BEIJING: The Asian games motto of ever onward was just an empty slogan for most of the 250-strong Indian contingent members, a fact which was acknowledged by its chef demission Mr Mohammed Aslam Khan.
In an interview to PTI he bemoaned the poor Indian performance at the 11 Th games here and blamed it squarely on lack of dedication on the part of the participants.
Aslam Khan said, our (partipants) objective is suspect. We stop putting in (an) effort the moment we take part in Asiad and get a certificate because with that certificate you can get a job. (The) objective is not gold,
I will be frank in my report from the point of view of (both) sportsman and administrator. It will be in the form of advice to govt, sports authorities and sports persons, he said.
This has been a disappointing Asiad Frankly I was not expecting more than 3 golds in yachting, men’s 1500 m and Kabaddi, Aslam Khan said.
The unfortunate part is that the performance has fallen, Even the (82) Delhi standard was not attained. It required guts to fight it out here, Aslam Khan said
People blame the govt (for the poor performance) or somebody else. (but) it matters little where or who is helping. It is up to the individual athletes to practice and perform. Nobody else can help, he said.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 12, 1990
