Sports In India
A Culture or Festivity?
From Media Outlets to Whatsapp status are shimmering with the glaze of Olympic medals. Mirabai Channu, P.V.Sindhu, Lovlina Borgohain, Bajrang Punia, Neeraj Chopra the names are being celebrated all across the country. But until what time? When the festivity of the Olympics subsides, the names also disappear from the frontline.
The sports and festival culture is so related in India. The hustle and bustle start three days before the event and end after a couple of days. We indeed have a lot of sports enthusiasts in our country, but still, we lack sports culture. That is why sports personalities who made headlines fade away.
Today women empowerment and women in sports are hot topics after Mirabai Channu, P.V.Sindhu, and Lovlina Borohain bagged victory. People only think about empowerment and revolution when someone stands on a pedestal. Once the celebration slides down, people are back to drawing lines based on gender, caste, creed, religion, and ethnicity.
Of course, when the next Olympics kick-off we all will be back in our tracksuits cheering up the participants, as part of the mob culture. But, are we really driven into the intricacies of sports. For many of us, it is all about bringing home medals.
This is not the first time we are talking about the need of carving out a sports culture. But this is high time to discuss and bring new opportunities to encourage budding sportspersons to fulfil their dream. The change should start from the educational system in our country. Yes of course! This is not a brand new thought, but this is critical to make a difference. Most educational institutions in our country are incurious about encouraging students into sports.
We still live inside an academic shackle where the Physical education period is engaged by other subject teachers. And all the sports activities are slumped to occasional assembly warm-up sessions or sports day. Though authorities are trying to pull off sports towards the mainstream, it still lacks a rigid ground. Most parents in India fear the uncertainty in sports-related careers. Also, even passionate sportspersons are unaware of the opportunities and procedures involved in entering the sports industry.
In the backdrop of our society, there are still parents, teachers, and guardians who pull back young talents from trying their luck in sports. Some consider it as a hobby, not a profession. And some are concerned about the consistency in sports. In fact, there is a strong need to address these issues to promote young sports talents to become role models. And for that, we need to retain our successful sports personalities in the limelight to guide and inspire young minds who are passionate.
