Sports other than cricket need to be encouraged, but can’t dictate policy to govt: SC | India News – Times of India

NEW DELHI- The Supreme Court on Tuesday recalled the stellar performances of two Manipuri women Indian sports legends — weightlifter Chanu Saikhom Mirabai and boxer Mary Kom — by mentioning their sterling contributions to encourage disciplines of sports in a cricket-crazy nation.
Mirabai’s silver medal at Tokyo Olympics and the never say die approach of Mary Kom in bringing laurels for her country received special mention from a bench of Justices U U lalit, S R Bhat and Bela M Trivedi, even as it refused to entertain a PIL seeking court intervention in framing of sports guidelines to encourage the country’s youth to take up disciplines of sports other than cricket, which has emerged as the most favourite for its glitz and golds.
Petitioner Vishal Tiwari said that the money involved in cricket has lured away talents from other disciplines. ‘Though we are more than a billion people, our performance in Olympics and world sporting events have been dismal for the past several decades. Yet, the government is not paying attention in building adequate sports infrastructure and moulding the school and college curriculum in a manner to encourage our youth to take up sports other than cricket,’ Tiwari said. The bench said, ‘There will be lakhs of people like you. If everyone wants the sports policy to be moulded in a certain way, it would be very difficult. Moreover, it is not for the courts to dictate the sports policy to the government.’