Kerala Schools' Sports Meet Falls Short of Hype as Athletes Fail to Impress
KOCHI: The recently concluded Kerala State Schools' Sports Meet disappointed many with its lackluster performance from the state's next generation of athletes, leaving fans and officials alike questioning the direction of sports development in the region.
India's leading long jumper, Ancy Sojan, expressed her disappointment at the lower standard of competition witnessed during the meet. The athlete said that the current crop of athletes was lacking dedication and effort, with coaches also failing to inspire them. Ancy noted that some athletes dropped out from athletics due to disciplinary issues and mentioned that shorter-term goals were a major concern.
The KC Throws Academy dominated the throw events, securing 10 medals, including six golds. KC Servan credited his success to knowing most of his fellow competitors who had dropped out due to discipline issues. The athlete also emphasized the need for serious competition and dedication in sports.
On the track events front, only a few athletes managed to shine. M Jyothika and Muhammed Ashfaq produced impressive performances, with Jyothika clocking 56.81 seconds in 400m and Ashfaq breaking the meet record with a time of 47.65 seconds. However, a lackluster competition was seen from other top contenders for those events.
Attributing the decline in performance to indifferent attitudes from students and parents, AFI joint secretary PI Babu attributed the failure of the athletes to excel during the meet to external factors rather than placing blame on coaches.
He emphasized that sports are often viewed as secondary considerations with many schools failing to prioritize infrastructure development, assigning a mere 90% of schools inadequate playgrounds without PE teachers who could promote discipline and help improve sports standards.
With only a handful of colleges willing to invest time in taking serious interests towards sports it was clear there needed more drastic change than some modest initiative for sports to regain momentum.