Australian Institute of Sport: The Cradle of Australian Sport

At the 1976 Montreal Olympics Australia failed to win a single gold medal. It was at the time considered a national embarrassment. This lead to the birth of the Australian institute of sport or AIS in 1981, in the capital city of Canberra. Soon enough, the results started showing. In the 1984 Los Angeles summer games Australia finished with a rich haul of 24 medals including 4 golds.

Since then the AIS assembly line has produced many athletes of repute including Luc Longley, the first Australian to play in the NBA alongside Michael Jordan at the Chicago Bulls. Some of AIS's illustrious alumni also include: 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans, 5 time Olympic gold medallist swimmer Ian Thorpe, 2 time winner of FIH's World Player of the Year award Jamie Dwyer and former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting. (Indian 'Hope' Springs up in Aussie Backyard)

As Australia's strategic high performance sport agency, the AIS is responsible and accountable for leading the delivery of Australia's international sporting success. During its 34 years of existence, it has been the cradle of Australia's national sports system. One that is recognised the world over for its ability to identify, develop and produce world, Olympic and Paralympic champions, thanks largely to its state of the art  training facilities. It houses indoor swimming pools with underwater cameras that study each stroke of a swimmer, a in-house bio-mechanics lab to understand the optimum use of muscles and joints of an athlete, an exclusive recovery center that allows athletes to recuperate after a tough match/tournament and an indoor running track with pressure plates underneath to measure the strength of an athlete's stride.

But what sets AIS apart from other state run sports facilities around the world is the use of science in developing its athletes. Unlike the rest of the world, where scientists work in universities and only serve as consultants to the athletes, Australian Institute of Sport has sports scientists on campus that work exclusively with in-house athletes. (Globetrotting Coaches Make World Cup Impact)

Dr David Martin, Senior Physiologist at the Australian Institute for over two decades says, "There are two ways how science helps in the development of an athlete. Firstly, by improving their speed by correcting their technique and secondly by getting the best out of them on competition days." He explains further, "You may have natural talent, you maybe able to perform incredibly well. But you are only really good one day a year or 3 days a year. So we spend a lot of out time trying to understand how can we get a really talented, capable athlete how can you allow them to perform multiple times a year. And that can be another way you see sports science being helpful."

Australian Institute of Sport

© NDTV

A visit to the AIS makes one realise how far behind India is in developing its sportsmen and women. Something that hasn't escaped the foreign eye.

According to Dr Martin "India doesn't win tremendous amounts of medal for is population. And we know within India there is tremendous talent across so many different sports. And we also within India there are many clever people, very bright scientists and amazing coaches and we also know within India there is tremendous passion for sports in India. So you have passion for sports and these amazing minds that can solve so many different problems. And then you have such a huge population within so many individuals out there with great talents. So I think a lot of people around the world, Australia as well, they look at India and think if they ever start to work together and get organised, the whole world would change in sports. Because India has everything you need to be a global power house in Olympic sports."

Maybe then the reason India doesn't do well in Olympic sports is not because we are a genetically inferior race, as most cynics would have us believe. The only plausible reason India doesn't do well in sports could be the lack of good facilities like the Australian Institute of Sport. Yes, you've got the National Institute of Sport in Patiala, but compare NIS to AIS and the difference is like chalk and cheese.

Dr Martin summed it best in the end "In some countries they say you need to put your foot on the accelerator to go faster. in India i think it is a case of taking your foot of the brake and you will go faster."