Sports, a metaphor for life

The Olympics have thrown up a very interesting trend about the sportspersons from smaller towns and villages. Their hunger to break barriers, fire to live true to their passion and make a difference in their community and desire to excel has been truly exemplary and inspiring.

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Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra was born in the village of Khandra in the state of Haryana. Overweight as a child, he faced a lot of bullying. So his parents enrolled him in a gym in Madlauda, where he also visited the Panipat Sports Authority of India. His natural talent for javelin throw was spotted and from thereon started his formal training. He has fought against all odds to win the gold medal in Olympics 2020, making him the first Indian Olympian to earn a gold medal in athletics.

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Bajrang Punia, a well-known Indian freestyle wrestler, began wrestling at the age of seven. Born in a remote part of Haryana, Punia’s family struggled financially. He participated in free sports like wrestling and Kabaddi. Punia's father was also a wrestler, so his family enrolled him in a local mud wrestling school. He devoted himself to wrestling and won a bronze medal in 65kg wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Archer Pravin Jadhavwas born into a family of daily wage workers and grew up in a shanty by a drain in Maharashtra's Satara region. He began by making bows and arrows out of bamboo scrapes, then joined the Army, which eventually allowed him to purchase his own weapons.

Neha Goyal escaped a dysfunctional home to join the Indian Women's Hockey team. While her mother worked as a daily wage laborer in a bicycle factory, her father was unemployed and frequently returned home drunk, causing chaos in the little hut.

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Rani Rampal fought against all odds to prove her passion for hockey by using broken sticks and is now, the youngest member of India's national women's hockey team. Rani's mother worked as a domestic helper, and her father worked as a cart-puller, earning about ?80 per day.

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Ravi Dahiya was born in the village of Haryana. For more than a decade, his father Rakesh Dahiya, a modest farmer, would go from their village to the stadium every day to supply fresh milk and fruits, which were an important component of his wrestling diet. His fighter spirit and dedication have allowed him to compete in the Olympic wrestling finals.

Sports is clearly a metaphor for life. We stop ourselves, life doesn’t prevent us from excelling. It’s our noise in the head that limits us from stretching our boundaries and leaping into the unknown. Each of these champions has shown that its possible to succeed, despite all odds, when you are committed and passionate. Their single minded pursuit of honing their skill and building their endurance has enabled them to emerge as winners. Sportsmanship is not limited to only winning medals. It goes beyond into becoming a beacon of inspiration for others to do their best.