Why our children need early exposure to sport

Sports teaches you character; it teaches you to play by the rules; it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose—it teaches you about life.

- Jayant Chaudhary

Providing avenues to play sports and learn from those experiences is the key for our mainstream formal education systems to help children discover their potential and grow into well-rounded individuals.

Apart from the imperative to create a strong sports culture which can have obvious positive societal impacts in terms of health and well-being, a medal or win at the international stage helps every Indian position themselves as true vishwa vijetas (world champions).

As a nation striving to expand our footprint on the global elite sports stage, we must ensure that children are exposed to different sports at an appropriate age to help identify talent and then build on that foundation.

It’s time we view sports not just as a regular extracurricular activity in schools, but as an integral part of our educational pathways.

On World Children’s Day, I had the privilege of participating in an inspiring interaction with Abhinav Bindra, India’s first individual Olympic gold medalist, and several extraordinary sports achievers from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) and Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs).

This event brought together young talent from across the nation, both physically and virtually, to learn from a champion who embodies the spirit of excellence, perseverance, and humility.

Bindra’s words struck a chord with the dazzled audience.