It is National Sports Day. Today is the birthday of the legendary hockey player Major Dhyanchand Singh. He used to play for India from 1926 till 1949 for the National team. Dhyan Chand is a legendary figure in Indian and world hockey. In 2012, the government of India decided to celebrate his birthday as National Sports Day every year.
We all know that hockey is our national sports. But, why is it that we as a nation can’t think outside Indian Men Cricket team? My second question is; Most of the children grow up playing cricket, but how many actually will get permission to take cricket as their profession?
Life beyond Cricket
The cricket fever still overshadows every other sport in India. It is still the most-watched and glamorous sports in India. But, slowly other games are also picking up. Just like IPL, other games are also having their seasons now. Pro Kabaddi League is watched with enthusiasm these days. Other sports were players are excelling are Hockey, Chess, Wrestling, Basketball, Shooting, Archery, Badminton, Tennis, Athletics and Weight lifting.
Women succeeding in sports
When I was in school, the activities that we had in our girls’ school were karate, kabaddi, kho-kho and badminton. Anything apart from that was not considered as a female-friendly sport. We have come a long way from that mindset. These days Indian women athletes are winning medals all over the world and making us proud.
Last week, P V Sindhu won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championships. She became the first Indian to become a world champion in badminton. Hima Das from Assam holds the current Indian national record in 400 metres race for her timing. Swapna Barman from West Bengal is the first Indian sportsperson to win a gold medal for Heptathlon in the Asiad. Shreyasi Singh from Bihar is a gold medal winner in shooting at Commonwealth Games. Marry Kom is well known in the boxing community. Indian Women Cricket team is getting attention. Women are now participating and bringing medals for India for various other sports like wrestling, shooting, tennis, golf, hockey, cricket, gymnastics, archery, football and sailing.
Schools encouraging sports
Schools these days try to attract parents by listing out the number of sports activities they have in school. The list includes swimming, basketball, volleyball, martial arts, horse riding in general. But, how many schools in Patna are actually teaching anything beyond basketball, volleyball and martial arts in school? The environment in most of the schools in Patna is primarily academics oriented. They don’t give the same level of importance to extracurricular activities as academics.
We, at Patna Diaries, would urge all parents to encourage their children to participate in sports and extracurricular activities in school. We need it for overall personality development and team building.
