The success of the cadets from the Boys Sports Company of the Army Sports Institute, Pune, at the recent ‘Khelo India’ school games is indeed welcome. For a squad of 33 to bag 12 gold, four silver and five bronze medals in archery, athletics, boxing, weightlifting, and wrestling ~ and help propel Maharashtra to the second spot in the competitions is no mean feat and augurs well for the promotion of sport in the country.

Yet promising though that performance certainly is, it actually serves as a flashback to even happier times when representatives of the Services trod the Indian sporting scene like colossi. Physical fitness, teamwork, discipline, training and the competitive edge are all integral to military prowess, and the sports-field was where those attributes were diligently honed.

Regimental sides dominated team sports like hockey and football ~ MRC Wellington, Signals Centre Jalandhar, Gorkha Brigade, MEG Bangalore, EME Secunderabad etc picked up the “silver” at major tournaments, and the Services were the national champions in several disciplines.

Boxing was a virtual monopoly, though few would remember defence personnel like HT Dani and AK Sengupta playing Test cricket for India, and time was when PG Sethi and Jiti Chaudhary dominated the golf courses. Today an Army XI turns out at hockey and football tourneys, when earlier four of five regimental sides vied for top honours.

The standard of sport in the services has been on the downslide for the past few decades. One explanation is that the military is now increasingly technical and soldiers spend as much time mastering that technology as on the drill-square. Heavy commitment in J&K and the North-east is cited as another reason. So too the argument that sport is now highly professional. What is often overlooked is the reality that officers no longer take sport seriously ~ golf is seen as a relaxation for the “brass”.

The decline has not gone unnoticed: after the Asian Games in New Delhi in 1982 it had been decided to revive the Boys Companies (the cradles and nurseries) in many regiments, but the plans remained largely on paper. What has been overlooked is that regimental sides foster strong “local bonds”, link the military with the people and become a source of pride.

The Army has been missing out on that in recent years. With an Olympic silver medal winner, and a Lieutenant Colonel to boot, now heading the sports ministry the prospects appear favourable for sport in the Services to regain some prowess. Yet there is a long haul ahead, unless the minister’s enthusiasm has an exemplary, trickle-down effect.

The Boys Sports Company in Pune has made a positive move, it needs to be followed up so that the likes of a Milkha Singh, Puran Bahadur Thapa or Peter Thangaraj once again turn out in the stadiums donning regimental colours.