On a regular chat with one of my friend (who is a league one district cricket player), we discussed the preceding of the cricket match played by India against England on the previous day, which was published in the daily. In that, Dilip Vengsarkar criticized Indian team’s lacklustre performance. To my instant shock, my friend asked who Dilip Vengsarkar is, it was then I realised how history matters in developing Indian sports.
WHO IS HE?
Naturally according to most of the great men and women the word history often gives the meaning of “his+story” that is to express their success story to the next generation. They did this to show how success can be achieved after learning from failure.
Though India is a nation of unaltered characteristics right from the period of civilizations, now it’s time for her to alter her views towards sports and its developments.
There is also a question which needs to be answered immediately by our predecessor is “Is the history of our nation in all fields rightly conveyed to each and every citizen?” certainly the answer will be “No; it doesn’t conveys the message effectively”.
We miserably fail to understand the fact that history serves as a pathway for the present generation from our seniors and that’s why it matters a lot for our nation since it can inspire millions to take up game as lives not only careers with utmost effect and respect. More over knowing about the evolution, development, modernization and popularization of games will teach a player the great morals of sports.
In India the other than cricket, hockey and few other games the importance of the games and its player’s history remains an unfinished and unnoticed work. This methodology needs to be completely eradicated.
For the betterment of games history let me share my ideas. First, its coaches at junior levels all across the second largest populated country, needs to be clearly and correctly educated about their respective games history. Their role is not limited to develop players mentally, skilfully and physically alone because, it is here, where the seed sown is nurtured and strengthened with its roots grown deep into the ground. So, there is no better place than this figurative history. Once the seeds germinate successfully, then it has to be watered (monitored) regularly. Here the watering refers to maintain in the prodigies love for the game. For this the coach needs to constantly allocate a session in their weekly regime on passing the history down to the younger guns.
Reading or knowing about the legends of our game will automatically produce a positive vibes or Goosebumps among us. It’s pretty similar to the feeling we feel in our soul when we read about our freedom and its fighter’s history. Sometimes it so happens that we get Goose bumps.
For a developing nation like ours, we always seeks an inspiration from a developed nation, but here lies the mantra that is if we are well versed of our own history then there is no need of inspiration required to perform at higher level because, it tells the successful stories of many people who made the world to look up to them.
The biggest and never ending problem of our country’s sports administration is that we don’t have time for each and every legend in the fields as we opt only for the higher profile names and we don’t care or even forget the contribution of those other players around them. We need to treat every legend equally.
With the advancement of technology we need to regularly make documentaries or biopic of individual or teams to motivate the generation to come. The family members or team members of the winning teams or great legend need to come forward in conveying the exact happenings of the events with may be considered as a sports tutorial for the upcoming players.
The purity of the game will only be observed when we know the tradition of the game. Taken into the account is Chess, which was a based on the ancient Indian game Chaturanga. Even today, after all this years we are still one of the toppers in this game as the tradition of the game is well known or followed by our people.
Many experts say that India is lagging in international arena is due to lack of flag bearers or inspiring faces. Off course it is true debate that how long can we exits by singing the same symphony of long-gone legends. The main purpose of the history that it needs to be rewritten, then only the meaning of creation of history is achieved. Here I am happy to mention few legends, Michael Phelps of USA and Usain Bolt of Jamaica because the evolved as great sports men by beating their own records thus rewriting their own history. We also need to remember that every run Sachin scores in international cricket is a new world record and every world title that Vishwanathan Anand wins is a new record for us.
In the world of group events individual alone cannot make a difference every time but individual together can make a difference. Because there are players like Dravid, Dhanraj Pillay, Anand etc., continuously guiding or even sharing the games history to the coming generation which is something really a happy news to the sports world of India.
I conclude the article with a remembrance of small incident took place in the divorced USSR, where its second leader Joseph Stalin’s daughter once told him that she is going to study medicine as higher studies but he urged her to study the history first and then go for anything. He did this to remember her daughter that history not only tells us the tradition and evolution but it also makes us well prepared to face the challenge ahead.
This incident makes me think that “A player will always be an incomplete package if he fails to follow the games root and tradition”.
