# Why does India suck at the Olympics? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 10, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483 "2008-08-10T06:10:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/1 "2008-08-10T06:10:13Z")
They have a huge potential talent pool in India, yet I never hear anything about India in reference to the Olympic games. It turns out they have won some hockey medals… of all things. 😕 Other than that, not so much. What gives? ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/2 "2008-08-10T06:10:44Z")
[QUOTE=Bearflag70] They have a huge potential talent pool in India, yet I never hear anything about Idia in reference to the Olympic games. It turns out they have won some hockey medals… of all things. 😕 Other than that, not so much. What gives? [/QUOTE] They have transcended such petty lusts. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/3 "2008-08-10T06:15:34Z")
You know that by “hockey” they mean “field hockey” right? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/4 "2008-08-10T06:16:28Z")
They excel at hockey. And cricket. But that’s not an Olympic sport. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/5 "2008-08-10T06:21:37Z")
[QUOTE=Cunctator] They excel at hockey. [/QUOTE] Used to, anyway. But that was quite a while ago; they didn’t even qualify for the Olympics this time. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/6 "2008-08-10T06:35:16Z")
[QUOTE=ZipperJJ] You know that by “hockey” they mean “field hockey” right? [/QUOTE] Really? I thought it was ice hockey. Field hockey makes more sense, especially since air hockey and tonsil hockey are not events. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/7 "2008-08-10T06:35:35Z")
A couple wags… India has less to prove to the world. It’s favorite sport isn’t in the Olympics, and it’s wasn’t a huge sports country to begin with. It’s not a key player in any of the cold war/neo cold war dramas. Lots of Americans grew up thinking an Olympic gold medal was the pinnacle of acheievement. And a good chunk of related to the role that the Olympics played in the cold war. India probably didn’t have that kind of ideology associated with the Olympics. Another is that India is still very much a developing country. And it is a huge, vast place full of different cultures. It doesn’t have the resources or coordination to search for the best talent and cultivate that. Other developing-ish nations get around this by using their strong goverments. But India’s government is a little less able to make stuff happen like that. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/8 "2008-08-10T07:16:32Z")
Good points, even sven. I should add that a strong Olympic team doesn’t require lots and lots of people\*, it require the RIGHT people. A sprinter needs long, powerful legs. A heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler needs massive strength, especially upper-body, an iron grip, and a keen sense of balance. So does a weightlifter. An archer needs steady arms, excellent depth perception, and pinpoint precision. A fencer needs a ballet dancer’s footwork and lightning reflexes. India is a melting pot of cultures, none of which are generally impressive in any one physical attribute. How many Indians are built like Alexander Karelin, Carl Lewis, or Yao Ming? Same deal with Japan, and they _have_ the resources. They have the motivation. They have the systems. They just don’t have the bodies. - Gad, I’m amazed that the “per capita” thing got dredged up in another thread. Honestly, does anyone really give a damn about this? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/9 "2008-08-10T07:26:16Z")
How many Chinese people are built like Yao Ming? ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/10 "2008-08-10T07:27:49Z")
Aren’t Indians exceptionally good at doubles tennis? I remember that they always seemed to have pairs going into the final rounds in ATP grand slams. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/11 "2008-08-10T08:15:05Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] How many Chinese people are built like Yao Ming? [/QUOTE] I seem to recall that the under 21 (or something like that) Chinese basketball team had 5 players over 7 feet tall. With 1.3 billion people and one child per family, you are going to get some seriously good nutrition for kids, and the bell curve tails are pretty extreme. If there was an Olympic event for crazy dancing and singing, India would completely dominate the event. It certainly makes a lot more sense than the travesty of synchronized diving. How many cocks were sucked to make that an event? ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/12 "2008-08-10T08:42:18Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] It certainly makes a lot more sense than the travesty of synchronized diving. How many cocks were sucked to make that an event? [/QUOTE] Many, and all in _perfect_ rhythm. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/13 "2008-08-10T08:50:15Z")
[QUOTE=appleciders] Many, and all in _perfect_ rhythm. [/QUOTE] Synchronized cocksucking would be a way better event than synchronized diving. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/14 "2008-08-10T09:05:26Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] If there was an Olympic event for crazy dancing and singing, India would completely dominate the event. [/QUOTE] It would come a distant second to [North Korea](http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/66129-Photos-North-Koreas-surreal-Mass-Games/). ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/15 "2008-08-10T10:27:12Z")
If anyone else even cares, how often do the synchronised diving event winners go on to contest the singles event with each other, or vice versa? You’d think they would be equally good, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/16 "2008-08-10T11:00:22Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] If anyone else even cares, how often do the synchronised diving event winners go on to contest the singles event with each other, or vice versa? You’d think they would be equally good, eh? [/QUOTE] I’m guessing never, because if you are a world class diver, you would never demean yourself doing anything as lame as synchronized diving. It’s a sport for half assed second class mediocre suckwads. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/17 "2008-08-10T11:20:50Z")
[QUOTE=Darryl Lict] I’m guessing never, because if you are a world class diver, you would never demean yourself doing anything as lame as synchronized diving. It’s a sport for half assed second class mediocre suckwads. [/QUOTE] You’d be guessing wrong, and talking nonsense. Meet China’s [Guo](http://www.china-8.com/schools/chinese/pages/images/el041104038.jpg) [Jingjing](http://www.cbc.ca/olympics/diving/story/2008/08/10/olympics-diving-guo.html), the reigning 3m Springboard and Synchronized 3m Springboard champion, one of [China’s most popular athletes](http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2008-08/10/content_6921976.htm). And she’s a hottie, too. :eek: ETA: And winner of this year’s 3m Olympic Synchronized Springboard gold medal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/18 "2008-08-11T02:42:02Z")
[QUOTE=Indistinguishable] How many Chinese people are built like Yao Ming? [/QUOTE] It’s like the old joke, “How many babies can you fit into a spare tire?” Joe ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/19 "2008-08-11T03:17:02Z")
I don’t know, how many? ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2008, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483/20 "2008-08-11T03:32:57Z")
[QUOTE=DKW] Same deal with Japan, and they _have_ the resources. They have the motivation. They have the systems. They just don’t have the bodies. [/QUOTE] I think it was the 1988 Olympics where the Japanese volleyball coach was grumbling to the Soviet volleyball coach. The tallest Russian player was 6-9 or 6-10 and the Japanese coach said, “You stand on a corner in Moscow and see a guy that tall go by every six minutes. I stand on a corner in Tokyo and see one every six _weeks_.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-india-suck-at-the-olympics/459483.md?page=2)