லங்கா பிரீமியர் லீக் 2020: உள்ளூர் வீரர்களின் திறமைகளை உணர்ந்து, ஒரு வலுவான விளையாட்டு பொருளாதாரத்தை நோக்கிய பயணத்தின் ஆரம்பம்.
லங்கா பிரீமியர் லீக் 2020 நவம்பர் மாதம் ஆரம்பமாகவுள்ள நிலையில், அது உலக விளையாட்டுத் துறையில் இலங்கையை பலப்படுத்தும் ஒரு போட்டியாகவும் உள்ளதுடன், இப்போட்டியானது இப்போதே உள்ளூர் மற்றும் சர்வதேச விளையாட்டு பார்வையாளர்கள் மற்றும் ஊடகங்களின் கவனத்தை ஈர்த்துள்ளது.
நாம் அனைவரும் அறிந்தவகையில், உலகின் பிற நாடுகளைப் போலவே, இலங்கையும் கடந்த பல மாதங்களாக உலகளாவிய கொவிட்-19 தொற்றுநோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டு, தொற்றுநோயைக் கட்டுப்படுத்த நாட்டில் கடுமையான சுகாதார வழிகாட்டுதல்கள் மற்றும் தனிமைப்படுத்தப்பட்ட விதிமுறைகளை அமுல்படுத்தி வருகிறது. நான் இதனை எழுதுகையிலும், இலங்கை பாரிய கொவிட் அச்சுறுத்தலை எதிர்கொண்டிருக்கிறது. மேலும் அதை கட்டுப்படுத்த சுகாதார அதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் பாதுகாப்பு படைகள் உள்ளிட்ட அரச அதிகாரிகள் கடுமையாக போராடி வருகின்றனர்.
கொவிட் -19 தொற்றுநோய் காரணமாக, எல்பிஎல் 2020 போட்டி நவம்பர் மூன்றாம் வாரத்திற்கு ஒத்திவைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. அதன்படி, வீரர்கள், பார்வையாளர்கள் மற்றும் நாட்டின் நீண்டகால நலனை கருத்திற்கொண்டு விளையாட்டு அமைச்சு, இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் மற்றும் எல்பிஎல் 2020 அமைப்பாளர்கள் ஒன்றிணைந்து எல்பிஎல் 2020 போட்டியை நவம்பர் 21 முதல் டிசம்பர் 13 வரை நடத்துவதற்கு தற்போது திட்டமிடப்பட்டுள்ளனர்.
இந்தியன் பிரீமியர் லீக்கின் வெற்றியைத் தொடர்ந்து, இலங்கையில் இதுபோன்ற ஒரு போட்டியை நடத்துவதற்கான சாத்தியம் குறித்து பல ஆண்டுகளாகப் பேசப்பட்ட போதிலும், அந்த பேச்சுவார்த்தைகள் இந்நாட்டு வீரர்களுக்கு சர்வதேச அளவில் 20-20 போட்டி அனுபவத்தை பெற்றுக்கொள்வதை காரணமின்றி ஒத்திவைக்கும் ஒரு செயற்பாட்டிலேயே நிறைவடைந்தது. இந்த சவாலான தருணத்திலும் இந்த போட்டியை யதார்த்தமாக்குவதற்கு இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் சபை மற்றும் இளைஞர் விவகார மற்றும் விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சு பல வாரங்களாக பேச்சுவார்த்தை நடத்தி, இந்த செயற்பாட்டை முன்னெடுத்து செல்வதற்கு நடவடிக்கை எடுத்ததற்கு காரணம் இது இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட்டின் எதிர்காலத்திற்கு இன்றியமையாதது என்பதாலாகும். குறிப்பாக, இந்த போட்டி நாட்டின் விளையாட்டு பொருளாதாரத்தை கட்டமைத்து, இலங்கையின் இளம் விளையாட்டு வீரர்களின் திறமைகளை சர்வதேச அரங்கிற்கு வெளிப்படுத்துவதற்கான களத்தை அமைக்கும் என்று நான் நம்புகிறேன்.
