Sakshi Malik wants change. Ever since she and her fellow wrestlers took to the streets of the nation's capital last January, that much has been clear. Her statements and actions since then have simply reaffirmed it. Marching to the new Parliament building, retiring from wrestling but vowing to fight, writing a searingly honest autobiography, talking to the press - she's had enough. It's time for change. The end goal is simple: a clean federation. For Sakshi, that means one devoid of fear. "If the federation is clean, if politics is not there, the girls will be able to give their all to wrestling," she told ESPN in a recent conversation. "The girls will be able to come forward openly, train openly, compete in tournaments openly [...] and the performances will come."
It's interesting that for Sakshi, that clean-up can only come if you separate sport from politics. There's a word she used when talking about it: when politics comes in to sports it'll be "satyanash". Annihilation. For her becoming a member of the federation to help clean it inside-out means not taking political sides, but instead using her experience as a top-level wrestler who knows the sport inside-out to improve things for the athletes. From small things like confirmed schedules to larger issues such as ending harassment, she has charted out the changes that need to be made. But there will be no politics.
Another leader of the wrestlers' protest, Vinesh Phogat, meanwhile, has taken the exact opposite route to achieve what's essentially the same stated goal: help clean Indian wrestling. Joining the Congress party, she's now an elected MLA in her home state of Haryana. She seems to be saying, if politics is the route to power, then politics it is.
Phogat knows that this route of hers is what's most taken in this country. One glance at the powers that be in Indian sport, and you'll immediately see it too: Cricket has Roger Binny (World Cup winning cricketer) as its head, but the real power centre is the secretary, Jay Shah, son of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Badminton's chief is Assam Chief Minister Hemanta Biswa Sharma, wrestling remains under the influence of BJP leader Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, football has BJP leader Kalyan Chaubey, tennis has BJP MP Anil Jain, shooting has BJD leader Kalikesh Deo, table tennis has Meghana Ahlawat (wife of ex-Haryana deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala), archery is headed by BJP leader Arjun Munda. The list goes on.
This is not to say that ex-sportspeople have not had a go at this shindig. They have, and it's been a mixed bag in terms of how it's turned out.
The appointment of Olympic medalist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore as Union Sports Minister, for instance, came with a great big splash of hope, but it turned out to be a giant damp squib. PT Usha, one of India's greatest ever athletes, is boss at the Indian Olympic Association but her handling of the wrestlers' protest and subsequent actions left much to be desired. Adille Summariwala heads Indian athletics, and his tenure has seen marked improvement from the previous incumbent (politician Suresh Kalmadi), even if there's still much to do. Dilip Tirkey, India's most capped hockey player, currently heads Hockey India and has been at the forefront of bringing back to life the vaunted Hockey India League. For a decade, shooting was headed by Raninder Singh (former shooter, son of former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh) and showed remarkable results. The Paralympic Committee of India is now headed by legendary Paralympian Devendra Jhajharia; he's saying all the right things, but only time will tell.
(As an aside, Sumariwalla apart, each of the persons above have had strong political connections playing a role in their getting the gig - once again hinting at why Vinesh did what she did)
But can one person really make a difference? Can a Vinesh or a Sakshi really clean up the massive bureaucratic mess that is the Wrestling Federation of India? Can any athlete bring about change to their sporting federation?
Clues lie in the success stories of those sportspeople who have managed to climb to the head of federations. A lot of it lies in the ability of the chief to delegate as much as possible, hire (and trust) appropriate talent, and have well laid out plans for the short and long-term. Much like any team sport, you simply can't win all by yourself.
At the National Rifle Association of India, for instance, ex-shooters have taken up positions of power; with a transparent focus on performance, it's seen clear and rapid growth in both the sport's popularity in the country and success in international competition. As an example of how administrators, politicians and sportspeople can lean on each other's strengths to get the best out of the collective, the NRAI is perhaps India's best run federation. We're at a stage now where a total of three shooting medals at an Olympics is seen as a disappointment. There have been hints across other federations too. Athletics continues to lean on individual genius and unaffiliated sources for talent identification at the grassroots, but the system's slowly improving, with private entities being brought into the talent development process and elite athletes getting well laid out plans.
Hockey - even before Tirkey - improved dramatically upon the appointment of Elena Norman as CEO. A professional administrator trusted to administrate, Norman oversaw changes over a decade that culminated in India's first hockey Olympic medal in 41 years (and then a repeat at the next Games).
The common thread with all three mentioned federations is that they've shown that very often, those at the lower rungs are fully capable and willing to put in the hard yards... all that's needed is support and direction from the top. In that there's lessons for Sakshi and Vinesh and any other athlete wanting to bring about change in their sport. Whichever route you take to get to power, the basics are simple: as much as you trust yourself and your experience, also hire competently and trust the professionals.
They've already learnt the most important lesson of all: patience. For in some sports, change will be slow, very slow. Elite level results can often mask what goes on behind the scenes -- just take wrestling's medals for example -- however for it to reflect on the ground level, it will take time. That's just the nature of things in a country as vast and complex as India. But slow doesn't mean non-moving.
It may sound like a cliché, but if there's a will, it can happen. Like Sakshi says, "that's the thing with change... it's difficult. But not impossible."