THE spectrum in which the Indian sports scene operates is as wide as the Bramhaputra river itself. One the one hand, opportunities like the one Sunil Chettri has landed as member of the Kansas City Wizards in the US is quite an ego booster for the Indian footballer. On the other, the sleaze controversy surrounding the women’s hockey team not only makes one hang her head in shame — let alone deflate the morale of the few women who would choose a playing career over everything else — but makes dubious sport administrators the focus, the news point and a matter of debate. Athletes are only an afterthought.

Chettri, having played for East Bengal, JCT, Dempo and Mohun Bagan, hasn’t done anything out of the extraordinary. Bhaichung Bhutia, the national team captain, became the first Indian to play professionally in Europe when he signed a three-year deal with English side Bury FC, a league two club. The stint wasn’t all that sweet for the national pinup, marred mostly by injury. His trials for larger, more accomplished clubs like Aston Villa, however, didn’t come through. What must be appreciated in the two cases is the attempt at gaining more exposure and more skill. The national team doesn’t — and for some time won’t — compete in the biggest sporting event there is, the football World Cup. Chettri’s and Bhutia’s attempt to get out of their comfort zone and stick their neck out in European football may not have elevated them to the level of say Cristiano Ronaldo, but it does give them an opportunity to play against a whole different sets of legs, skill and strategies.

But then, just like the interviewer at the US embassy would decline to give you a visa on having attained admission in a low-grade college or university, the Indian media and mass too isn’t going to make much of flash in the pan attempts of Chettri and Bhutia and others who follow suit.

Footballers of Indian origin too have been few and far between and not much help to the Chettris and

Bhutias, with Michael Chopra and Vikash Dhorasoo being the only standout footballers to have cut some ice with the football viewing junta at large. While Michael Chopra grew up in Newcastle eating at chip shops and soaking in the heady football culture much like everywhere else in England, Vikash Dhorasoo, a Telugu with ancestors in Mauritius, was much loved by French side Olympique Lyonnais fans for his crafty dribbles and his creative playmaking skills. Had it not been for the now-infamous French coach Raymond Domenech objecting to the documentary being filmed on the Indian-origin playmaker, Dhorasoo would have become the first Indian-origin to play the 2006 football World Cup in Germany.

But would Dhorasoo have really? Playing the same position in the French squad as legendary Zidane was probably his great undoing unfortunately.

World perception about Asian football is fast changing, although the Indians have little to do with it and the Japanese and Koreans everything to do with it. But this is where our numbers matter.

With such a huge market potential, it won't be long before the game comes calling. Maybe then, when the world's watching, it'll be easier for little Indian break-ins.