Wednesday, 23 March 2022 | PNS | Haldwani
“From a Rs 10 racket and painting walls for a livelihood to clinching a medal for the country and standing here to motivate you all, is a big achievement for me today,” said Indian para-shuttler and Paralympics bronze medallist Manoj Sarkar as he interacted with over 300 children from 75 schools during Meet the Champion programme at Lalit Arya Mahila Inter College in Haldwani on Tuesday.
The initiative that sees Olympians and Paralympians visiting schools to speak to students on the importance of having a balanced diet, fitness and sports has been envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Talking to students about the importance of eating right, the star shuttler said, “No food is good or bad, eating right just means controlled intake of food. It is also important to take on regular physical activities to digest what we eat, remember, Fitness Ki Dose, Aadha Ghanta Roz.”
Motivating students with his life story, he also narrated the difficulties he faced while starting his journey as an athlete with a racket bought by his mother for Rs 10 and how he realised that lack of proper diet was a factor behind his loss in the state-level competitions when he was 18 years old. “I gave my 100 per cent in these competitions but never understood the meaning of balanced diet which is the main source of energy to perform the best in all fields,” he said.
Among the students from 75 schools, more than 20 students from the National Association of Blind also participated in the programme. The students participated in a quiz session based on nutrition, sports and fitness which was conducted by Sarkar during the event.
It is pertinent to mention here that this initiative is being undertaken jointly by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Education as part of the government’s ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
