Organized sports are one of the great contributions made by the ancient Greeks to human culture. History of Greece tells us that the Greek society of ancient times showed extraordinary interest in sports and they were the first to give the concept of sports stadia and Olympics. The concept was borrowed by the Roman Empire and the west from the Greeks. Of course, they made improvement on the entire activity and brought it to a scientific level so much so that sports came to be recognized as one of the most delightful activities of human beings.
Physical discipline is of crucial importance to the health and happiness of a society. But physical discipline is also a facet of tradition besides being a matter of personal taste and interest. Human body has great potential for sports and related activities. Fortunately, mankind has developed a broad framework of health regime connected to sports and games. It is not only a great source of entertainment but also a marvel indicating the prowess and ingenuity hidden in a human being.
It is somewhat disappointing that though the youth of our State have great potential for sports and related activities yet there is not sufficient and up to date provision for engaging the youth in sports. The result is that our talent is lost. The real problem is that we do not have a sports policy in the State. By sports policy we mean to have a clear cut official programme of promoting sports and ensuring excellence of our youth in tournaments and sports events. Our legislators are vying with one another for stadia in their respective constituencies. They even proffer their claims over and above others who deserve it better. But very unfortunately they do not care to ask the Government to lay down sports policy which would serve as the roadmap for promotion of sports and athletics in the State.
We learn that sometimes back the Department of Youth Services and Sports formulated draft of State Sports Policy in consultation with J&K State Sports Council, Department of Physical Education, University of Jammu, Shri Mata Vaishnodevi University, eminent sports persons of the State and other stakeholders. The draft was placed in the public domain for objections and suggestions. But a long time has gone by and nothing has been heard of the draft policy report. On contacting concerned officers in the Government no clear information could be culled out regarding the status of the report. It seems that the Government has put the matter on the back burner and thus has thrown cold water on the hopes of hundreds and thousands of youth in the State who would have liked an opportunity of demonstrating their potential for sports. Actually we have not been able to develop sports culture in our society and our educational institutes. We lack facilities in our educational institutes like playing grounds, good coaches, sports material and adequate funds for participation in sports events and competitions and incentive for the sportsmen and sportswomen. In particular we lag behind in encouraging female sportspersons to excel in various sports and win a position in inter-state competitions. This trend needs to be reversed. We would recommend that special incentives should be provided for female sportspersons.
In final analysis we would emphasize that by neglecting the role of sports and discouraging the youth from proving their potential in sports, great disservice is done to the youth of the State. This is unhealthy trend and should be reversed.
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