எனது வலைப்பதிவில் இந்த கட்டுரையை வெளியிட்டபோது, கிறிஸ் கெய்ல், அண்ட்ரே ரஸ்ஸல், ஷாஹிட் அஃப்ரிடி, ஃபாஃப் டு பிளெசிஸ் மற்றும் கார்லோஸ் பிராத்வைட் ஆகிய 20-20 கிரிக்கெட் அரங்கை ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ள புகழ்பெற்ற வீரர்கள் பலரும் தங்களது பங்கேற்பை உறுதிபடுத்தியுள்ளமை இவ்வாண்டில் எல்.பி.எல். போட்டியின் வெற்றியை பறைசாற்றியுள்ளது.
சமீபத்திய வாரங்களில் இந்த போட்டி குறித்த சில ஊடகங்களில் விமர்சிக்கப்பட்ட போதிலும், இளைஞர் விவகார மற்றும் விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சு, இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் சபையுடன் இணைந்து, போட்டியை சீராக நடத்துவதற்கு தேவையான அனைத்து நடவடிக்கைகளையும் எடுத்து வருகிறது. இது எமது முதலாவது போட்டி என்பதால் தற்போதுள்ள குறைபாடுகளை சரிசெய்து நாம் முன்னோக்கி செல்ல வேண்டும் என்பதை நாங்கள் ஒப்புக்கொள்கிறோம். இந்த குறைபாடுகளை சரிசெய்து நாட்டில் வருடாந்த போட்டியாக எல்.பி.எல் போட்டியை நடத்துவதற்கு நாம் எதிர்பார்க்கிறோம்.
இந்த நேரத்தில் கருத்தில் கொள்ள வேண்டிய முக்கியமான விடயம் என்னவென்றால், இந்த வகையான சர்வதேச அளவிலான போட்டியின் மூலம் நாட்டின் விளையாட்டு பொருளாதாரத்தை உயர்த்த முடியும். இது கடந்த சில ஆண்டுகளாக குறிப்பாக கடந்த சில மாதங்களில் கொவிட்-19 தொற்றுநோய் காரணமாக குறைந்து வருகிறது. எல்.பி.எல். போட்டியானது நமது இளம் விளையாட்டு வீரர்களுக்கு அதிக சர்வதேச கவனத்தையும் அங்கீகாரத்தையும் தரும், மேலும் இதுபோன்ற மிகவும் போட்டித்திறன் வாய்ந்த போட்டி, பொழுதுபோக்குகளை மேம்படுத்துவதோடு மட்டுமல்லாமல், விளையாட்டு பொருளாதாரத்திற்கும் நாட்டின் பொருளாதாரத்திற்கும் குறிப்பிடத்தக்க பங்களிப்பை வழங்கும். கொரோனா உலகளாவிய தொற்றுநோயால் கடுமையாக பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள விளையாட்டு சுற்றுலாத் துறையை வலுப்படுத்தவும், இலங்கையை உலக வரைபடத்தில் விளையாட்டு மூலம் வலுவான நாடாக உயர்த்தவும் இந்த போட்டி ஒரு வலுவான அடித்தளமாக அமையும்.
எல்.பி.எல்.-2020, முதலாவது 20-20 போட்டியை நாட்டின் முதன்மையான வருடாந்த போட்டியாக மாற்றுவதற்கு விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சராக, எனது அமைச்சின் ஊடாக இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் சபைக்கு முழு ஆதரவையும் வழங்க எதிர்பார்க்கிறேன். அதன்மூலம் இப்போட்டியை நாம் இன்னும் வெற்றிகரமாக தொடர முடியும். இலங்கை மற்றும் சர்வதேச வீரர்களுக்கு ஒரு தளத்தை உருவாக்க இதுபோன்ற ஒரு போட்டியின் அனுகூலங்கள் மகத்தானவை.
அதே நேரத்தில், போட்டிகளுக்கு தேவையான அனைத்து நடைமுறைகளும் செயல்படுத்தப்பட்டு வருவதுடன், விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சராக, நிதி வெளிப்படைத்தன்மை மற்றும் பொறுப்புக்கூறல் மற்றும் வீரர்களை தேர்ந்தெடுப்பதில் வெளிப்படைத்தன்மை ஆகியவற்றை பராமரிக்குமாறு இலங்கை கிரிக்கெட் சபைக்கு தெரிவித்துக்கொள்ள விரும்புகிறேன். விளையாட்டு அமைச்சராக, சர்வதேச சட்டங்கள் மற்றும் ஒழுங்குமுறைகளின்படி போட்டிகளை ஏற்பாடு செய்ய வேண்டும் என்றும், போட்டி நிர்ணயம் தொடர்பான விதிகளை கண்டிப்பாக அமுல்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்றும் அவர்களுக்கு அறிவித்துள்ளேன்.
