Unfortunately, while Indians are progressing towards a positive mindset regarding sports, they hesitate in pursuing it themselves. A shockingly high percentage, 75% of Indians believe that sports is significant in their day-to-day lives according to a research conducted by BBC in 2020. It is shocking because only 36% of the population actually engage in any sort of physical activity. However, what really hurts is that only 29% of the total female population play sports. I use “hurt” to describe this situation with the most sincere meaning of the word.
To hurt means to be detrimental to. Women not playing sports is not only detrimental to the person foregoing this opportunity but also to the country as a whole. It is important to understand the role of recreational sports in the well-being of an individual and how that can be impactful at a macro-level. Sports allow an individual to tune into the active side of their personality, which has a few positive spillovers. People tend to put aside the ongoing stresses in their life, such as meeting certain deadlines, maintaining relationships, and managing their wealth for the duration of their play-time. This is essential in achieving a sense of internal peace, which allows one to tackle their stress factors properly and entirely. Whether you are a student, working professional, or an artist, it is necessary for you to be able to take a step back from your main responsibilities and relax your mind so you can tackle them head on when you are required to. If you are able to do so, you are then contributing to the economy and the rest of the society in the most positive manner possible.
At this point you may be wondering why I emphasized the lack of participation of girls being hurtful rather than the entire population. As discussed before, men already have a higher participation than women but that is not the issue here. According to Catalyst, a global non-profit, only 19.9% of the labor force in India was women in 2020. It was estimated that adding 10% of the participation rate of women would increase India’s GDP by $770 billion by 2025. This is precisely why it is extremely important for women to be involved in the workforce and one way to do that is by increasing participation in sports. As mentioned before, playing sports recreationally allows you to clearly focus on your goals. Additionally, playing sports makes you naturally competitive which often leads to people becoming goal-oriented. So if girls’ participation in sports increases at the grassroot level, there is a higher chance for them to aspire to achieve more than just marrying someone who can financially support them. It is all about the mindset. Sports create a high achieving mindset that is important to cultivate a career-oriented culture. This is ultimately beneficial for both the individual as well as the society as a whole.
Sports can also be played as a profession. It is one area where gender inequality is increasingly being eradicated. Nowadays, women are allowed to participate in most, if not all, sports at a professional level. The funding is still much higher for most of the men’s sports organizations because they attract largeraudiences and generate higher revenues. This, however, should be viewed as a challenge rather than a disadvantage in my opinion. If girls are encouraged to engage in sports, they will be able to gain skills that match or are even better than that of their male counterparts. Many sports are more skill-based than physicality-based. So there is definitely a scope for women to be more involved in sports and attract larger audiences. This can be a great avenue for women to assume financial independence and contribute to the economy. It is, therefore, critical for girls to play sports whether it be recreationally or professionally.
.
.
Aditya Gupta