“With the United Nations recognising April 6 as the ‘International Day of Sports for Development and Peace’, sports has been elevated to the next level,” said P Pugazhendi, director of Sports and Youth Affairs, Government of Kerala. He was inaugurating the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) summer coaching camp at the SAI-LNCPE, Kariavattom near here on Tuesday.
“Sports for health has been pitched before, but it also helps in development of the society and to break barriers between two countries and cultures and unite them,” Pugazhendi said, referring to the clashes between India and Pakistan in cricket and FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in football.
“Sports also help to teach lot of qualities needed for life such as trust, honesty, endurance, inspiration to push the limits and the ability to face failure,” he said, urging the over 600 children who lined up in front of him to take to outdoors to spend the holidays instead of staying indoors.
Meanwhile, G Kishore, principal of SAI-LNCPE, who presided over the function, asked the children to make sports a part of life, not only for the two summer months, but all throughout the year.
The SAI-LNCPE also commemorated the ‘International Day of Sports for Development and Peace’ on the occasion and a drill by the children who are attending the summer camp was carried out.
Around 30 national level coaches would train the children over the next two months in badminton, athletics, swimming, cricket, kabaddi, volleyball, taekwondo, kho kho, gymnastics, hockey, handball, judo, basketball, wrestling, boxing and weightlifting, among others.
Talented athletes selected from the camp would be inducted to SAI-LNCPE’s various existing schemes and would be provided with free lodging, scientific training, sports kits etc by the SAI.