UNLEASHING THE POWER OF SPORTS EDUCATION

Yogendra Puranik, popularly known as Yogi San, is the first foreign-origin public school Principal, the first Indian-origin Gazetted officer, and the first Asian-origin Assemblyman in Japan. He currently serves as the President of the All-Japan Association of Indians (AJAI). In this candid conversation with Sports Champ, Yogi San sheds light on his transformative journey, the significance of sports education, and his unwavering commitment to fostering a more inclusive and empowered society in Japan.

Can you tell us about your personal experience with sports education and how it has influenced your life and career path?

Sports has been an integral part of my life since childhood. I have played cricket and football at competitive levels when in school, have been an athlete running midrange and high jumping, ran my first Pune International Marathon when in high school, enjoyed speed-skating, and not to forget also played board games like chess etc. I still continue to enjoy sports. It was my father who would encourage me to participate in everything and also watch sports on television. This also gave me a good understanding of various sports. In recent years playing table tennis and badminton has become my hobby. And now as the principal of a public school in Japan, every day I enjoy some kind of sport or activity with my students. Sports has given me loads of positive energy helping me in an all-round growth. My success in academics can be attributed to the sweat I poured into sports. I felt happy when playing sports and carried that happiness into every aspect of life.

In your opinion, what are the key benefits of sports education for children and young adults?

The benefits of sports are multi-fold spanning across physical growth, mental growth, increased ability to work in teams, increase in sharpness of mind and so on. It is known that sports help in releasing of certain hormones that are essential for our growth. In Japan, we commonly see baseball and rugby players rising high in the corporate ranks. It is considered that playing hard sports makes them mentally strong and thus enables them to handle difficult situations well. Sports players talk less and think more. This helps them in building their own philosophy of life.