Lack of Will

I have been asked to give a talk on India in October, and have been thinking about the picture I should be constructing for the audience. One striking aspect of India is that despite having nearly 1.2 billion people, a tough tropical climate, and interesting terrain, it has never produced any runner of world acclaim. On the other hand, Kenya, which has 1 person for every 20+ Indians, and has a GNI ($680, 2007) that is much less than that of India ($950) has produced many exceptional runners. In fact, Kenyans, both men and women, would be tipped to win any major world race. What makes the Kenyans run so well? Running, as a sport, does not take much investment- a good pair of shoes does it. Many Kenyan runners train barefoot as children. Over the past fifteen years, awareness of sports as an occupation has grown - the money made by cricketers is a good example. One is forced to draw the conclusion that at the core, Indians do not have the heart to put in brutal efforts over a sustained long term- especially when it comes to physical exertion. While there are many laborers working in hard physical and environmental conditions, the spirit to put in dedicated hard work now, with the hope of a payout much later, is simply not there. Taking a short-cut here and now, seems to be the motto/