MUMBAI: At SportzBiz 2003, sports celebrities : four-time world amateur Billiards champion Michael Ferreira; All England badminton singles title-winner P Gopichand India's youngest ever national racing champion Karun Chandhok, film and theatre actor and sports writer Tom Alter, and sports commentator and TV personality Harsha Bhogle were the cynosure of all. And they hurled some targeted questions and raised some prickly issues. At the heart of it all was the plea: "What more should we do in order to get recognition and sponsorships?!"

Read on to get a more detailed wrap up of what they said:

Viewpoints of the sports celebrities:

The CII has already initiated a list of sports where India has excelled and would stand a good chance to become a world beater. It has encouraged its member organizations to associate with such sports. Michael Ferreira

Michael Ferreira
* Talented sports achievers needed proper marketing.
The current era was driven by commerce and television propelled sports into the limelight. Marketing sports properties and events was a natural progression.
* Certain sports have a natural advantage as they are visually appealing - they are interesting to watch in terms of colour, arenas, physicality, personalities.
* Sports marketers must endeavour to promote other sports, that don't enjoy the above-mentioned advantages, on television
* Several games such as bowling and darts have become popular on television as sports marketers managed to package them well
* In the UK, billiards captured the imagination of the women audiences who loved to watch well-attired handsome men
* Passion for the game of cricket is a strange phenomenon and a one-off case. All the anguish that fans feel when the team loses is forgotten with a single win.
* Mega bucks were spent during the last World Cup but consumers remember the Shahrukh Khan-Sachin Tendulkar Pepsi advertisement as the one which will be etched in memory for a long time. CEOs must hold the agencies and their marketing teams accountable for the bucks that are spent.
* India has not managed a single Olympic individual atheletic medal till date. Corporates must don the mantle of being responsible and socially conscious citizens in order to promote sports in India.
* The CII has already initiated a list of sports where India has excelled and would stand a good chance to become a world beater. It has encouraged its member organizations to associate with such sports.
* P Gopichand had four knee operations and went on to excel in badminton whereas the media focused on Sachin Tendulkar's knee. Gopichand won the All-England, I have won unumerable titles, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi pocketed Grand Slam title. But where are we today?

There is a demand for every sport in India as huge crowds were witnessed during the recent National Games in Hyderabad. People in India love to watch international stars and international calibre events P Gopichand

Pullela Gopichand
* There is a demand for every sport in India as huge crowds were witnessed during the recent National Games in Hyderabad.
* Cricket may be big today but it was never big two decades back.
* All the associations and administrators must realize that they can develop the game and make it big at certain peaks.
* People in India love to watch international stars and international calibre events.
* Associations need to be responsible and a mechanism has to be put in place to have accountability.
* Advertisers will give achievers a good deal if their games are marketed well.

Currently, all the other news (politics, religion) sucks and the little bit of good news that exists gets bitter coated. Sports, the real feel-good news, engages viewers and consumers. It is a carefully scripted drama. Harsha Bhogle

Harsha Bhogle
* Television and cricket are being touted as the most popular and most hated things today.
* Currently, all the other news (politics, religion) sucks and the little bit of good news that exists gets bitter coated. Sports, the real feel-good news, engages viewers and consumers. It is a carefully scripted drama.
* Without TV, sports marketing doesn't exist.
* The sorry state of affairs, as far as non-cricket sports is concerned, is linked to Doordarshan's attitude
* There are some viruses afflicting sports today: DD and the federations, lead the pack. The public broadcaster has failed miserably to present and package sports well.
* Organised sports (cricket or non-cricket) gets recalls and is sampled.
* Sports like stars, icons and heroes. TV channels must create stars and elevate the aspirational levels of viewers.
* Sports personalities cut across clutter and allow brands to get attention.
* Cricket in India is aspirational, virile, passionate and allows people to get involved. It evokes the same kind of passion that soccer in Brazil does.
* It has gone beyond the rigours of on-field exploits and become a habit.
* Private sports channels have learnt the art of packaging sports well and giving audiences what they want.
* The consumer appreciates the better quality and feels that the broadcaster really cares.
* The packaging of the private sports channels has ensured that the younger generation has started lapping up international sports fares.
* The global icons have become Indian icons whereas the Indian sports achievers don't get recognized.
* The sports business fraternity has to ensure that India's younger generation is exposed to Indian icons too.
* There is a breed of young-at-hearts who believe in fitness and are also nostalgic about those sports they used to indulge in their school-college days. Broadcasters and marketers need to tap these sentiments and ignite the existing submerged passions.
* When cricket had its share of controversies, other sports should have grabbed the opportunity.
* Uplinking laws need to be streamlined and the government must support the private sports broadcasters. There were times when programmes have been pulled off air due to the delay in government permission.

India's major problem has been the ability of collective brilliance to win medals - individual brilliance is our forte. Karun Chandhok

Karun Chandhok
* A lot of time, effort and innovation are required in marketing sports. But the effort is well worth it.
* The government needs to invest and back globally popular sporting events such as Motorsports.
* The racing teams could become sporting icons and this could lead to merchandising opportunities.
* India's major problem has been the ability of collective brilliance to win medals - individual brilliance is our forte.
* All the aspects of Indian sports need to be centralized.

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