A melting pot of sporting activities

Everywhere you looked, there was a sport being demonstrated at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium on Tuesday. The spread ranged from traditional arts like Mallakhamba to contemporary Zumba.

August 29, the birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand, is celebrated as National Sports Day. This year, the Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports (DYES) commemorated the day by displaying 29 sports and many more traditional Indian games to an open audience in a bid to increase awareness and allow people to participate. Sports minister B Nagendra and IPS Officer Shashi Kumar graced the occasion.

Judo coach Triveni Jitendra Singh felt such events would increase awareness amongst kids. "The concept is touch, feel, enjoy and play. All will get a chance to take a look and participate in these sports. Today's people, mainly the kids, are more keen on playing video games. Events like this will expose them to a myriad of outdoor sports and hopefully they can take some inspiration. It is never too late to start and here, we are teaching people the basics of how to play." 

Malaprabha Jadhav, a kurash wrestler and judoka who won bronze in the 2018 Asian Games, told DH: "Very excited to be here. It is the first time many disciplines have been shown in this manner. This is very important. Before, if you wanted to watch a sport, you had to view it from the stadium. But an arrangement like this gives a lot of access and knowledge in one place."

Ismail, a kabaddi coach, welcomed the government's move to mark the day with such events. "We are introducing sports to those that have not been exposed before. It is also an occasion to enjoy for all sportspersons, hence the music and the dancing. People are free to volunteer and try out many physically and mentally stimulating activities and that is the best thing about today's event."

Amid the din of joyous kids dancing to famous Kannada hits near the entrance of the stadium, the calming voice of yoga coach Dr Niranjan Murthy was the only sound being taken in by his volunteers.

"In November 2019, yoga asanas were made into a sport. Demonstrations like today's are possible because of this move. Various sportspersons are using yoga, be it cricketers, hockey players or swimmers. Take swimming for example, yoga helps in regulating the breathing."

"Yoga is essential for maintaining physical and mental synchronisation. There are a lot of distractions for today's kids. Through yoga, they can eliminate all of these. By exposing yoga to the youth, both the state and the central government have done an outstanding job," Dr Murthy adds.