Some interesting observations about sports in India.
- It took a Supreme Court of India petition, for the schools to start “thinking” of making 90 mins of outdoor sports compulsory. (Supreme Court of India WPC number 423/208 — Kanishka Pandey vs Union of India)
- A survey conducted in India showed 57 Lakh people were sports literate. A mere 0.44% of the population. (https://sportswayoflife.org/survey-of-sports-literacy.php)
It shouldn’t surprise us that we are a nation of “intellectuals”. We are also a nation were 19% of men and 21% of women population is obese. The first step towards Diabetes. It shouldn’t “surprise” us that India has 74 Million diabetics.
Obesity is in low 20% because states of Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand, MP, Chattisgarh, Odisha, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland where the obese population is around 10%, thus bringing down the national average.
So why do Indians not play sports? Everyone has their own answers, but here are a few pointers:
1. 82% of the children who play sports in junior level, drop it between the age of 16 to 21 years…
2. There are a very few certified coaches who can guide and nurture talent and also give confidence to Educators, Parents and the Child to pursue sport.
Top 5 reasons why children drop:
1. Academic pressure,
2. Decline in child’s interest level,
3. Unaware of opportunities in sports,
4. Very high pressure on performance (limited opportunity in sports vs abundant opportunities in academics) and
5. Lack of financial support
(https://www.academia.edu/44721914/DROPOUT_FROM_COMPETITIVE_SPORTS_IN_INDIA?email_work_card=view-paper)
A certified coach potentially controls 3 out of the top 5 reasons to drop out. And sadly we dont have enough of them.
To make a FIT India we need more adults should start playing again and more children to continue playing.
At EvolveSports, we are on a mission to help people play sports better. This blog “A matter of Sports” aims to present our thoughts and aspirations.
More on this subject in our next Blog.
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