Essay on Importance of Sports and Games

Sports and games are as necessary for a student as books. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" is a true saying. Outdoor games such as football, hockey, cricket, kabaddi, kho-kho and badminton make the body strong and active, improve the appetite and give sound sleep. They also train the mind. On the playground we learn discipline, teamwork, patience, quick decision-making and respect for rules and for the other side. A player learns to accept victory without pride and defeat without losing heart. This is called sportsmanship. Sports can also be a career, and champions bring glory to the nation. Sadly, many children today prefer mobile games to the playground. Every student should spend at least an hour a day in some physical game.

Education is meant to develop the whole person: body, mind and character. Books train the mind, but it is the playground that builds the body and much of the character. Sports and games are therefore not a waste of time. They are an essential part of education.

The first benefit of sports is physical fitness. Running, jumping, catching and throwing exercise every muscle. The heart and lungs grow stronger, the blood flows better, and the body learns to fight disease. A child who plays regularly has a good appetite, sleeps well and stays in shape. In an age when children sit for hours with phones and eat packaged snacks, an hour on the playground is the best medicine.

The second benefit is to the mind. After a game we return to our books with a fresh brain. Teachers have long noticed that children who play regularly pay better attention in class. Games also release tension, anger and sadness in a healthy way.

The third benefit, and perhaps the greatest, is the building of character. A team game cannot be won by one star. Each player has to trust and support the others. The player obeys the captain and the referee, even when the decision hurts. He or she learns to make quick decisions, to keep calm under pressure and to try again after a failure. Above all, sports teach us to win with humility and lose with grace. This spirit of fair play, called sportsmanship, is useful in every walk of life.

Sports unite people. When India plays a match, the whole country cheers together, forgetting differences of language and region. Champions such as Major Dhyan Chand, Milkha Singh, P. T. Usha, Sachin Tendulkar, Mary Kom, P. V. Sindhu and Neeraj Chopra have made every Indian proud. The birthday of Dhyan Chand, 29 August, is celebrated as National Sports Day.

Sports are also a respectable career today. Players can earn a good living, receive awards and scholarships and get jobs. Coaching, umpiring, sports medicine and commentary are other paths.

A balance is necessary. A student who only plays and neglects studies harms the future, just as one who only studies harms the health. Schools should give a games period every day and enough playgrounds, and parents should encourage children to go out and play.

A sound mind lives in a sound body. Let us give the playground its due place beside the classroom.