Sports : A Modern Battle Arena






Sporting events are universal. There are countless events and games that are both individual and team-oriented. Team sports like football or cricket are famous all around the world for providing
quality entertainment to people irrespective of their social status, religion, class or gender.
Critics are quick to dismiss sports as merely a form of escapism and entertainment. Even if we
can’t definitively dismantle that argument, sports and the stories behind each victory and
triumph will give any critic a fair and comprehensive amount of evidence proving the importance
of sporting events in any society. I’d like to divert the attention of readers to the 1983 and 2011
Cricket World Cup. A whole nation united when the Indian cricket team won the World Cup. Every
single Indian felt proud even though we knew that we had no share in the team’s victory. So the
argument of sports being a mere form of entertainment loses all credibility. It is nothing more
than a playground insult. Any sport at the international level becomes a matter of national pride
and unity. In short, sports becomes a place of war. Not the violent and destructive one, but a
war of skill and talent. A war of subtlety and finesse. A war of sportsmanship. We make
sportsmen folk heroes. Their loss becomes our loss. Viewers thus feel personally offended
when another person ridicules their favourite team or sportsman. Myths are created in every
sport throughout the years. “The Hand of God” by Diego Maradona or a world cup win. The
triumph of Muhammad Ali or Mary Kom. Such stories inspire. It gives us the motivation
to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. Thus, for people competing in a sport, it
becomes a matter of life and pride, both personal and societal.
Sports has become life for many athletes throughout the world. We all know the stories of
Brazilian footballers becoming world-famous despite being brought up in poor conditions. These
are the quintessential stories of survival. Sports or in this case football, has helped people from
obscure parts of the world rise like a phoenix and make their footprint on human history.
Sports and sporting events thus become a time capsule of sorts, preserving human history
within the time of a game. Another less known story of human perseverance through sports
comes in the form of three-time Olympic gold medalist Pyrros Dimas who escaped persecution
in Lebanon, escaping to Albania and then finding purpose through the sport of weightlifting
competing for Greece. A refugee from Lebanon thus became a Greek hero. A relatively
unknown country of Croatia became world-famous through football.
Such storied inspire millions around the world to be better and strive for a future through sports.
If Croatia, a country with a population of only 40 lakh people can reach the finals of a world
cup in a sport like Football, you have to wonder why a country with a staggering 135 crore
population like India is struggling on the world stage when it comes to sports. I am not negating
the achievements of the Indian Cricket Team or individual achievements of individual athletes
like Sushil Kumar, P.V Sindhu or any other world-class athletes from India. The fact of the
matter is that India has the potential to produce innumerable champions in a sports arena. India
is still a young country unlike ageing and stagnating countries like China.
Major steps need to be taken to promote sports and nurture talent in India without compromising
the education of a student. China is an excellent example of this. They have many provincial
training facilities where young children are handpicked from a young age based on their talent
and nurtured to become future Olympic champions without it hindering their education in any
way. To make sports go hand-in-hand with education, it should be seamlessly indoctrinated into our
educational system. Coaching should be given from the school level with proper
facilities. Government organizations should craft intricate plans to allot necessary funds for the
construction of proper infrastructure while also adopting measures to ensure the proper
maintenance of equipment. These methods are never a bona fide way to make India better on
the world stage when it comes to sports. Changes shouldn’t happen only on the surface level. It
should be a comprehensive approach.
Incorporating sports into our daily lifestyle is never a bad thing. It promotes the overall growth of
a human being both mentally and physically if it’s done the right way. Values like discipline,
perseverance, grit, mental fortitude and other positive attributes can be nurtured and developed
through sports. It would be superfluous and pedantic if I state that the indoctrination of sports
into our lifestyle will fix all the problems our country is facing. On the contrary, it is also not an
overstatement if I say that including sports activities in our daily life helps nurture a resilient future generation. This will eventually and inevitably lead to our own
sporting myths and heroes being born in the future. Let us all hope that it happens because
hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies.
-Yadu Krishnan. P
(District weight lifting champion )

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BANARAS

Image
                           Banaras                         Kedarnath Singh                                                        - Lalith S               Kedarnath Singh (1934-2018) was a poet of Hindi Literature who won the Jnanpith Award in 2013. His collections include Abhi Bilkul Abhi, Yahan se Dekho, Zameen Pak Rahi Hai, Akaal Mein Saaras, and Bagh Banaras – Kedarnath Singh (Translated from Hindi by Nidhi Singh) Spring descends on this city suddenly and when it does a whirl of dust rises from Lehartara or Manduadih and coats the tongue of this ancient place. That which exists quivers with life while that which doesn’t sprouts and grows and at the Dashashwamed...
Read more

"THE BELL TOLLS FOR THEE"

Back in 2017, on September 5th, gunfire erupted at a house in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. On that day, along with Pansare and Kalburgi, Gauri Lankesh too became a martyr of free speech. That was not the end, attacks on journalists, known and unknown have seriously escalated in the recent years. From January 1st of this year , to this juncture,I pen this, several journalists had been jailed and one journalist killed.Where? Right in the world's largest democracy, Why? For accomplishing their duty! For lashing out at the bitter truth. The history of Indian media which went conjointly with the British history always made a revolutionary impact with its valiant efforts to uncover the brutalities of the then rule. It was in 1780, the first newspaper ' Bengal Gazette' started, paving the way for many other dailies. These newspapers had a critical approach to the government and brought into light the faults of those in power. It enabled extensive discussions among the public and forged b...
Read more

CHILDREN OF HEAVEN

Image
    Children of Heaven is a 1997 Iranian family drama film written and directed by Majid Majidi. Majid Majidi is a prominent Iranian film director,producer and a screenwriter who started his film career as an actor. In his film,Majidi has touched upon many themes and genres and has won numerous International Awards. The Children of heaven,The Color of Paradise, The Song of Sparrow, Muhammad :The messenger of God, Sunchildren are some of his notable films. The film Children of Heaven premiered in February 1997 at the Tehran Film Festival and was the recipient of several National awards and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language film in 1998. This film was distributed by Miramax. It deals with the story of a brother and sister and their adventure over a pair of lost shoes. In this film we can see an innocent brother and his sister who love each other.  They seldom complained about the family's financial conditions. They adjusted to their circumstances and l...
Read more