Whether it is an enemy attack, invasion, a terrorist attack, a natural calamity. It's always the army that is called in, for rescue operations. And now it is a non-commissioned officer from the army who has brought us the gold medal from the Olympics. Looks like we need the army to rescue us for everything. It is not surprising, because it is a highly trained, superbly fit group of young men and women. So, they will excel in most of the things that they do.
Even in the field of sports, the fitness, dedication, and discipline that they have and the teamwork above all will make them excellent performers while the common man will have to spend a lot of time and effort in developing these traits. Not that the army person or the soldier has got these qualities easily. He also spends a lot of time and effort and above that, if he is going to play a sport, he will have to spend hours developing the skill that is necessary for the sport. Even if it is a sport like shooting which we expect the soldiers to be good in, to be a marksman will require long hours of practice.
In a battle, even though marksmanship is important it is not about hitting the bull’s eye100 meters away but how calmly they can hold their nerves and hit a charging target who is shooting at them, thirty feet away. Even for the soldier who has a head start, long hours of practise are inevitable.
If we want our children to compete at an international level, one has to recognise the time, effort, money, and dedication necessary to achieve excellence. One cannot expect them to achieve medals for the country overnight in an international arena. Parents will have to be ready. The government, corporates, private trusts, and individuals will have to chip in. Only then, our athletes can compete at the international level. It is also important to see that the skills of these athletes can be upgraded to manage a career post-retirement from sports.
(The writer is the founder of Aarsha Vidya Foundation. You can write to him at aarshavidyaf@gmail.com)
