Saeed Rahman
As the Tokyo Olympics 2020 has come to an end, it is worth looking back on the world's highest stage of games and sports that kicked off leaving all uncertainties behind amid a unprecedented situation created by Covid-19 pandemic. This year Olympics gave us a lot of exciting and entertaining moments.
Being an ardent sports enthusiast I always believe games and sports are the best forms of healthy entertainment that can never be overwhelmed by gadgets and screens. I have a simple view or formula whatever you may call it and that is "the better a nation is good in sports higher the prospect of that nation to be called a developed nation". In other words, being good in sports is directly if not exponentially proportional to being truly a developed nation. If we look at this year's medal table this is pretty much evident.
We have seen some extraordinary events that took place this year. For instance, China was always on the top of the medal table until USA overtook them in the last day. Host country Japan's performance was fantastic (which they did not expect though). Our neighbouring country India known mostly as a Cricket frenzy nation got the most medals in their history. Neeraj Chopra bagged gold in javelin throw, Indian hockey team won bronze medal after 41 years. Individuals like Sindhu and Mirabai Chanu got medals. Such a scenario clearly indicates that sports in general in India is developing despite the overshadowing effect of heavily commercialised cricket.
We should remember that playing sports
not only keep our children fit but also help
build up the leadership quality among them
To me the most stunning performance of India was 4X100m men’s relay where Indian team came out 4th. They did not win any medal but they definitely left a mark. It would be unjust if I do not mention the performance of Indian women’s hockey team. The way they played against all big giants was simply fantastic. However, I believe if India can do it we can do it too someday!
This year Tokyo Olympics produced something that we did not see for many years. For example, a non-black won gold in men’s 100m sprint which was always been overwhelmingly dominated by athletes from countries like Jamaica, US and UK.
However, Brazil grabbed back to back gold in Football, USA grabbed gold in both men’s and women’s basketball. Asian counties did fairly well. China and Japan have been ranked among the top three, countries like Iran, Qatar, Indonesia and Korea got gold medals. South Korea's performance was a bit disappointing to me. Though they got 6 gold medals, their performances were not like other previous Olympics.
My point for writing this article is to divulge the fact that the countries which did well in the Olympics are undoubtedly developed in other indicators as well. It clearly portrays the importance of games and sports for the overall development of a nation. It goes without saying that sport is an indispensable tool for both mental and physical development of our children. Sadly, in our country it is heavily neglected by all, be it policy makers, young generation, educational institutions and even parents. We should remember that playing sports not only keep our children fit but also help build up the leadership quality among them which our nation desperately needs.
I call upon all including policy makers, educationist, parents to actively involve our children into physical sports to help them build a nation that we all aspired. I would like to end with a famous proverb that we learned in our school life: All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
Good Bye Tokyo! You have done a fantastic job by hosting a challenging Olympics against all odds and looking forward to Paris 2024!
Saeed Rahman is a Civil Engineer by profession
