on the dismal state of India's Olympic performance. It calls to question the effectiveness of our sports organizations and the competency of the people running them. Our goal should be to go into the 2028 Olympics with the confidence to win gold medals in every event we take part in. We believe that we have the talent to do that but we need to make sure we have the right support system in place.
We have a population of 1B+ people but our showing in every Olympics to date has been dismal. We are expected to feel proud of having taken part in the Olympics while we remain at the bottom of the medal list. We feel that our athletes and Olympic competitors are at a disadvatage because of an inefficient and beaureaucratic system. You have taken the lead on many initiatives to help India be the leaders in every field. However, looking at the 2016 Olympics it looks like our teams have been a negelected bunch. Nothing will change unless strong measures are initiated at the top and accountability enforced.
As a part of the O-28 (Olympics 2028) petition here are some of the proposals that we request you to look into:
1) Extend the key proposals in the Lodha Committee recommendations to other sports governing bodies to ensure efficiency and accountability.
2) Create a plan as a priority with 2028 Olympics as the goals with interim goals and milestones established. We can use the 2020 and 2024 Olympics as well as the other world championships as testing grounds.
3) As *an absolute priority* invest in world-class coaches who can bring expertise into their respective sports. This is the best way to kickstart the quest for sports excellence. These sports experts will also be the countries investment towards training India's coaches of tomorrow.
4) Encourage and incentivize local initiatives and coaches who have provided stellar results in recent Olympics despite lack of support and funding from the government.
5) Invest in talent identification and development of both athletes and coaches so that we have the best selected for the 2028 games. Invest in sports infrastructure and camps to encourage participation of children and youth is sports.
6) Encourage national universities to provide sports programs and scholarships for students that show exemplary sports talent.
7) Provide tax incentives for donations to sports intiatives. Setup national funds to encourage budding talent.
8) Make sure the athletes, coaches and officials are held accountable for performance. At the same time, incentivize all involved with performance bonuses.
We aim to get 10 lakh signatures on this petition to show you that this is a matter of national pride for Indian citizens and we hope that this petition will encourage you to make much needed reforms to spur sports excellence in India.
Signed,
Proud Indians