19 Jan 2013|Noida | Amity University, Sector- 125, Noida
National Conference on “Futuristic Trends in Physical Education and Sports” by Amity School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences
“For the last 30 years, various Sports Associations in India have been hi-jacked by Politicians who don’t have time for Sports Associations. It is their sycophants who finally rule the associations. Adding to this already grim situation is paucity of technical people in various Sports Associations. Since 1982, foreign coaches have been coming to India for training the Sportsperson but what have they done in terms of grooming our Sportsperson and bringing them in par with International Sportsmen?,” rued Shri Syed Sahid Hakeem, Olympian (Football), Former Football Captain of India, Advisor-Sports Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi while delivering key note address during a day long National Conference on “Futuristic Trends in Physical Education and Sports” organized by Amity School of Physical Education and Sports Sciences at Amity University, Sector- 125, Noida.
Further sharing his concern over the neglect of Physical Education and Sports in the country, Shri Hakim expressed that “Unfortunately, 70- 80 % of education in the country is anti- sports, it does not give due importance to Physical Education. For last three decades, Physical education teachers and instructors are made to do all odd jobs in schools, leaving aside what they should actually be doing. Every year, the Government has been recognizing so many schools and educational institutions which do not have fields and playgrounds for students to play. Today, parents are not interested in sending their children to the fields and grounds as a result of which, the energy of the youth is not channelized in the right manner and they go astray, leading to a marked increase in unfortunate incidents of rapes and murders in the country”.
Doling out suggestions to promote Sports amongst the youth of the country, he called upon the parents to send their children to the field where they can play various sports and asked the schools and educational institutions to promote sports activities amongst the students
Welcoming the distinguished gathering, Prof. (Dr.) Kalpana Sharma, Director, Amity School of Physical Education & Sports Sciences (ASPESS) & Chairperson, Organising Committee provided an overview of the National Conference and expressed her hope that ASPESS will regularly organize such conferences and seminars wherein the sports professionals, sports experts and players would get an opportunity to share their experience, ideas, concepts, learning and research works with the sports fraternity
While sharing his views during the Conference, Dr. Gurdeep Singh, Dy. Director Inter University Sports Board of India, Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi stressed the importance of promotion and development of Physical education in the country. Highlighting the importance of Physical education and sports, Dr. Gurdeep averred “Physical education and sports keep mind, body and spirit healthy; unfit people are liability and fit people are the necessity of the nation. China has realized this fact and has converted its youth into leaders of tomorrow through Physical Education and Sports whereas in India, we have yet to learn how to convert our youth into human resources. We are fighting fire with fire which is going no where.” Even the policy makers of our country neglect their importance, if they could allot more funds to the promotion of Physical Education and Sports in the Country, the expenditure on health care would automatically be reduced.
Dr. Balvinder Shukla, Acting Vice Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida elaborated the importance of Physical Education and Sports for healthy youth and prosperous nation. She highlighted various activities and events through which Amity University contributes in promoting sports amongst its students with a special mention to “Sangathan”, which is a month long Mega Sports Meet wherein thousands of students from all Amity Campuses participate with true sportsmanship and conviction. . She expressed her concern over the dearth of quality research in the area of Physical education and lamented the fact that most of the practices followed in Indian Sports have been adopted from West and are therefore, not applicable and suitable in Indian context. She stressed the need to develop indigenous development policies and practices in the area of Physical Education and Sports.
Congratulating Amity University for successfully organizing a Conference on Physical Education, Prof. Rajesh Tripathi, Chairman, All India Council of Physical Education said that Physical Education and Sports Science is a neglected field in India and it is imperative to organize Conferences and Seminars in this area to disseminate the latest trends and developments in the concerned field. He called upon all the professionals in Physical Education and Sports Science to leave aside their differences and come together to contribute in making India’s Sports Education “world renowned and famous”.
Also present during the inauguration were Dr. Devender Kumar Kansal, Head, Department of Physical Education & Sports Sciences, University of Delhi, Prof. Arun Kumar Uppal, Advisor ASPESS & Convener, Dr. Sanjay Srivastava- Dean, Faculty of Management Studies, Amity University, Dr. Alka Munjal- Director, Academics, Amity University and students and faculty members of ASPESS
The inauguration was followed by technical sessions on “Embracing the Athlete: the Scientific Way” by Prof. Ikram Husain, Professor, Aligarh Muslim University; “Physical Education Pedagogy” by Prof. Vivek Pandey, L.N.U.P.E, Gwalior; “Socio-psychological Constraints of an Athlete” by Prof. Arun Kumar Uppal, Advisor, ASPESS. The sessions were chaired by eminent academicians such as Dr. Lalit Sharma, Associate Professor, IGIPESS, University of Delhi; Dr. Sandeep Tiwari, Associate Professor, IGIPESS, University of Delhi and Mr. R.K. Sharma, RMI Fitness, Delhi
The Conference concluded with a Panel Discussion on “Public Private Partnership: Future of Indian Sports” wherein prolific speakers including Ms. Divya Singh, Former Indian Basketball Captain, Mr. Rajpal Singh, Head Sports, FICCI, Mr. R. M Sharma- Director& Proprietor, RMI Fitness, Mr. Sujit Panigrihi, CEO, Sequoia Fitness & Sports Technology Pvt. Ltd. and Mr. Sukhvinder, Managing Director, Libero Sports shared their views.