Value of Sports in Character-Building-English Essay, Paragraph, Speech for Class 9, 10, 11 and 12 Students.

Value of Sports in Character-Building

After defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo, the Duke of Wellington visited his old school at Eton and while addressing the students he said: “The battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” By this, he meant that the sense of discipline and the spirit of comradeship which he had imbibed on the sports ground had stood him in good stead in organising and winning the battle.

Life has been compared to a game of cricket. The player must obey the orders of the Captain. Wherever the Captain has placed us it should be our endeavor to justify the trust that has been reposed in us. No position is too humble if we do not make it so by our indifferent action. And when we are bowled, we should accept the situation gracefully and smilingly. We must do our best in life and when the call comes we go back to the pavilion, with no regrets.

If there is one thing that sports teach us, it is courage, fortitude and equanimity to face the trials, tribulation and the rigours of life. Tears and smiles, sobs and sniffles, joys and laughter all are the inevitable accompaniments of life and should be taken in the stride. Life is a mingled yarn of good and ill together. ‘Play up, play up, play the game’, is a great English saying. Fair play is the very breath of sportsmanship. Let there be no hanky-panky, no shuffling, no underhand dealing, no end-justifies-the-means attitude. It may be a counsel of perfection, but the utmost effort should be approximate to the ideal.

Unfortunately at schools and colleges and even at the universities, matches are played and won by shabby deals. There are cases of impersonation and when they are detected, there is recourse to manhandling and breaking of heads. We have yet to go a long way in order to play the game.

Sportsmanship is only another name for honesty, integrity fidelity and loyalty. A good sportsman is thus an ideal citizen. He is the right man to lead the nation. If our politicians were to possess a fraction of these virtues, the country should be free from the maladies of corruption, bribery and all other evils. Plato’s philosopher Kings were expected to be good athletes with a sound mind in a sound body. Sports should be an essential qualification for a prospective legislator. That way lies the salvation of our country.

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