Changing Trends Of Sports In India

Sports. In some way or other we all love sports, either watching it or playing it. India has shown a tremendous growth in the field of sports in past decade or so. Since past few years Indian athletes have performed exceptionally well at international level and have earned glory for India.

So, what do you think is the reason behind the exceptional performance of Indian players at an international level???

No doubt, leagues... Do you know how many leagues are there in India?? There are currently 9 major leagues in India.. Many other leagues were started in past decade or so but they were ceased after a year or two.

Now moving on to individual leagues:

CRICKET: 

Cricket, the most loved sport in India. Performance of Indian Cricket Team at a international level has improved a lot, and the credit of it mostly goes to IPL. First major league that was successfully organised and had foreign players too. Our young players learned a lot from them which helped them a lot in improving their game. Also the current playing XI , which is regarded as the dangerous in the world is also a gift of the IPL. Like globalization benefited Indian economy, in the same way IPL benefited Indian Cricket. 

 It was such a big achievement in the field of Indian sports that it set up the platform or trend for other sports to follow. 

KABADDI:

I would say that Kabaddi was really lucky to get that love from Indian audience. Though India was an unbeatable champion at it when it was launched, but Pro Kabaddi leagues helped the selectors to select the best talent, Pro Kabaddi gave Indian Team the best, active and fit players. Also it was because of this league that we got to know this game more closely, like rules of the game, players per side plus how exactly it is played. It is such a big hit now that the bidding this year crossed 1 crore which is surely a great achievement and a symbol that Kabaddi has a great future in India.

Above are some of the key findings of Pro Kabaddi League ranging from Pradeep Narwal (won back to back titles for his team Patna pirates in PKL) to Ajay Thakur, current Indian Captain to Rahul Chaudhary and many others. So, PKL has really helped in giving future stars to Indian Team.

HOCKEY:  

Hockey, which was deemed to be the national sport of India, but in actual it isn't has suffered a lot. From being unable to qualify for 2008 Beijing Olympics to finishing 12th in 2012 London Olympics, Indian Hockey team has really progressed since the onset of Hockey India League in 2013. Indian Team is currently ranked 5th in the world. Though like other sports Hockey India League  has failed to gather that love and affection from Indian audience. The prime reason for it could be the ineffective way in which it is promoted. It has failed to garden the interest of Indian audience and  bring them to stadiums. That's why 2018 season of HIL is cancelled. It is said that it will return in 2019 with modifications, but it's a set back for the players who look onto this league to mark their presence to selectors.

FOOTBALL: 

Started with the aim of strengthening Indian Football Team in 2014, Indian Super League has benefited Indian Football Team a lot as they have progressed exceptionally in FIFA rankings. From being ranked 171 in 2014 to 97 as on 7 June 2018, standard of Indian Football has risen as Indian Team qualified for 2019 AFC ASIA CUP, and is looking all set to qualify for 2026 WORLD CUP.

OTHER SPORTS:

Talking about other leagues in brief which are currently new and the actual benefit from them is yet to arrive. These are team sports which are played individually. They are:

• Premier Badminton League
• Ultimate Table Tennis League
• Pro Wrestling League
• Super Boxing League

A step is taken to give more experience to our domestic players for performance at a higher intensity level and train them for next level. Indian athletes are already benefiting from these new leagues as can be seen by performance of Indian Table Tennis Team at Commonwealth Games 2018, as both male and female team won the GOLD MEDAL which in itself is a remarkable achievement.

Though a lot is still to be done to improve the performance of Indian players at international sports arena, specially at Olympics. But the progress till now is still a remarkable achievement. Also, with the increasing interest of Indian audience in other sports and viewing of sport leagues as a profitable venture by entrepreneurs, the future of sports in India is really bright.

Practice Makes A Habit

PRACTICE MAKES YOU PERFECT. In every point of life we have heard others saying this. In-fact this one is practically the mantra of math teachers and sport coaches who run the drill.  But is it really so? Does practice  really make you perfect? I don't think so. I think it's just a misconception.

The reason why it's so widely believed is because it's so close to the truth. When we try to master a skill, the way we do it is by doing that skill over and over again, until we becomes familiar with it.  

What's really happening in our brain is that different parts of it are getting linked together by connections called synapses. More  we repeat the process, the stronger those synapses become. And stronger they are, the more automatic that skill is. In fact they become what we call habits. They are so ingrained into our minds that we can even do them to an extent without thinking.

But as we all know very well, we can form bad habits just as easily as we form good ones just because you practice something repeatedly that doesn't guarantee that what you're practicing is good. Like any music teacher will tell you, practicing the wrong techniques will land you in more trouble than if you hadn't practiced at all because you'll get very good at doing things in an ineffective way and then it becomes more difficult to correct and learn that as we start loving the ineffective short cut way.

It can also be seen with math and accounts students. While practicing for exams they don't set out their work properly as they don't take the time to draw proper diagrams/accounts. They just do it in a rough way and say that "I know how I'm supposed to do it and I'll do it right in the test."  But invariably they don't. Practice makes habits and they take those bad habits right into the exam hall then wonder why they didn't do well in the test.

These could be the one like, practicing the graph/diagram in a rough way. We get so used to it that we go on to repeat that in the exam hall. Other one could be missing the indicators/markings/points in the graph. When we are practicing, we just keep our attention on preparing the graphs, specially the complex one. We don't lay our attention on the markings. We just make a raw graph and doesn't mark important points thinking that we can do that in exam. But unfortunately we aren't able to do that when time arrives. We either forget to do so or aren't able to recall the important parts that are there in the diagram. Due to it we suffer. This was what happened with me in one of my exam. I almost got carried away and was preparing the diagram in a rough way. I realized that in time and corrected my mistake but wasn't able to recall the important points in the diagram. 

