Twenty One crores! Sounds like a king’s ransom! It is the princely sum reported to have been allocated for training of the tennis team for the Commonwealth Games 2010.

Perhaps China’s golden harvest in the Olympics, which led to an unprecedented surge in the morale of the nation, drove home the value of international sporting success to the czars of Indian sport.

Whatever the reason, the amount left me euphoric with delight. The awakening, though late, is a giant step forward. Congratulations are due to all the authorities who had the vision and enterprise to push this through.

If money alone could produce champions, India’s battery of billionaires could put Indian sport on top of the world. The other inputs required in this highly competitive era are more significant. Administrative competence, proper coaching, physical training and high quality competition are also of paramount importance. Jaidip Mukerjea, rich in international experience, has been appointed by the AITA as the chief coach. A good choice, Jaidip will need support from all quarters to make the scheme a success. It is a very tough assignment.

Twenty boys and twenty girls have been selected for training, at various centres. Jaidip has contacted Tony Roche, requesting him to come and help with the coaching. Having won Grand Slam tournaments and coached Federer, Roche does not need any references and his advice in drawing up a plan and assessing their talent will be very valuable.

Most India hopefuls have two fundamental weaknesses: a) lack of consistency and b) poor physical strength and stamina.

At the high levels of modern tennis, the ability to keep a rally going for 68 shots at top speed is vital. In fact, it is the foundation of the modern game. Strength and stamina are needed to play and win the long gruelling matches. With the exception of Somdev Dev Varman, no youngster can meet the level of consistency required for top class rankings.

A stronger Somdev with addition of 68 lbs of muscle and more aggression could move up significantly in the rankings. The young brigade, on the fringe of Davis Cup selection, need to work on both these aspects.

With only 18 months left for the Games, it is a race against time. Broadly speaking, the funds have to be channelised in: (a) coaching, training and equipment (b) sponsoring travel abroad and other expenses of promising players. A major hurdle will be the disbursement of funds which will be done directly by presumably the Sports Ministry after the applications have been vetted by Jaidip.

Is the ministry geared up to disperse money for such an avalanche of applications in a tight time schedule and the straight jacket of rigid norms? Unfortunately, some of the norms laid down in salaries for coaches etc are totally out of sync with reality. For instance tennis coaches under category A will laugh if you offer them Rs.50,000/ per month which is the norm, when some assistant coaches charge Rs.1000/ per hour for coaching in Delhi. A master plan is an absolute must. The sports ministry must sit across the table with AITA officials and Jaidip and hammer out an agreement on all the payment parameters.

Currently the scenario looks chaotic and my euphoria is beginning to give way to despair. It will be really tragic if due to lack of administrative infrastructure, full disbursement is not possible and optimum utilisation of funds released is not made due to delay and disagreements.