The
world is made up of different kinds of people. While some pursue indoor and
sedentary jobs, others prefer outdoors. Packed with energy and strength there
are a number of youngsters who are passionate about sports and are willing to
take it up as a career.
Sportsmen
develop knowledge of gyming, right diet, physiotherapy and breathing techniques.
They become a storehouse of knowledge about health and well-being.
It is a
difficult career, as failure rate is higher that success. Very few know that
Sachin Tendulkar was successful only one third of the time he played, two thirds’
of the time he played, he failed! It teaches you self-belief. Usually,
everyone in the world tends to put you down, it’s only you who have to believe
in yourself.
My
message to all young sport aspirants is - Be strong and trust your skill. You
will be successful sooner or later. Believe in yourself.
The
dynamics of a match situation often leads to injuries which might take months
to recover. It is a part of a sportsman’s life. It can break your spirit and
the recovery period can be extremely depressing. Many great players had serious
injuries but they rose from ashes to get back and performed better. It’s never
easy to make a comeback. Injuries teaches patience, how to be hopeful in times
of adversities and discipline.
It
teaches Team-Spirit. Players learn to put their team above themselves. A
team man is not selfish, he does not have an ego and works for the larger interest
of the team.
Let’s
examine two scenarios: 1) You perform well, yet your team loses 2) you perform
moderately but your team does well. Which is better?
The
second scenario of course! You will be selected to play at higher levels
The
career graph of a sportsman starts with going for coaching, skill development,
playing tournaments at higher levels-state, premier teams and finally playing
for the country. This is the ultimate dream! Once he retires he continues his
journey as a coach, administrator, fitness therapist, sports psychologist,
commentator or/and a team manager. Major Banks and Corporations have sports
Quota and employ them.
It is a
very good field for women also. Earlier the scope was less because of societal
norms, but now the scene has exploded for them. While Sania Mirza inspired thousands
of young girls to play tennis, P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal motivated thousand
others to start playing badminton. Mithali Raj, Harman Preet Kaur, Joolan Goswami
are famous and respected cricket players. PT Usha shined on the tracks of
Olympics, Anju Bobby Gorge excelled in long jump, Karnam Malleshwari stood 4th
in weight lifting in Olympics while Mary Kom boxed her way to glory. Today there
are equal opportunities for women to make a mark in the world of sports.
Finally,
sports is very important for every one, to develop into a well-rounded and
wholesome personality. It has often been noticed that children who are fulltime
into academics, from corporate schools and colleges, may get good ranks in
competitive exams but usually lack creativity, leadership qualities and team
spirit. Those who have had a fair balance between studies and sports and other
extra-curricular activities are usually very successful in their careers.
In the
last 20 years IPL in Cricket, Football, and Kabaddi has tremendously improved
the visibility and popularity of these sports along with increasing the number
of professional sportsmen in the country. However, Sports as a career in India
is not financially viable yet, except perhaps cricket and that is a major
factor pulling back families from encouraging their children to take sports as
a career option. Governments and Corporations should come forward to sponsor and
finance promising young sports talents in all fields.
- By Mr.C. V. Milind, First class Cricketer- Hyderabad Team
(The author of this article is a Left arms fast Bowler who played for India U-19, 2013-14, four times IPL player –Sunrisers and Delhi Daredevils, India A 2017)