India became a sporting nation in the last decade: Kumble

Spin legend Anil Kumble today said India became a sporting nation only in the last decade and other sports should take a cue from cricket as to how to market the game in the nook and corner of the country.
Kumble said not just cricket, but the success of athletes in other sports have helped India become a sporting nation.
"For years, we thought we are a sporting nation but we had little to show. In the last decade, India's sporting success has changed all that," Kumble said while giving the MAK Pataudi Lecture here.
"The improved performances at Commonwealth Games, London Olympics and world tournaments by chess, billiards, snooker badminton and tennis players are evidence of the improved progress that we have made," he said.

The leg-spinning great, however, said other sporting federations should follow in the foot steps of BCCI in promoting their respective games.
"Other sports can take a cue from cricket too. A generation ago, if anybody had suggested that a player from Ranchi would lead India one day, he would have been laughed at," Kumble said referring to India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"The game has spread across the country, taking in areas like Rai Bareli, Baruch which had little connection to the game. The reason is simple, the infrastructure is now available and so too coaching and inceptive. We owe to our youngsters to provide them with facilities," he said.

During the lecture, Kumble also recalled the sarcastic comment which Pataudi had once made about him at the beginning of his international career.