EVEN WITH THE WIND IN HIS SAILS, DEREK MENEZES CAN'T DREAM OF THE OLYMPICS >From Pamela D'Mello <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> The Asian Age
At yet another Olympics, the country is asking itself why? what did we do wrong, what do we need to do right to do ourselves proud at the international games. Yet, potential champions in India have learnt the hard way that an Olympic bid takes money, time, practice, and backing that is all too often not forthcoming. Our correspondent, caught up with India's reticent windsurfing champion, Derek Menezes, who in a 2006 world championship finished ninth in the world, but had never been sent to an Olympics, despite winning the national windsurfing gold medal thirteen times. Menezes was unwilling to tread into the murky waters of the sporting world, content to have spent 25 years of his life, pursuing a sport he loved, for the sheer joy of it. Pamela D'Mello, drew him out to get a glimpse of what can be done, if we are to get anywhere in the future... PdM: You won again for the thirteenth time in the windsurfing national's in May 2008. Shouldn't you have got sent to the Olympics? If your writing your article from the point of view of was I denied the chance to go to the Olympics, I would say no, I would not have even attempted it, because I was away a year in Indonesia, and it just so happened that I came down in April 2008, I put in a bit of practice, and probably because the winds and waters were more suited to my conditions, I easily won the nationals in Windsurfing, held in May 2008 in Goa. But that does not mean I could have gone for the Olympics. If I were to make a serious Olympic campaign, then for the past year, year and a half or two years, I should have been attending all the international A class regattas on the circuit, qualified properly, and been in the groove, you know. Then it is fair to say I could have gone for such an event. It has to be a serious campaign , not just for the party you know. PdM: In the past, have you been sent for the Olympics? You've been the national windsurfing champion twelve of thirteen times. In the past no, I haven't been sent. Because in yachting, I do windsurfing, and the windsurfing association always got the back seat. Because it is a civilian body and not one run by the services, like the army or navy, who are the drivers for yachting in India. The Yachting Association of India has many classes, like windsurfing, Finn, optimist... The other classes are run by the army or navy, but we are the only ones run by civilians in Goa. So I don't think we are the favorites in the overall yachting scenario in India. We've always got second hand treatment.Whether we have to be sent for different events... that's not happening. Because there are no army or navy guys representing those events .... the Goans have always been winning for so long. PdM: Is that so? Check the records. In the last nationals, the services had the latest Olympic equipment... they had everything. I was using a board, which is like 12 years old. It's a decent board, not an Olympic board, but the same size. And we won all round. I won 10 of twelve races.They had the better equipment, still the Goa team beat them. I won a straight easy win, clear ahead, with the services people tied behind with the rest of the Goan team. By the end of the last races though, the Goan team took second and third place as well. Windsurfing is just one of the segments in yachting, so we almost have no say in the larger yachting association of India. If you look at the allocation of funds in all the different classes of yachting, we get by proportion, very little funds. And there's not much you can do with it. In 2004, I went to the Asian Regatta in Mumbai and got a bronze. In the Doha Asian Games, I got a bad result, I hadn't had much time to practice, had just come down from a UN mission abroad and could practice for just a month. Then I had the time to practice, but there were no funds. In the 2006 World Championship in Thailand, I got a very good result. I finished ninth in the world. But no body had any funds, so I ended up participating in the Regatta at our own expense. I've yet to get reimbursed by anyone and am being led to a merry dance . Even the Sports Association of Goa, has been promising some funds, but after getting all the necessary paperwork together, there's no sign of any backing, though they have the allocation and they can do it. PdM: Could India have made a pitch at the Olympics in windsurfing? Off course, the potential is there for sure. But someone has to say, okay there are these people here, I've won 12 or 13 national championships. If someone were to say okay we've gonna back this guy for the Olympics, and start an Olympics campaign. Any other similar person in Britain, when the government decides to back them, your given a coach to back you up, a new set of Olympic class equipment, and a chance to do all the A class Olympic qualifying regattas, the whole lot of different regattas on the circuit. And all that together, with a coach, you can mount an Olympic campaign. Then I can say that's