The modern Olympic Games : Relevance in the present society

Professor Dhaneshwar Moirangthem
Contd from prev issue
Whatever you do, you should always try to bring the best out of you. If you are able to do so, medals will follow you. I would like to remind the readers what  Sachin Tendulkar (The Batting Maestro of Indian Cricket, Master Blaster) said in one of his replies to the journalists who followed him. When asked about his next goals, next records, next milestone. Tendulkar replied that he was not aware of the records, and he was only concentrating on his performance and he would simply let his bat do the talk. If he performed well, the records would automatically come. A few weeks ago, I happened to watch an old video of Steve Jobs’ (Steven Paul Jobs, American business magnate, founder of Apple Inc.) 2005 Stanford Commencement address, talking to the young graduating students.
He was encouraging the students to concentrate only on those things they love doing. If they do things they enjoy doing, that will help them shape their career. He ended his speech by quoting what was written on the back of a New York Magazine, “Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish; Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish”. These quotes, I feel, are in tandem with the Olympic Motto, ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’. They tend to urge the students to do more, to learn more and to not let them think they have learnt enough.
It is universally agreed that the mantra for the success of an individual is the hard work. The Olympic Creed says that the important thing is not the medal but the struggle towards the medal. There is no short cut to success other than to work hard. In this connection, I would like to draw the attention of the readers to the following quotes by American Basketball Champion, Kevin (Wayne) Durant, which are quite relevant. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard” “The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle”.
One may ask why all these competitions are being held, why so much energy and time being spent, why all the three M’s (Men, Money, Material) have been exhausted for organizing events like the Olympic Games. Some may even think, these events would make someone famous, rich and what not. But the ultimate goal, in my opinion, is to make someone become a more responsible citizen who will contribute to make the world a more beautiful place to live in.
These events will help evolve one’s character which is the most important thing in one’s life. Here, I would like to quote further what the famous American basketball player and coach, John (Robert) Wooden said, “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. Your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are”. I wish all the best to the participants and participating Nations of the Tokyo Olympics. I pray to the Almighty for the success of the Tokyo Olympic Games. Long live the Olympic Movement ! The writer is a retired Professor from the Department of Chemistry, MU. He was associated with MU for 41 years from 1979 to 2020 and was the HOD and the Dean of School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.