Mom, Dad, why not Sports?

Parents are a big support for their kids in life. When children in India think of sports as a career some parents deny it while some parents support this decision.

Some parents may stress upon the fact that winning secures more importance than sportsmanship and learning or enjoying sports.  This may also lead to the development of a wrong attitude towards the ethics of sports.Parents must encourage their children instead of pushing them beyond their abilities. Motivation is the best way to support.

"Its not whether you get knocked down,its whether you get up"-Vince Lombardi (American footballer).

Parents should always let their children set their own goals in sports as well as life. They shouldn't let their child loose hope. Criticizing and yelling only discourages and lowers their confidence.

This is one of the many reasons that has led to less sports players.

Cricket Vs Other Sports

India is one of the most backward countries when it comes to sports. Its not only about the competency of our sportsman and athletes  but also about the apathy of administrators, media and the society. The media is obsessed only with cricket and refuses to promote any other sports. The general public goes crazy over even a small achievement in cricket but is least bothered about greater achievements in other sports. Even the longest reigning world chess champion Vishwanathan Anand is a far lesser known than even a reserve IPL player. Less said the better about our sorts administrators and the government. They are more interested in foreign junkets than advancement of sports. We do not have a comprehensive sports policy that can help us build a strong backbone of sports administration to nurture healthy sports environment in the country.

 

In short there is wide spread unwillingness in every section of our society to develop a strong sporting culture. Surely there are enough skilled people but our sports administration is too lazy to challenge the status quo.

Sportastic Career?

Stressing upon sports, it is a general view in which education has become a more 'attention seeking' subject, with sports, a gradually depreciating topic (in terms 'career choosing'). With respect to the aspect of career choosing, sports extensively lacks in votes.

'A good player, aiming to make a career in sports is looked down upon, where as an inefficient, under-performing engineer is given more importance.' Politics also finds prominence in the field of sports. May a player be mediocre, but with political impact or a political backing he/ she is at advantage in sport selections and trials.

Sports no longer seems to be a national priority. It has become a ‘trivial topic’, having almost no importance. Recently, India has been kicked out of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), due to the corrupt actions undertaken by the Indian officials. Although India has a strong supply of promising sportsmen and athletes, certain political as well as socio-economical drawbacks of our country have countered the success of promotion of sports in our country.

Sports vs. Academics

Nelson Mandela once said “Sport has the power to change the world…it has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.”

How many people do you think follow this in the same spirit as it was quoted?

We live in a country where education in academics or rather literal education is paid more importance than sports. Statistics say:

• Students' mindset and opinion about sports changes with age- at the age of ten, majority of the students develop a choice of making sports, a career, while at the age of fifteen, only two out of every 25 would like sports as a career.
• 8 out of every 13 students have witnessed discouragement for sports and promotion in academics.
• 9 out of every 10 students prefer academics over sports.

(based on a survey conducted in various schools in Pune)

Then comes the question of funds and income. It is a serious issue when players and athletes are restricted from sports opportunities due to lack of funds. It is a general mindset of people that white collared jobs fetch more money and income rather than sports which involves rigorous training along with a struggle to ‘create an impact in their chosen field of sports.’

Moreover coaching facilities, equipments, and other sports related issues lack in quality as well as quantity. The number of coaches and instructors belonging to this field is also not sufficient.

However, with certain games like cricket gaining prominence in today’s scenario has certainly led to an improvement in the field of sports. With the latest state of the art Sahara stadium, and industrialists like the Ambanis, Tatas, Venkys supporting the cause of sports has seen a shift in the attitude of people countrywide.

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