IMPORTANCE OF GAMES
Games and sports symbolize the youth of a nation. They keep the nation young as they keep the people young. A drowsy inactive nation seldom makes a mark anywhere in the world. The intellectual growth of a nation too depends upon its physical health. Olympics of course are the mirror of the joy derived from physical competitions. How much physically fit we are and how much joy we derive from games and sports has been reflected in the Olympics for the last so many years. India has always cut a sorry figure.
Besides building health of the nation games give a sense of cooperation to the people. We call it team spirit. Leaving Tennis and Badminton most of the games have a team of six to eleven members. In Football, Hockey, Volleyball, even in Kabaddi if the team members do not cooperate they lose the game. The best game is one in which the ball is passed from player to player. Victory is a combined affair not an individual one. It is rather sad that games are not given much importance in most of the educational institutions. That is why most of the people in India try to develop their own personality. The sense of cooperation lacks.
A nation survives when it competes with other nations. Self satisfied people remain in their own shells. They do not make much progress. Gaines grows a sense of competition among the people. It is a healthy competition by which the victor and the vanished both gain. The competition is perpetual. If one becomes complacent by his victory he may be a loser the next time. Thus games are responsible for a sense of healthy competition as well as for perpetual efforts. Once it becomes a habit it enters all activities of our life.
The games inculcate in us a sense of sportsmanship. We enjoy the victory of our rival and shake hands with him. It is not the victory that counts but how you played the games. The elections have become a wretched affair. We indulge in all types of vices to win them. It is only because we have no sense of true sportsmanship. Grant land Rice aptly said:
“For when the one Great Scorer comes to write against your name He marks—not that you won or lost but how you played the game.”
