'Khelne do': Bhaker's Olympic win sparks call to prioritise sports, with the message 'your kids will make the country proud'
Indian Olympian Manu Bhaker has made her country proud by securing the first medal of the Paris 2024 Olympics. The 22-year-old, who clinched bronze, said: "Winning this medal is a dream come true, not just for me but for everyone who has supported me."
As the nation showers praise on Manu Bhaker for her historic bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, a LinkedIn post seizes the moment to spotlight a critical issue: the overwhelming preference for academic success over sports in Indian families, regardless of a child's athletic talent.
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Abhinav Ravi, a Senior Manager at Practo with an ISB degree, describes himself as a "former kid who grew up obsessed with sports."
He has a suggestion for Indian parents: "Khelne do."
Taking to LinkedIn, Ravi writes, "On the occasion of the wonderful performance by Manu Bhaker winning an Olympic medal (at the age of 22, jeez), here's a gentle reminder to all current and future parents, as a former kid who grew up obsessed with sports. Khelne do."
Highlighting Bhaker's victory, he emphasises the best-case scenario: "Your kids will make the country proud of the grandest of global stages and write their name in history."
Ravi argues that while Bhaker's success represents the pinnacle of what sports can offer, the benefits of encouraging athletic pursuits go beyond medals.?
He highlights that, even in the worst-case scenario, sports teaches valuable life lessons:?"Worst case, you've raised kids who've understood the importance of hard work and practice, who've learnt how to lose repeatedly and gracefully and get back up, who've got respect for the importance of fitness in a tragically unfit society, and probably have better emotional stability than most people their age."
He asserts, "Don't pretend that a scratched car from a stray football or the possibility of your kid scoring 5 marks from in a 7th Standard unit test is worth more than that. Sports change lives. It changed, and continues to change mine. And we need more of that everywhere."
How did people react?
In the comments, many echoed Ravi's sentiments.?
One user noted, "1.4 billion people means we have immense potential just the necessities should be provided for a child to develop and groom. Also, the school teachers should understand this and not pressurise for studies and only studies. There should be ample time allotted for sports in every school every day."
Another added, "I think parents like me need to keep hearing this often. Being born and brought up a in a strongly academic background where it was mandatory to do well and come within first 2-3 ranks in school. But when it comes to me being a parent I have learnt something more."
Yet another said, "Even in the worst case parents should be proud that the children dared to follow what they really wanted to do rather than giving in to peer pressure and societal stereotypes."
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