There's another example of my friend from school. If you are a accounts student, you must be aware of the importance of writing narrations after every transaction. While practicing we don't write them thinking that they aren't important and we will write them in  the exams. This was what my friend tend to do the most. But when the time arrived, he forgot to write the narrations and did the questions in the way he used to practice which costed him more than half marks in that question. 

So, the point is that practice does not make perfect, practice makes habit so be very careful with it.

Another thing I want to add is that to never involve in over practice. Practice until a certain level, as over practice creates a problem. Repeating a thing beyond a certain level results in a mental pressure which in turn deteriorates our thinking ability. It causes disturbance, makes us weak both mentally and physically due to which we aren't able to think in a different way. It sets a certain boundary creating a set pattern or habit in mind due to which we aren't able to think out of that area. Citing a example from my life, one of my exams had a gap of 9 days. So, I decided to practice with sample papers.  But,  I practiced more than what was required and I almost ended up messing my exam.  

The reason for it was that the over practice resulted in setting a certain pattern in my mind which I wasn't able to overdo in that 3 hour exam.

Another example for over practicing causing problem is that of kids who are given cursive writing books to improve their writing. Parents put such a pressure on kid to involve in over practice that instead of improvement in writing, their writing deteriorates further. 

So, practice in a correct manner and in limit. As over practice and wrong practice lands you in trouble.

Career Choice

There are many problems that we face in life but the toughest one is the choice regarding the career. Most of us tend to take it lightly and not pay a conscious thought to it.  We just take and follow what is offered to us. Like preference of science/commerce/arts in school. It is what I think could be seen as an alternative form of caste system. One with higher percentage is given science and they too prefer it as they have scored more and they  go for it without any other specific reason, one with lower percentage is  given  arts irrespective of their preference, rest in middle are given commerce. Though one with lower percentage can still go for Science but they don't have any specific reason for selecting it.

Only a certain percent of the students are able to make a smart selection here irrespective of the mark scored. This is what we can call as a first step  towards the right career path. But bigger hurdle arises after high school as most of us have no idea regarding field that we should select in graduation. Even  though we, but due to high competition, some of us aren't able to get the desired field mostly due to rank scored or the minimum marks required for admission. 

But now the question arises, what to do next? How to be back on track, as the above circumstances weren't under our control. Post graduation though is a chance to redeem yourself, to revive your choice, to be back on track.  But there are many things which can be done at graduation level.

For instance, if you have a interest in fashion and you aren't able to get into desired fashion institute then, along with your regular graduation look for on field work opportunities. Though degree matters and add credentials but nothing can substitute the practical experience. Basic thing required is a wide imagination and knowledge of how market functions, which you develop over years. You don't need anything else.  


For those, who are to make the choice regarding graduation ahead, make sure you are fully aware about the subject you are taking. Do a proper research of the course, see the subjects that will be taught there and then decide whether you want to go for it or not. And don't follow the herd. Instead look for creative and exciting new opportunities. Look for something different, something exciting.  Something your heart desires. Something which you can do for rest of your life. There's lot more in the world then doctors, engineers, MBA , CA, Bank and government jobs.  

Time is changing, so are the people. Just change the way of viewing the things and you will find what you are looking for. Be carefree. Take the risk. Follow your dreams,your passion. Be you.
Here I want to add one thing, don't rely totally on your likes or hobbies. As hobbies are like feelings, they tend to change over time. You must have observed within you that the things you liked as a child or as a young teenager are much different from ones now. They tend to change with age and time. So, be absolutely sure. Do a mental  calculation of pros and cons of the things and then decide whether you will be able to do that work for your whole life or not. So, instead relying on one hobby do a self introspection and find 3 hobbies

Don't get carried away by pressure. And have patience as getting field you want isn't a quick task. It takes some time. You just have to be calm and look around with open eyes.

Some  different or unique career options which you might or might not have heard off, or might not  have given a conscious thought are:

1. SPORTS MANAGEMENT
2. ADVENTURE SPORTS
3. ETHICAL HACKING
4. FOOD FLAVORIST
5. TEA TASTER
6. CHOCOLATE TASTER
7. SPORTS SCIENCE AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
8. BUSINESS ECONOMICS
9. LANGUAGE COURSES
10. INTERIOR DESIGNING
11. EVENT MANAGEMENT
12. ANCHORING
13. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE 
14. BEAUTY CARE
15. LOGO DESIGNER
16. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL

There are many other courses which you can find at... https://career.webindia123.com/career/options/asp/alpha_listing.asp

Only few among us are clear of we want in life while the rest just tend to go with what is  there for them, and go on to continue with that all their life without thinking/ realizing whether it was what they actually wanted in their life? Don't get into a job just to add value to your CV. Instead do a job when you think it's really worth your effort and adds more value to you than to your CV. Always remember your worth. We young guys tend to give money more importance than  the type of work we will be involved in. Always remember journey always starts from the bottom. You won't immediately get what you want. It takes time. Just go on to add value to yourself, and soon you will get the pay scale you were dreaming off.

And always have a backup plan, in case the thing you desired doesn't work out. 

So, make your own way.  Don't follow the herd. Be free. Do something different, something innovative, something you love.  This is your time to decide. Time to choose between Life or no life. A happy life or tired life. To make your life or to be  homogeneous with other's life. To follow the herd or make your own path.

Choice is yours

Maybe you wont get the choices again in life or maybe you will be provided with one later on. But future is unknown. Present  decisions matter the most.

So  choose wisely what to do, as everyone is not given a 2nd chance.

BE BRAVE. BE WISE. BE STRONG