It's not whether you get knocked down;
                                       it's whether you get up.
                                                                                   -Vince Lombardi

For sports fans, sports are the epitome of hard work work and dedication. To get to the pinnacle of their sport, even the most naturally gifted athletes have to give it their all.

Yes, we watch sports for the excitement, but even more so, we watch it for the drama. There’s nothing more exciting than seeing a team come back to win that 4th series game after being down 0-3, or a fighter getting off the canvas to score a come from behind knock-out. Sports are about those incredible moments where sheer human will and desire overcomes the odds. These are the moments we remember.

Some of the very interesting and outrageous sports facts are :

• Fishing is the biggest participant sports in the world.
• Soccer is the most attended or watched sport in the world.
• Boxing became a legal sport in 1901.
• More than 100 million people hold hunting licence's.
• Jean Genevieve Garnerin was the first female parachutists, jumping from a hot air balloon in 1799.
• In 1975 Junko Tabei from Japan became the first woman to reach the top of Everest.
• The record for the most Olympic medals ever won is held by Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina. Competing in three Olympics, between 1956 and 1964, she won 18 medals.
• The record for the most major league i baseball career innings is held by Cy Young, with 7,356 innings.
• The first instance of global electronic communications took place in 1871 when news of the Derby winner was telegraphed from London to Calcutta in under 5 minutes.
• In 1898, one of the first programs to be broadcast ed on radio was a yacht race that took place in British waters.


• Sports command the biggest television audiences, led by the summer Olympics, World Cup soccer and Formula One racing.


• Gymnasiums were introduced in 900BC and Greek athletes practiced in the nude to the accompaniment of music. They also performed naked at the Olympic Games.
• The very first Olympic race, held in 776 BC, was won by Corubus, a chef.
• The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece in 1896. There were 311 male but no female competitors.

         
      Games and sports are an integral part of a student’s life. A student should study hard to be successful in competitive examinations. But, he should also play games and sports to enjoy the health and vigor of life.

Along with bookish learning, a student should spend his time on games and sports. There are many people who give importance only to bookish knowledge. Indeed, there is often no provision for games at all.

In the Western countries, education of boys and girls is no longer confined to the lecture-theatres alone. Monotony of lectures has been very much minimized by out-door work and participation in games and sports and various athletic feats, which generate healthy competitive spirit and interest in life among students.

There are many benefits of games and sports in education. Outdoor games such as Football, cricket, badminton, tennis, etc. have many benefits. The participation in any one of them is not a fruitless or frivolous pursuit. They may not ensure any immediate gain. They may tell upon the health for the time being and may also affect education temporarily. But the outdoor games gradually build up a healthy body and make the mind energetic.

Inclusion of games in the curriculum of studies is, therefore, very important in modern times. ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’. We want Jack to become a bright young man. So, we must make games and sports not optional but compulsory in education at all levels, so that approach to it may be sincere, not casual.