THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ancy and her friends have lots of stories to narrate about their experience at the Olympiad in Delhi. For them, it is a feather in the cap as they were selected to the first team from the state which participated in the Olympiad.
Though they had not won any prize, all the 16 members in the team were thrilled to be part of the country’s first Olympiad. Of the 16 students, eight students were from Government H S S Kandala.
“We are happy to have represented our state for a national competition. Lots of practice during the past two months helped us to perform well in the competition,” said Ancy who competed in the High school category.
Franklin, physical education teacher of H S S Kandala who had taken the initiative to ensure the students were part of the Olympiad was pleased with the exposure that the students received as part of the event. “ Holding a competition for students at the national level, exclusively for Yoga was a great initiative. This event will surely help the popularisation of Yoga,” he said.
Not many takers for competition
Though notification of the competition was sent to all schools, there was hardly any response. It was Franklin’s initiative and dedication which resulted in the state having a team.
Team members are:
Ancy Ashokan, Achu S A (class X students), Nancy Ashokan, Annie U B, Praveen P S, Afsal J Mahin (class IX ) Amina S B, Anshad S (class VIII ). They had participated in Asanas, Pranayam, Kriya (cleansing process), Bandha and Surya Namaskar in the Olympiad.
NCERT organised the Olympiad themed on ‘Yoga for Health and Harmony’. The event was conducted as part of the World Yoga Day celebrations. The Human Resource Department Ministry officials plan to include private and public schools from the next year. Only students from government and government-aided schools have participated in this year’s competitions.