Spirit Of The Game

India is a sports-loving country but not a sports- playing country. -Sachin Tendulkar

The primary aims of sports are perseverance, sacrifice, self- discipline, hard work, compliance, to rules and regulations, to be a leader and to be able to work with others. Sports ethics approves the winning spirit in sport, but is opposed to temptation of winning at any cost. Thus, sportsmanship is all about healthy competition, which is seen as a means of cultivating personal honour, virtue and character.

A common trend in sports is to blindly play to win, neglecting the core principles of sports spirit. Any wrong means are called cheating only when caught! The ends supposedly justify the means, which is a truth some people ridiculously follow.

In modern times, sports has mired a number of controversies which reveals it unethical side. Be it doping or match-fixing, unethical practise of sports has seeped into the system. This development can be attriuted to the following factors- fierce competition, overcommercialisation of sports and sports nationalism as observed in countries like Russia and Brazil.

It is therefore essential that each sports organisation, the government imbibe and adopt certain codes of conduct, and awareness should be raised for the same. But finally, it is upto the individual to enforce the values of life that sports teaches them, and apply it on a routine basis, with a sense of utter conviction.