Seeing pictures of former world chess champion Garry Kasparov being arrested in Moscow yesterday, while protesting against the oppressive measures of the Vladimir Putin government, a simple question comes to mind: can we trust our cricket or hockey stars, our golf, billiard, snooker or tennis greats—or even our chess champ—if, touch wood, we were to land in a similar mess and our freedom were in danger? Should we expect them to? Or is ambitious Kasparov on the streets only because he is eyeing a future in politics?
Photo courtesy: Vladimir Suvorov/Izvestia, via Associated Press
churumuri 
Already enough politics in cricket with Arun Jaitley, Lalu Yadav, Sharad Pawar, etc. running cricket associations and the like.
Using cricket as a tool for leverage in politics is disgusting. Ruins the game.
Let’s not forget Henry Olonga and Andy Flower while we are it though. Their black armband protest cost them their international cricket careers.
LikeLike
he is not protesting as a chessplayer, but as a politician. kasparov has been a politician for a while.
LikeLike
i am not talking of NRN is a ‘politician’ line of attack.
he actually founded a political party and is in some form a coalition.
what you are suggesting, leveraging personality to voice concerns over public issues, NRN did that. but we all know THAT story. :)
public transport, urban planning might be filthy middle class vices for those taking the haida maida line (ah but how hundreds of MUDA 40×60 sites impact the farmers nobody wants to ask), but any one who actually sits and thinks on what is public infrsture, how to provide it, how to provide FOR it, will know that it is as socialist an excercise as any. but hey, why think when we can sound off?
LikeLike
As Alok mentioned, corollary is true. Politicians can only come into sports – very rarely we see sportsmen venturing into Politics in our country save for a few like Kirti Azad, Chetan Chauhan, A middle distance runner from Left front (I forget her name), our own state Cricketer Prakash Rathod etc. Even otherwise, their contributions to the nation is nothing much to boast of.
Look at the politicians in the game! It is in huge numbers!! No wonder the state of sports in our country is so dismal. There is no long term goal setup on improvements either in infrastructure or talent. The only improvements that can happen is the personal infrastructure of the people in power (remember how DG hospital was constructed when Kanteerava Indoor stadium and Athletics stadium were being constructed for National Games in 1995/96?)
Chappell was so right!! Unless we run the sports bodies with clearcut objectives in our country, we don’t deserve to win any prizes at International level. Very seldom do you see someone like Prakash Padukone for a brief period of time at the helm of affairs who quit out of disgust. These kind of people belong to a completely different breed.
LikeLike
Athlete Politician is Jyotirmoy Sikdar
LikeLike