a fair bid --- attending the regattas, training regularly, if your given the backing and money to do that, then I can say its an Olympic campaign. I may still be the best windsurfer in the country with just one month's practice, but on a different stage, on the Olympic stage,I don't feel I have the right to do that. I'm not saying I was denied that by anybody, because I did not make the pitch. It's not worth it. Who do you chase? For bureaucrats it's just a job, and there's so much here, we better not even go into that. We've been let down so often, if they are genuine, and want to send somebody, saying this guy is a good yachtsman, then they should have started backing you up two years before. You can't go at the last minute, that's not fair. PdM: Could age have factored you out? I don't think so. And the point is not me, they could have picked someone younger. The women's world champion at the moment, is a few years younger than me. She's also in her forties. And some of the contender for the medals are also in their forties. So just because you are in your forties, it does not prevent you from winning. The sport is a balance between being reasonably physically fit, having experience and knowledge of the water, the winds -- that's what comprises yachting. It's being tough on the water. It's not a sport where only physical fitness plays a part. A sixty year old man recently won a championship, with his granddaughter. Yachting is a sport where you have to be physically fit, but it is not the only criteria. You cannot disqualify somebody just on the basis of age. PdM: Could the Goa government have backed you? Windsurfing is one of those sports at the national level that has consistently got golds and medals and laurels for the state over the last 15 years. If Goa has the history of getting golds in windsurfing , why are they not taking interest in windsurfing? I could ask. Our yachting association has approached them in other categories, like optimist class, Lazar class. Sure these are the categories that are bringing in the youngsters, they have to support them and they have given them good support.But when there are gold medallists, and they are still in the game, don't tell me that your policy is to ignore the gold medallists and say yeh naya agaya. My words are support the youngsters, even in greater proportion, but don't ignore the gold medallists who are still bringing in for you the gold medals. In this year's nationals the Optimists didn't win them any medals, neither did the Lazar category. And your windsurfing people are finishing one, two and three at the highest level, without even having the latest equipment, and if we can still pull off one, two , three, it says something. And then, one can ask why not one of us on the windsurfing team, even have the proper equipment today. I can ask that question. Just because I'm good and don't need it? We are still using some old equipment which I bought when my son was born. I say encourage the youngsters more than you encourage me. I'm at the end of my career, I should not even be participating.But the bare minimum you should at least give somebody whose still getting the gold medals for you.If they have their eyes open and are tuned into what is happening then this should not happen. At the world championship, we met this guy who had attended 17 international regattas that year, and I was telling my colleague that we have not attended 17 in our entire careers. So if you don't give your champions the opportunity to compete and participate at that level, how will they ever be in the reckoning at someplace like the Olympics? Champion sportsmen have to be supported through their sports careers, either by governments or by corporates, or then only the very rich can afford to stay in sports at that level. There are too many instances of sportsmen who gave their best in their peak, languishing in poverty later in life. I'm not complaining, I've got by because I have another trade, another job to support my family, if not it would have been impossible. And I've continued with the sport because I love it. Ceasar Menezes group here in the Goa yachting association has supported us with the best they could do, but it needs other backing as well. PdM: So what would you say has to be done? If you look at the countries that are doing well, they are building up teams in different sports, you can't practice alone, you need other guys to climb the ladder with you and then one will emerge a winner. Sure corporates can be tapped for sponsorships, sportsmen are the best employees later when they've ended their sports careers. A system has to be worked out when you put in an investment and the sportsmen give it back to everyone. Spectator sports like tennis and football, and cricket get enough money, there is prize money and endorsements, they don't need support from associations. But there are other sports as well where people are doing well, those sports associations have to encourage talent. If associations run themselves like a recreation centre, then that's okay, but let's be clear what we want and where we are headed ENDS