The geckos of Grades 6 to 8 had the wonderful opportunity of having sports megastars as guests for their Talking Titans series on the 9th of December 2020. Mr. Dilip Pandey, NIS Athletic Coach, Sports Authority of India, who currently is working as the Sports Manager at LJ Institute of Sports Management and also successfully runs an athletic coaching club at Ahmedabad was one of the esteemed guests. Not only he has several achievements and titles to his name, he is a strict disciplinarian and also trains soldiers in the Indian army. Complementing Mr. Dilip’s brilliance, the geckos had with them Mr. Akhil Kumar, a boxer par excellence and Arjuna Awardee. Presently, he works as the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Haryana. Having such imminent sports personalities speak about their experiences, achievements and ultimately pointing out the significance of sports in life, it was a great motivation for all the students to seriously inculcate sports and fitness and in their lives.

Mr. Dilip Pandey and Mr. Akhil Kumar not only shared their story of success, but shared the points on how sport connects an individual to the real life developing one’s overall personality by making mentally stronger, physically healthy and fitter and evolving a positive outlook to life. A couple of videos showed glimpses of Mr. Akhil Kumar’s boxing competitions as well as Mr. Dilip’s training clippings which gave the students a clear picture of their professional success.

It is indeed a known fact that being mentally strong and physically fit is very much important to have a quality life. Among the various points shared, they stressed on how participating in sports brings about mental peace and calm, as it relaxes our mind. Mr. Dilip highlighted the fact that to become a stellar player in any discipline of sport, one has to dedicate years of disciplined and rigorous training as success does not come in a day. A sportsperson naturally has to endure several failures on the way, and inspite of those trains hard to emerge as the winner. Thus, pursuing sports makes one mentally stronger as they develop the tools to handle anxiety and stress, yet be positively determined and focus on the goal.

The audience was impressed with the three qualities pointed out which sportsperson have in abundance- enthusiasm, determination and patience. Enthusiastic nature gives a constant energetic boost, while determination helps one remain focused on achieving the goal; meanwhile patience is a skill which helps one bounce back in spite of facing difficulties. The significance and benefits of sports in one’s life was beautifully simplified for all the students to grasp and imbibe. They also spoke about the wide range of career options available which one can pursue in the vast field of sports instead of going for regular generic careers. The geckos became aware of careers like sports science, sports technology, sports journalism, and many more promising areas. The guests encouraged the geckos to pursue sports and also study hard academically. They ensured that sports and academics can go hand in hand very well, and embracing sports will only make them better.

A very inspiring session, which moved and motivated all to imbibe sports and fitness in all our lives. The session concluded with an open-house round, where the enthusiastic geckos had many questions to ask and clarify, followed by a vote of thanks. Indeed it was a session to usher the champion within!

 

Some pics: