This past year didn't mark an epoch in the evolution of Indian sports, but it was definitely an eventful year, possibly laying the foundation for a defining 2015. As is usually the case, cricket once again dominated Indian sports, but this year cricket's dominance was more in the courts and less on the pitch. In a remarkably litigious year for cricket, 2014 may well be the year that marks the change in society's once indulgent attitude towards its de facto national sport. As the allegations of supposed wrongdoing, mismanagement and now conflict of interest refuse to fade away, the enduring impression one has is that the tiger may finally have exhausted its nine lives used for exoneration by the public jury. While the ultimate decisions and the future of cricket administration hang tantalisingly in the balance until 2015 as the Supreme Court is now on vacation until January, it has been an underwhelming year for cricket on the pitch as well.
Currently in the middle of an emotionally charged series in Australia against an Australian side fighting back despite the grief of their compatriot Phil Hughes' shocking death on the pitch, there have not been many highlights for the Indian side this year apart from individual accolades. Rohit Sharma's 264-run inning and Virat Kohli's aggressive brand of cricket showed that the new blood is ready to take over the reins, especially now that many of the heroes of the 2011 one-day international World Cup victory have been dropped from the World Cup probables' squad. The stunning departure of Mahendra Singh Dhoni from Test cricket at year-end will have only underlined how much rebuilding will have to be done in 2015.
It is this societal wariness of the aura and veracity of cricket that has perhaps opened the doors for other sports properties to seize the opportunity created. Two in particular stood out in 2014. One was a touted, moneyed event in the most popular sport in the world. A litmus test for whether Indian culture and society were willing to accept and support football led primarily by upcoming Indian players sprinkled with a healthy dose of familiar and beloved former superstars of yesteryear. The Hero Indian Super League was an ambitious attempt at bringing a club-equivalent football league to India on a pan-India basis, penetrating regional television networks, and encouraging metropolitan young adults and families to experience the live match atmosphere at an affordable cost. A successful and surprisingly understated inaugural season bodes well, and Indian society - English Premier League diehards aside - responded favourably.
A more surprising positive in an extremely unexpected sport was the huge success of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL). The PKL had natural advantages in terms of lower costs as compared with cricket, football, hockey or tennis, and familiarity of the entire Indian population with the rules and finer nuances, most of us having played it at some point. By combining the familiarity with a well-packaged and slick production that once again reached out to most regions on the broadcast network, the formula was a success, as Indian society did feel a cultural empathy to a sport played almost exclusively on the Indian subcontinent.
India's performance at the Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, was expectedly mediocre, with one major exception being hockey's resurgence, as the Indian team by winning the Asiad gold after a gap of 16 years punched its ticket to the Rio Olympics, and has started showing glimpses of reclaiming past glory. There's still a long way to go, however, but once again, hockey runs deep in Indians' blood, so success in our actual national sport is always a positive. Unfortunately, the enduring image from the Asiad is one that highlights shocking decision-making, an impulsive and poorly advised response on the podium, and a glimpse into the bureaucracy of world sporting bodies. The Sarita Devi fiasco continues - and if there's one thing that stands out, it is how lightly regarded some of our national federations are on the world stage - a sporting heavyweight for the most part India is not.
In terms of aura and magnitude, the "see and be seen" moment of the year was when Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic went up against each other at the International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) in Delhi in December, in what was at the very least an electric atmosphere. A similar atmosphere prevailed at the Delhi Golf Club when Tiger Woods visited and played a round in February.
This past year, cricket finally faced competition and opposition. It was the year when the "league" format could finally be applied to some sports properties in a manner befitting the nomenclature. It was the year when Indian fans embraced the "live game" atmosphere in droves. And above all else, it is likely the year of permanent transition in Indian sports.
The author leads the sports practice of J Sagar Associates. These views are his own
Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper
