“It’s not about the winning; it’s the taking part that counts.” – Baron Pierre de Coubertin
In the field of sports, we have probably either told someone this, or had someone else tell this to us, yet it never seems to make loss and defeat any easier. We tend to get caught up in our emotions and disappointment, and forget everything else.
Embracing this quote and understanding it on different levels can help us understand how we might become a richer person having lost. When athletes are interviewed in the closing ceremony of the Olympics, we often hear experiences of ‘meeting new people who become friends for life’. As NHSF (UK)’s National Sports Competition 2018 approaches, we hope that the experience of students across the country is the same: whether or not our team wins, we can look back from the competition day to our first practice and reflect on the lifelong friends we have made.
Sport also gives us the opportunity to learn a new discipline and challenge ourselves to become the best we can be. When training, we should think of Eklavya, a shining example whom we should look to emulate in a new venture or when we must overcome disappointment. Eklavya wanted to be an archer, and wished to train under the guru Dronacharya, who taught the Pandavas. When, however, he asked for instruction, Dronacharya replied that he was unable to assist as Eklavya was not of royal stock. Eklavya did not let this setback stop him, but built a statue of Dronacharya from mud, which he worshipped every day before practising with his bow and arrow. When he met Dronacharya again, he demonstrated his great skill in archery.
Dronacharya had, however, promised that he would make Arjuna the best archer in the world. Seeing that Eklavya was more skilled, Dronacharya, recognising that Eklavya saw him as his guru, asked for guru dakshina. He requested Eklavya’s right thumb, which Eklavya duly cut off and gave to him, once again making Arjuna the world’s best archer. Despite yet another setback, Eklavya continued to practise archery with his other hand, and still became one of the best archers in the Mahabharata, showing his loyalty, bravery and dedication.
As students across the country prepare for National Sports Competition 2018, building discipline, dedication and teamwork, it is also important to remember the universal lessons given to us by our culture and heritage. Whilst it is important to strive to succeed, we should look to develop the resilience that Eklavya showed when we do encounter defeat.
Sport is undoubtedly about more than winning: participation in sport builds our character, helping us to develop values of teamwork, loyalty and dedication. At NHSF (UK) National Sports Competition 2018, we look to inculcate virtues such as these, as well as our core values of honesty, integrity and respect, of which we must not lose sight. When we step onto the field, it is the practice of these values, as well as our tactics and skills, that must be at the forefront of our minds.
National Hindu Students’ Forum (UK) supports students in over forty university campuses across the UK, providing a home away from home and a character-building environment that allows students to grow into society’s future leaders. NHSF (UK) will hold its fourteenth National Sports Competition on Saturday 17th February 2018 in Tipton. It is a platform for students to develop through sport and practise healthy living, with hundreds of students competing in football, netball, badminton, and the traditional Indian sports of kabaddi and kho-kho.
Shivangee Maurya, NHSF (UK) National Committee Events Team Member
Pravar Petkar, NHSF (UK) National Public Relations Coordinator
