Athletics is mother of all sports, says Dr Suryawanshi
   Date :19-May-2021

Dr suryvanshi_1 &nbs
 
 
Principal Correspondent :
 
TERMING athletics as mother of all sports, Dr Sharad Suryawanshi, former international athlete said that the sport helps a sportsperson build a healthy and physically fit body. Dr Suryawanshi, who is Director, Sports and Physical Education, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University, Nagpur, Senior Joint Secretary, Maharashtra Athletics Association and Nagpur District Olympic Association was speaking during the online Karate and Sports Seminar for Physical and Spiritual Development of Sportspersons.
 
The webinar is being organised by Karate Budokan International (Vidarbha Region), and is being hosted by Kyoshi Harish B Choube, Black Belt 7th Dan, National Chief Instructor and Examiner, Karate Budokan International. Dr Suryawanshi said that athletics is considered to be mother of all games and is in fact a way of living. “An fit athlete can become all-round sportsperson with skills for cricket, football, tennis etc. Athletics helps in body co-ordination and gives you mental satisfaction. “Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country, and race walking,” said Dr Suryawanshi, Secretary, Nagpur District Athletics Association,” detailed Dr Suryawanshi. Speaking about the inception of the sport, Dr Suryawanshi said that organised athletics are traced back to the ancient Olympic Games from 776 BC, and most modern events are conducted by the member clubs of the International Association of Athletics Federation.
 
“The athletics meeting forms the backbone of modern Summer Olympics, and other leading international meetings include the IAAF World Championships and World Indoor Championships, and athletes with a physical disability compete at the Summer Paralympics and the IPC Athletics World Championships.” informed Dr Surywanshi. On various types of events held in athletics, Dr Suryawanshi said, “there are three types of events in athletics. Track events includes variety of running events are held on the track which fall into three broad distance categories: sprints, middle-distance, and long-distance track events. Relay races feature teams comprising four runners each, who must pass a baton to their team-mate after a specified distance with the aim of being the first team to finish. Hurdles and the steeplechase are a variation upon the flat running theme in that athletes must clear obstacles on the track during the race,” explained Dr Suryawanshi.
 
“The field events are held in two types – jumping and throwing competitions. In throwing events, athletes are measured by how far they hurl an equipment, with the common events being the shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw. There are four common jumping events: long jump and triple jump are contests measuring the horizontal distance an athlete can jump, while the high jump and pole vault are decided on the height achieved,” he said. “Combined events which include decathlon (mostly competed by men) and heptathlon (mostly competed by women), are competitions where athletes compete in a number of different track and field events, with each performance going towards a final points tally.”