A sound mind in a sound body, is an old saying, whose significance is as fresh today as it was a hundred years ago. The purpose of education is to bring out all the mental, physical and spiritual potentialities of man.
Both intellectual perfection and exercise of the limbs are necessary for the growth of the personality and character of man.
A healthy body and a sporting disposition are the greatest recommendations a candidate can have to secure a job. Sports develop in students a team spirit, a cordial social temperament and a cosmopolitan outlook.
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A sportsman at school or college is better able to do his part in the field of political and social life. Participation in outdoor games makes person vigorous and lively.
Sports encourage broadmindedness, large-heartedness, generosity, toleration and a spirit give-and-take. A sportsman can victory with equanimity. He is neither too fussy about his defeat or too headstrong about his victory.
His training in the sports field to know the week and strong points of his opponent him the necessary boldness to meet unexpected crises and troubles in his life.
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He does not shy away even when he is face to face with heavy odds. The moral of the nation is built on the sports-fields of schools and colleges.
Tournaments like hockey, cricket, football and volley ball develop the spirit of healthy rivalry. A cricket skipper has more chance to enter an Engineering College or the Indian armed forces than a mere bookworm.
The Greeks attached great value to sports. The Olympic Games had their origin in Greece. They regarded physical perfection as a necessary precondition for intellectual achievements.
The international sports and games events like Commonwealth Games, South Asian Federation Games, International Cricket or Soccer, Asian Games and Wimbledon promote mutual understanding and goodwill.
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The stamina and resistance of a nation are tested in these sports. To prepare our youth for these tests of endurance, sports must be made compulsory in schools and colleges.
The performance of the Indian contingent in the twenty fifth Olympics at Barcelona was deplorable. Countries which are much smaller in size are boasting of their gold in Olympics or of their many medals. India has never won a medal in the Olympics except in hockey.
How can it hope to win any in the future, if our young men and women are not given the necessary practice constantly? “All work no play makes jack a dull boy” is another reason why sports should be made an integral part of the school curriculum.