How we shatter the Olympics dreams of our best athletes

It is common practice to hear complaints about India, a country of more than a billion producing a handful of medals at the international stage. While it is okay to complain, does anyone try to figure out what are the problems plaguing Indian sports? We aren't talking about cricket here, or even the Paes and Sainas of this country. We are talking about the Inderjeets, the Asabs and the Geetas.

The names don't ring a bell, do they? That shows the sad state of affairs, but that is not the problem that these athletes are currently facing. As a part of special series, Rio Reality Check, I decided to explore where we stand in terms of preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympics. After all, when the government announces one scheme after another and doles out crores, then why aren't the results visible?

My first stop was a village in Haryana called Bhiwani.

This village has made a name for itself, thanks to the large contingent of boxers coming from here. But my stopover was to meet Inderjeet Singh, India's first track and field athlete to qualify for the Rio Olympics. He stunned all by achieving the Olympics qualification mark of 20.65m in shot put at the 19th Federation Cup in Mangalore.

A feat like that would have ideally been celebrated for days, but Inderjeet was a dejected man. He wanted to win a medal for India at the Olympics, he wanted to make the country proud, but there was a part of him that was heart-broken at the apathy that was shown by the authorities.

Inderjeet has been an active shot-putter for the past 15 years and has won numerous accolades for the country, including a bronze at the Incheon Asian Games. But in all these years, he has never got any financial assistance from the government, sponsors or the federation. He is a man in massive debt but with a smile and determination he says, "I am doing it for my deceased father."

Mohammed Asab, on the other hand, is a Commonwealth Games bronze medalist. Medals at the international stage generally bring with them a flock of people, who want to bask in the borrowed glory. Asab, too, had people of the rank of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav coming up and offering him a job for his remarkable performance. More than eight months down the line, Asab is still trying to get his file passed and get the very job he was promised by the supreme authority in the state.

If these stories aren't shocking enough, then the last one is sure to leave you stunned.

We talk about women's equality, feminism and make role models out of female athletes. Women wrestlers like Geeta and Babita Phogat, hailing from a conservative village Balali in Haryana, are tailor-made to be poster girls for such a campaign.

But these wrestlers, who are among India's brightest medal prospects at Rio 2016, are not being provided the best training facility in India. SAI Sonepat is the country's premier wrestling hub, but the women wrestlers train at the Lucknow facility. The reason for this is spectacular. The wrestling federation does not feel that men and women should train at the same facility and the sports ministry is willing to let the matter pass considering it would infringe the autonomy of the federation since they have strong views on the matter. It seems we are living in the dark ages.

These three stories are just a drop in the ocean. Hindrances to athletes flourishing in this country are numerous, but false promises and gender bias should surely not be among them.