Olympic lessons

Perhaps no story captures the reality of the Indian Olympics campaign as this: Two women marathon runners did not even get a sip of water during their run because there were no officials manning the refreshments counter. National record holder O.P. Jaisha was so dehydrated that she collapsed at the end of the race.

India won only two medals in Rio de Janeiro, but this was perhaps the first Olympics when there was an Indian in the contention for a medal almost every day. P.V. Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Dipa Karmakar, Lalita Babar and several others have deservedly become household names. Their coaches also did a great job.

Contrast this with the conduct of our sports officials, with minister of state for youth affairs and sports Vijay Goel leading the way. As attention shifts to Tokyo 2020, it is time we recognize that Indian sports officials should serve our sportspersons, not the other way round.