Don't blame cricket for India's poor performance in Rio

With a handful of hours to go before the Closing Ceremony at Rio Olympics, here are some notable Medal tallies -

BRITAIN - 27 Gold, 22 Silver, 17 Bronze

AUSTRALIA - 8 Gold, 11 Silver, 10 Bronze

JAMAICA - 6 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze

NEW ZEALAND - 5 Gold, 9 Silver, 5 Bronze

SOUTH AFRICA - 2 Gold, 6 Silver, 2 Bronze

KENYA - 5 Gold, 6 Silver, 1 Bronze

What's the commonality among these nations ? They also play a game called Cricket. The game of the Willows haven't stopped these nations from winning a sizable number of Olympics medals. So should cricket be blamed for India's below par performance at the Olympics ?

Don't think so. Please don't blame it on Rio for Cricket. It's not the fault with cricket, it's the fault with us, our stubborn reluctance to go above and beyond Cricket. Not choosing to play any game other than cricket is our

problem. Nobody forces us to do so pointing a gun at our head.

It's a classic catch 22 situation. Without participation of public a Sports can't prosper and to grow a sports it needs to be popular, at least to some degree. As the word popular stands - it's only the people who can make it popular. Our people have decided not to play any other game than cricket. Hence, the end result of HUM DO, HAMARE DO (We two, Ours two) - alluding to the two medals we got so far from the Olympics, thanks to the two ladies.

Most events at Olympics aren't mass sports. In fact USA, which has an insurmountable lead in the medal tally, two of their most popular sports, Football (American version) and Baseball don't find a spot in the Olympics. A Michel Phelps, in spite of winning more than a quarter of hundred medals by himself, won't be mobbed in the street of New York, whereas a Kobe Bryant or Payton Manning might be. Only a interested few follow majority of the Olympics sports, yet win medals dime a dozen.

As cricket has become a Banyan tree in India, other sports simply don't get any nutrient to grow under it. Taking a cue from the beginning lines of our Preamble - "We The People of India" are responsible in feeding and nurturing this sacrosanct Banyan tree. More than the system, it's the people who have allowed this to happen. Only the same folks can come out of the shadow and popularize other games, not withstanding the Banyan tree standing by itself.