If someone persuades you to believe that work and money are what we require in life, then the person is wrong. The maxim, Health is wealth possesses its gravity. It is not something that we should read, but that is how we should conduct our lives. Most of us do not discern the importance of games and sports and relate them only as recreation. But games and sports sustain a larger-than-life impact on mortal beings. They establish the physical, psychic, social, environmental, and spiritual prosperity of an individual.
The value of games and sports blooms right from our school days. Schools assist children recognise the significance of work and play as two distinct parallels of life. Individuals should look at them from personal, social, cultural, and national perspectives. Games and sports help in the aggregate development of the mind.
By playing outdoors we can sustain a healthy livelihood. Many lifestyle diseases like hypertension, blood pressure, diabetes, piles, obesity, etc. are caused when we exclude games and sports from our lives. Children become weak, lazy, and lethargic when they refrain from playing games. Moreover, it makes their lives bleak and boring. It establishes them resort to computers, mobile phones, and other electronic devices at a premature age that causes mental infirmities and insomnia.
Recreational sports render unparalleled excitement, joy, and thrill. It instils confidence in an individual and heralds the sportsman spirit of a person. They also prepare a soul to accept success and failure in one’s stride, in a sporting spirit. A sportsman is defined to become broad-minded, understanding, disciplined, impartial, accepting, and more secular in the way he or she executes decisions and tackles life problems.
The importance of games and sports is colossal in a pupil’s life. Sports support the developing bodies of children to remain active. The bones and muscles develop; the body remains fit. The appreciation and satisfaction of playing games render a smiling face at all times. All these are important traits of a successful life.
Sense of Sportsmanship
Games evoke a sense of sportsmanship and widen one’s horizon of understanding and observing things in life. This is why all schools must give tremendous attention to games and sports. Deplorably in India, some schools cannot furnish funds for sports equipment, and some others do not contain a private playground.
Budgeting for Games
Schools should lay out a plan for the creation of a sports fund while estimating an annual budget. Just like academics, all schools must gauge the importance of games and sports.
Health Risks
Schools and parents who only focus on their ward’s education, fail to comprehend that sports and tournaments develop children mentally and physically active and robust. They require the children to complete their home assignments after school hours rather than play games. Lack of games lead to weight gain in children and threatens their body with high-risk diseases. The academic system of the country must witness a revolution and give sports and games the prerogative they need.
Do Schools Neglect Sports?
The public and authorities in an institution frequently show sheer negligence for sports and games. Lack of information about international gaming events among students proves that there is no culture of games in society.
India Averages in Sports
Shining in life as a sportsperson is increasingly difficult. It is evident from our country’s weak representation in international games events. We cheered and felt honoured when India won one gold and two bronze medals in the best-ever performance in Beijing Olympics. But do we encourage our successive generation to become great sports individuals?
Time and again, it is necessary to inspire children for sports at a very tender age. They need to have confidence in them to enthusiastically support and contribute to the Olympics. Training, motivating, funding, and backing up the juvenile members of the society will help Indians shatter the monotony of being second best in the Olympics.
The Unlucky Ones
In the inadequacy of funds and fluency, the players are incapable of pouring their sports skills to generate a name in the future. Not every ardent sportsman is born with a silver spoon. Studies show that the prosperous and influential ones are more fortunate and get the chance to display their talent.
The ones hailing from the remotest corners of India remain unknown and unwelcome in these fields. Authorities should educate themselves with the Importance of Games and Sports and help rural youths figure their way to national and international level contests.
Training and Motivation
Most schools in India do not direct or inspire students to play Hockey – the national game of India, while it is predominately performed in significant cities of India. The players lack impulse and are unable to play the game properly as they fail to maintain the proper diet and habits necessary for engaging in a satisfactory game.
Not Just Cricket
The predominant sport in India is cricket and the entire nation dances to the tunes of the game. If parents of adolescent children influence them to represent a game professionally, their sole option remains cricket. The infrastructure and the mentality of society are to blame. There are many other popular games played around the world, hence parents must give a thought to consider entertaining their children equally in other sports as well.
Availability of Training Places
A training place such as a playground is essential for young men and women to prepare for a sports contest. Success or failure in a contest is secondary. The prime focus should be on enough foundation to practice and perfect the sport. By understanding the importance of games and sports, people can alter the quality of life and their spirit in this field.
Sports in Rural Schools
Seventy percent of 1.3 billion Indians live in villages. If we wish that India should be excelling in Sports just like in academics, then we need to induce the children in rural schools. Schools in the suburbs and outskirts need to hunt and tap latent talent in rural children through the rural sports program.
Nowadays, India grants better amounts for the welfare and development of sports. Students can also avail sports scholarships if they can prove their quality in the field.
Government’s Initiative
There are effective measures by which the government can guarantee the active participation of school children in games. Mock drills and sessions showcasing the importance of games and sports should be conducted annually in all government schools. A long term national sports policy for children seeks schools to encourage children in playing games regularly.
Improved Training
Where proper training equipment and allocation of space for several games are included, the current coaching and practice facilities should also be enhanced and expanded. Players expect a fair and unbiased selection for national and international games.
The government has paved the way for talent acquisition and practice. Accordingly, the authorities must assist a sportsperson who can display and exercise the importance of games and sports for training and competitions in India and abroad.
Fund Creation
A sufficient fund is set aside for the purchase of supplies and sports kits. Special reserves are made for doctors, masseurs, trainers, etc. Sportsmen from the remote suburbs also need facilities for specialised training and for attending seminar conferences at major international sports events so that they can perceive the extent of development required on an international scale.
Awards and Privileges
To boost encouragement and confidence, acknowledgements and rewards are essential. Numerous scholarships and prizes like Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, Arjuna Award, Dhyanchand Award, Dronacharya Award, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy, Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Award, etc. are brought back home by sportsmen who displayed exemplary performance at national and world stage. Their sensational and exceptional performance captures the attention of thousands of people who look up to them.
School Rewards
Many schools award students with trophies, medals, scholarships, and other privileges so that other students are also inspired to take part in school sports. The current generation needs to consider sports as a career. Some institutions even waive fees for students who obtain admission under the sports category. These rewards will aid the country to comprehend the importance of games and sports and advance higher.
Some Benefits of Sports and Games for Children
- Increases the level of confidence
- Teaches discipline, social acceptability, and impressive manners
- Boosts mental health
- Improves sociability
- Builds beneficial qualities like fair play, team spirit, and co-operation
- Inculcates firm decision making
- Aids in healthy metabolism
Sports and Games not merely make a person fit and healthy but also aids and guide in maintaining a relaxed lifestyle. They are intimately bounded to real-life situations. For instance, a player abides by the decision adopted by the referee. This quality helps him to comply with the decision implemented by someone of authority. Consequently, it is never harder for him to respect the views of other people. In addition, children learn how to compromise over an argument and forge healthy relations with their peers. The importance of games and sports is thus incalculable.
Junior boys and girls are flexible, energetic, brimming with full of strength and stamina. If the Indian schools would undertake an initiative to believe and realise how necessary it is to sincerely devote time for sports, the academic performance of the children will also be strengthened as the fundamental equation is HEALTHY BODY = HEALTHY MIND!
