Saturday, 19 February 2022 | Paritosh Kimothi | Dehradun
Now that the political games appear less intense as all await the results of the Assembly elections, one is somehow reminded of actual sports. The respected monk Swami Vivekanand had once told youth that football will take them closer to heaven than the Geeta. He had also told his friends that till the fag end (he had foretold that he would not live past 40) he was still exercising with dumbbells and trying to keep the body fit. One is talking about sports and physical exercise also due to the general proclivity to glorify sportspersons (winners) when a medal is won and then forgetting the sport in some time. Sports are not only about winning medals in the Olympics and other international and national sporting events. It is good to win medals and all that but that is not what really sport is all about. Where have we gone wrong?
To begin with, cricket seems to be more of a recreational game than a competitive sport. Its popularity at the cost of other sports could be attributed to it being one of the easiest games to excel in and smart marketing. Hockey and football may need a lot more skill, strength and stamina than cricket but these sports elicit temporary focus mostly after international wins like hockey did in the Tokyo Olympics. There are many factors which prevent a nation of about 135 crore people from winning even a decent number of medals in the Olympics. The politics in sports associations and bodies may be comparable to what goes on in political parties. One has to overcome many games in order to play, excel and be recognised in any sport officially. There are infrastructural, financial issues and other factors but the main issue appears to be attitude- which prevents us from comprehending what sport is about and deriving the actual benefit from it.
Ask a psychologist or any other relevant subject expert and he or she will tell you that sports is about both the body and mind. One is not referring to the stereotypical dialogues that speakers deliver in boring programmes because the benefits of sports are real and more than what the establishment has evidently understood and acted upon. Apart from physical fitness, sports teach you that you should strive for victory but also be able to handle defeat and then overcome your weakness to win. It teaches you how to work in a team and release a few types of aggression and emotions in a sporting manner. Any emotion that is suppressed may eventually rise in a manner that cannot always be controlled by the person at that time but sport is one of the means for venting such emotions too. The activity also releases feel good chemicals, making the player happy. Though there has not been any such publicised study at least in India, one can state that the more people play sports, the greater their chances of becoming better citizens which in the end will benefit the society and nation more than a few medals in any international competition. Colleagues who play sports together also tend to function well as a team in official works.
When it comes to the issue of where the powers that be are wrong- take the smart city mission for example. On paper it talks about open grounds and parks too but going by what has been done in Dehradun, even the main open playing space- Parade Ground has been messed up. Whereas once there used to be a few cricket matches and some footballers playing on the ground at the same time apart from the madaris performing their show and homeless folks also sharing the space, it will be difficult for the same scenario to be replicated now with ‘developments’ made to enhance sporting facilities less accessible than the open ground. Instead of providing the children, youth and also the aged with more space for physical activity from walking and jogging to sports, the establishment is making sure that even the remaining spaces are replaced with tar, concrete floors and buildings while new sporting facilities are made far from the city. They do not seem to understand that sports are not just a means to win medals, fame, advertisement contracts and influence- they lead to something even better- a healthy body and mind, a better life.
