Opinion: Phogat, Poonia, Jadeja… the relationship between sportspersons and politics is old, there is politics in sports itself

Rudranil Sengupta
It looks like India’s most successful female wrestler Vinesh Phogat and 2020 Olympic medalist Bajrang Punia will contest the Haryana assembly elections on a Congress ticket. A day earlier, cricketer Ravindra Jadeja joined the BJP. Now both Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia met Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday. Before the meeting, news came that Vinesh Phogat had resigned from her job at the Railways. That is, there is every possibility of both of them entering the electoral fray. After meeting Kharge, both of them have also formally taken membership of the Congress. This seems to be a perfect pair. Phogat and Punia, along with Sakshi Malik, India’s only female wrestler to win an Olympic medal, led the movement against BJP leader and former Wrestling Federation of India chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. Some female wrestlers had accused him/her of sexual exploitation and harassment. If anyone needed an intense, practical crash course in politics, this movement had it all. Wrestlers took on a domineering political figure, took on a sensitive subject where the victims are often socially ostracised and humiliated (as is the case here). Mobilised massive support. Led public rallies. Gave hundreds of speeches and interviews. Showed the stamina and tenacity to endure months-long sit-ins. Faced police action and did not back down despite every obstacle thrown their way. In fact, what Indian sportspersons experience throughout their lives is a kind of training for politics. Indian athletes, if they are any good at all, enter a system that is deeply political, deeply entangled in politics, by the age of 10 or 12. Over the next few decades or more, they learn the ways of that system. Indian sports are entangled in politics in two ways.

The best among the best
The first way is more obvious. From cricket to boxing, football, archery, swimming, gymnastics, equestrian or table tennis, the federations that control almost every sport in the country are not only led by politicians or their cronies, but they also use them as fiefdoms, fiefdoms in which political games are played. To get ahead in this system, every athlete and their family knows that one must be determined, resourceful and able to keep the right people happy. Each of these qualities is also important for politics, as are the purely sporting qualities that determine athletic success—focus, competitiveness, discipline and toughness.

Virat Kohli once told me that he/she had a big moment of disappointment in his/her life when he/she was 13. he/she realised the level of politics and influence that influenced team selection even at the junior level in Delhi cricket. That was when he/she made a decision – become so good that even politics cannot stop you. Sharpen your skills to such an extent that it becomes impossible to ignore you.

The rest is just in the hands of Ram
Only the top 1 per cent of athletes in any sport get a chance at this level. Those who are the best of the best. For thousands of others, a government job is often a different incentive.

This is another way in which politics seeps into Indian sports. Athletes experience what it is like to live a political life. A government job becomes the sole aim of many athletes who come from remote villages or crowded Tier II and III cities. They often aim for a government job to escape or overcome their family history of poverty.

some people are not made for politics
So do sportspersons make good politicians? Yes, although the current crop of athletes-turned-politicians paint a different picture. There is a reason for this – as the BJP moved towards becoming the undisputed ruling political party between 2014 and 2024, it wooed many athletes simply because of their popular appeal. Examples include PT Usha for nostalgia, Mary Kom for the Northeast, Babita Phogat for the hinterland of Haryana, Saina Nehwal, who has national recognition all over India, for her social media reach.

This was not because these athletes showed any inclination for politics. The oratory skills of all these athletes range from average to poor, and none of them have any clear stance or passion for any issue or problem that they have taken up. On the other hand, Vijender Singh, who won the country its first Olympic medal in boxing (bronze in 2008), was adopted by the Congress but has now joined the BJP.

Some players also became hits in politics
On the other hand, sportspersons who joined politics because they were interested in it have proven themselves to be very strong. Gautam Gambhir was a combative batsman of his/her time who always expressed his/her emotions openly on the field. he/she used the outspokenness in his/her personality to good effect for the BJP in Delhi. The former Indian opener won the East Delhi Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 general elections. Happily, he/she has found an even better job for his/her temperament this year – that of coach of the Indian cricket team. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, a 2004 Olympic silver medallist, won the 2014 and 2019 general elections and served as Union minister for sports and youth affairs as well as information and broadcasting. Now that the Congress is finally challenging the BJP, there is reason to believe that Phogat and Poonia will bring their combative skills to the political arena with a sharp edge.

(The author is a sports journalist)