2010 is a challenge to Indian sport to deliver. The staging of the Hero Honda World Cup and the Commonwealth Games is a massive test of organisation and determination. IPL 3 has huge expectations as T20 comes “home” to India, and the Indian national cricket team must live up to its worldbeating billing when it goes to South Africa at the end of the year.
The events in Delhi will be watched by a world of sport that sees India as the final frontier. A succesful delivery of both events will go a long way to persuading the organisers of multiple other sporting championships that India is the place they need to be.
The Hero Honda hockey World Cup is building up nicely. Remarkably strong corporate support has tapped into that generation still misty eyed over India’s past hockey glories. The national team’s third place at the Champions Challenge is a step up the ladder for the perennial underachievers. Even better, Pakistan have been drawn in India’s group, creating the potential for a huge audience on terrestrial TV in both countries for a showpiece prime time occasion in the early days of the tournament.
Now the organisers must deliver a stadium to be proud of, full of passionate crowds and avoiding distractions from the politics of Indian hockey.
The PHL was a great opportunity for the sport in India, yet despite some huge investment from ESPN/STAR, that experiment appears to be over.
Now, the Hero Honda hockey world Cup avoids any clash with major cricket events. It’ll be staged in prime time in Delhi and will feature some remarkable international athletes with the top 12 teams in the world having qualified. All the ingredients are there for a great two weeks in February.
The Commonwealth Games is an absolute contrast. The international media love nothing better than the sniff of disaster, and the Commonwealth Games is feeding them well. Athletes all over the world from Usain Bolt to Paula Radcliffe are still not confirming the Games on their schedule, with the constant bad news and speculation over facility delivery only adding to the uncertainty of the sportsmen and women.
This may be unduly negative, but the problem with the Commonwealth Games is that they are not an event that anyone grows up dreaming of winning. Olympics, World Cups, World Championships are the stuff of boyhood fantasy. The Commonwealth Games are no doubt a huge and worthy occasion and will feature some top class competition, but athletes can choose other priorities this year – particularly faced with negative publicity on stadia, accomodation and infrastructure.
Of course, my cynicism may be linked to nationality, as an Englishman the idea of watching Australians win Gold after Gold, as seems the norm in the Commonwealth Games, is never that attractive.
IPL 3 has none of those problems. It will satisfy national pride. Lalit Modi has come up with an international cricket format that guarantees an Indian winner.
The challenge for IPL 3 is to continue its momentum. Sony have already delivered some great ad-sales numbers, the franchises will continue to benefit from excellent confirmed income. Now, the challenge is to maintain or improve on the TV ratings in India and to fill the stadia with paying customers.
Internationally the TV numbers are not so impressive (there’s no broadcaster in the UK currently), but as long as the Indian franchise holders remain motivated, the international element for the IPL is trivial.
Of course any sporting year in India is linked to the fortunes of the Indian cricket team. The year will be dominated by one day tournaments (at home to SA, away in SL and Zim), as well as the T20 World Cup in the West Indies. However, for me the one to watch is the Test series in South Africa. Should India win there, that would be a huge achievement, regardless of their current Test ratings.
There is of course much more to look forward too, from the football World Cup to the Asian Games. Best wishes for the New Year.
The author is COO, Taj Television Ltd.
