I will try and get the other links about the expeditions. One reason
could be that there have been some recent climbs.
>We Indians must have an
asnwer why we Indians are not good >sportsmen. ...
>We no longer can give the excuse that Indians are poor.
The only countries that one hears about endurance sports are usually from
a few countries.
USA, Russia, East European countries, England, China, Japan, Canada,
etc.
I don't hear of Scotland, the Netherlands, Norway, most of Africa, most
of Latin America (except Brazil/Argentina - football).
Such sports require, excellent training from a very young age, excellent
facilities, and great trainers. India does not have a good sprorts
infrastructure. Games like cricket and football guarantee immediate ticket
sales (in volume), plus great coverage returns.
Other sports like figure skating/gymnastics etc, won't bring enough
returns to sustain them - unless there is a champion in the midst.
Even in tennis, India does have the potential, but the best training
facilities in the world are in the US - all countries send the best to the
tennis ranches in the US (mostly in Texas) to train, and so it is with
gymnastics (in Houston).
Lastly (but not the least), politicians often get to choose who is
represented in foreign trips for players, trainers, and they more often than
not choose third rung potentials.
--Ram
