NATIONAL SPORTS DAY 2019: HIDDEN POWER OF SPORTS

By Mrs. Jayshree Patel

What can a rubber band teach you? The strength to stretch and spring back into shape without snapping. Isn’t it a wonderful quality to possess? To be resilient. Sports can be used as a medium to cultivate, sustain and enhance resilience. The world witnessed a display of such strength and resilience when PV Sindhu won gold and created history at the BWF Championship 2019. Another example is Manasi Joshi, who also won gold at the Para-Badminton Championship 2019. Losing her leg didn’t deter her from playing and winning at her chosen game. Could she have achieved this feat without failing? Failure teaches us to be resilient. Sports and resilience are interrelated. It improves not just your physical health, but your mental health as well. According to research reports on mental health from the World Health Organisation, depression and anxiety are the leading concerns plaguing the youth of today. Sports have the power to transform your mental, physical and emotional state. Psychologists have published research that proves that the brain releases chemicals called “endorphins” that cause the receptors in the brain to manage and endure pain. It is also true that young teens who play sports are better at tackling challenges in life when they become adults. They build better friendships, stay fit, take more risks and manage conflict more effectively. By making sports compulsory for all students and providing Physical Education as a subject in grades 11 and 12, we at GD Goenka Public School, ensure that kids become physically and emotionally fit. Once the child develops the habit of physical activity, there will be marked improvement in their diet. They will automatically reject a sedentary lifestyle and will prefer stepping out of the house to play instead of staying in. They will also be happier with a joyful spirit. On the occasion of National Sports Day 2019, we aim to inculcate the habit of playing sports in all students at GD Goenka.