Topic - On the mat
Sushil versus Narsingh controversy is a reminder: Rules, not whims, must decide who goes to Rio.
Indian wrestling has sealed eight quota places for the Rio Olympics — the country’s highest ever. Sadly, double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has had no part to play in collecting this historic haul. But if the names of all contemporary wrestlers were to be reeled off, Sushil’s would be the first to be counted as a medal hope. India finds itself in a strange situation, therefore, where instead of feting a sporting federation for its eight Olympic berths, the country is compelled[मजबूर] to obsess[दिल में घर कर लेना] over the one mistake it committed: Of not spelling out the rules of who goes to Rio.
And the Wrestling Federation of India will face persistent [ज़िद्दी] queries as to why it won’t throw Sushil and Narsingh Yadav into a bullring and allow a fair trial to decide who should head to Rio.
Narsingh says Sushil never went through a trial after winning quotas. Sushil says it was common to have trials many Olympics ago. The federation is taking sides but with little thought to the repercussions[नतीजों] it’ll face if it doesn’t allow trials. A procedure needs to be set in stone — that accommodates performance over a longer timeframe, rewarding both consistency and current form. Indeed, a quota belongs to the nation and not the athlete, and most mature wrestling countries like the US and Iran conduct trials. Powerhouses like Russia and Japan follow a clear-cut system about sending quota winners. But India continues to follow only its whims.
Wrestling cannot continue with its arbitrary ways of sending athletes to the Olympics by allowing factions and politics and petty egos to have a field day. Indian wrestling deserves better than the black mark of a legend denied his last charge at an epochal third medal. On the bright side, for once, India is arguing over the capabilities of two great wrestlers. For once, it is sounding like a nation preparing to go to sporting war at the Olympics.
Vocabulary:
compelled[मजबूर]-to force (someone) to do something
- Illness compelled him to stay in bed.
- Public opinion compelled [=obliged] her to sign the bill.
- I feel compelled to leave. [=I feel that I must leave]
obsess[दिल में घर कर लेना]-to be the only person or thing that someone thinks or talks about
- The war obsesses him—he talks about nothing else.— usually used as (be) obsessed
- He is obsessed by the war.
persistent [ज़िद्दी] - continuing to do something or to try to do something even though it is difficult or other people want you to stop
- We were nagged by a persistent salesman.
- He is one of the government's most persistent critics.
- She has been persistent in pursuing the job.
repercussions[नतीजों]- something usually bad or unpleasant that happens as a result of an action, statement, etc., and that usually affects people for a long time — usually plural
- We didn't expect the decision to have such serious/enormous/tremendous repercussions. [=consequences]
- We did not consider the possible repercussions of our actions.
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