Panel Discussion

The BEP event, slated to begin at 5:00, got off to a rocky start forty five minutes behind schedule. However, the initial hiccups over the court set-up and the sound systems did not dampen the atmosphere. The panel were on the court and raring to go, even to the extent of beginning the discussion amongst themselves before the event began. The panel comprised Mr.G.K Pillai, CMD of Heavy Engineering Corporation, flown in from Ranchi especially for the evening, Dr. B.R Natarajan, Dean DLPD, the captain of the boys’ table tennis team of BITS, Pilani, Abhijit Kamath and former captain of the BITS girls’ basketball team, Smitha. And interestingly, also present were some of the local sports stars of back in the day- Arjuna award winners, national level players, state champions, winners of the President’s award for athletics- all from in and around Pilani, adding a personal touch to the otherwise formal event. The topic for the discussion was “Revitalizing sports in India- Policy Changes and Campus Involvement.” As the moderator, K.Ramya so perfectly put it, issues like these, however distant they seem, are in reality much closer to home than we realise.

Mr. G.K Pillai is an alumnus who has made BITS proud on the hockey field, playing at the national level in various tournaments. Mr. Pillai, having been active in the sporting society of our country, has an understanding of the situation as it stands today and provided valuable insights. The first thing he stressed on was that many changes must be brought about in the sporting scenario of our country and yet, in our planning of these changes we mustn’t be restricted by expectations of gold medals or instant fame. Dr. Natarajan stressed on the point that playing a sport goes a long way in developing a professional attitude and instils a drive to work hard and succeed; establishing the fact that ‘sport’ encompasses so much in terms of learning experiences.

Coming to the changes that the system must see, the primary point raised seemed to be lack of awareness. The students on the panel voiced their opinion that pressure from society prevents college students to take sport seriously, in turn encouraging an academic curriculum that is not conducive to the kind of training that competitive sport requires. This results in polarisation of the student population, one group purely academic and the other, purely concentrating on a professional sports career. However, Mr.Pillai rubbished the idea of sports quota calling it another method for backdoor entry to institutions.

In conclusion, the panel agreed unanimously that the introduction of some sport in the curriculum of colleges would be a great first step towards ‘revitalizing sport’ in our country, and at a very basic level, learning to take sport seriously. Dr Natarajan, also went to the extent of saying that someday he would like to see graduates from the IISS- the Indian Institutes of Sporting Sciences, a statement that was greeted with much applause from the audience. Ultimately, only when we start viewing sport as a necessary component to lead a healthy and satisfying life and not as an investment with out of proportions return, will we be able to see the real benefits that “play” can give us. Mr. Pillai bid Pilani goodbye on a positive note, saying that creation of awareness was a key factor and the panel discussion itself was a step in that direction. With these thoughts and ideas fresh in our minds, let’s greet the next three days of BOSM with a vigour and enthusiasm worthy of sport in all its vitality.