Indian Olympic and Paralympic heroes, including men’s hockey team skipper Manpreet Singh and para table tennis player Bhavina Patel, believe there should be increased focus on youth fitness and mental health given the lifestyle changes forced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Manpreet and Bhavina were speaking at the National Youth Festival virtual session titled “Sports – A Unifier for Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat”.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist boxer Lovlina Borgohain, Indian women’s hockey team captain Rani Rampal and Paralympic Games bronze medalist high jumper Sharad Kumar were also present for the session.
Fitness isn’t just physical. There is also the mental form. Everyone should understand that life gets a lot easier when you are in good shape. Your health stays good, you stay happy and positive, said Bhavina, who became the first Indian paddler to win a medal at the Paralympic Games with her silver medal in Tokyo.
“So every person should try to get in shape. Staying in shape isn’t just for athletes, it’s good for everyone, ” she added.
Since the start of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc around the world.
Educational institutions have resorted to online classes, and under such circumstances, Rani said it became even more important to involve children in physical activities.
“Kids have a lot of online classes these days because of the pandemic, but I ask parents to send the kids outside so that they have physical and brain activity,” she said.
“This will help in their growth. I’m not saying everyone should make sports their profession, but children should be sent outside to play so that they are healthy, ” Rani added.
Manpreet, who led the men’s hockey team to an Olympic bronze medal, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for promoting youth fitness through various programs such as the Fit India Campaign and the Khelo India Games.
“If you take 30 minutes a day to exercise, your body will stay in shape and you can fight off many diseases,” he said.
” Youth is our future and to move a country forward, we must invest in young people. Our PM focuses a lot on this. He knows that youth is the future.
“He launched the Khelo India (Games) and Fit India campaign and the performance we got at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics shows that and India’s future is very bright,” added Manpreet.
(This story was not edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)