மேலும், அனைத்து சுகாதார வழிகாட்டுதல்களும் போட்டிக்கு முன்னும், பின்னும், செயல்படுத்தப்பட வேண்டும்.
எல்.பி.எல். இந்த போட்டிகளை சூரியவெ வ மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ சர்வதேச கிரிக்கெட் மைதானத்தில் ஆரம்பித்து, இறுதிப் போட்டிகளை பல்லேகெல சர்வதேச கிரிக்கெட் மைதானத்தில் நடத்துவதற்கு திட்டங்கள் வகுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன.
எல்.பி.எல் என்பதுவீர வீராங்கனைகளின் மற்றும் நாட்டின் சலனை கருத்திற்கொண்டு இளைஞர் விவகார மற்றும் விளையாட்டுத்துறை அமைச்சினால் செயற்படுத்த தீர்மானித்துள்ள பல சர்வதேச போட்டிகளின் ஆரம்பமாகும். இந்நாட்டின் வீரர்களை சர்வதேச மட்டத்திற்கு கொண்டு செல்வதற்கும் சர்வதேச நிகழ்வுகளுக்கான சிறந்த இடமாக இலங்கையை நிறுவுவதற்கான தருணம் இது.
இந்த சிந்தனையின் மூலம் நாம் ஊக்குவிக்கப்பட்டு எமது வீர வீராங்கனைகளுக்காக ஒரு வித்தியாசத்தை ஏற்படுத்த முயற்சிப்பவர்களுக்கு ஆதரவளிக்க வேண்டிய நேரம் இது. இது அதன் ஆரம்பம்.
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ලංකා ප්රිමියර් ලීග් 2020 : දේශීය ක්රීඩකයින්ගේ දක්ෂතා හඳුනා ගනිමින්, ශක්තිමත් ක්රීඩා ආර්ථිකයක් කරා යන ගමනේ ආරම්භය…..
ලංකා ප්රිමියර් ලීග් 2020 නොවැම්බර් මාසයේදී ආරම්භ වීමට නියමිතව ඇති අතර එය ගෝලීය ක්රීඩා සිතියම මත ශ්රී ලංකාව ශක්තිමත් කරන තරගාවලියක් වන අතර දේශීය හා ජාත්යන්තර ක්රීඩා ප්රේක්ෂකයින්,ජනමාධ්යයන්හී අවධානය මේවන විටත් මෙම තරගාවලිය වෙත යොමුව තිබෙනවා.
අප කවුරුත් දන්නා පරිදි, පසුගිය මාස ගණනාවක් තිස්සේම , ශ්රී ලංකාව ද ලෝකයේ සෙසු රටවල් මෙන් ගෝලීය COVID-19 වසංගතයේ බලපෑමට ලක්ව සිටින අතර ඒ අනුව මෙම වසංගතය පාලනය කිරීමට රට තුළ දැඩි සෞඛ්ය මාර්ගෝපදේශ හා නිරෝධායන නීති රීතී ක්රියාත්මක කරමින් සිටිනවා. මා මෙම ලිපිය ලියන විටත්,ශ්රී ලංකාව විශාලතම කොවිඩ් පොකුරට මුහුණ දී සිටින අතර එය පාලනය කිරීමට සෞඛ්ය බලධාරීන්, ආරක්ෂක අංශ ඇතුළු රාජ්ය යාන්ත්රණය පූර්ණ කැපවීමෙන් ක්රියාකරමින් සිටිනවා.
COVID-19 වසංගතය හේතුවෙන් LPL 2020 තරඟාවලිය නොවැම්බර් තුන්වන සතිය දක්වා කල් දැමීමට තීරණය කළ අතර ඒ අනුව ක්රීඩා අමාත්යාංශය,ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ආයතනය සහ LPL 2020 සංවිධායකයින් එක්ව ක්රීඩකයින්ගේ, ප්රේක්ෂකයින්ගේ සහ රටේ දීර්ඝකාලීන යහපත වෙනුවෙන් නොවැම්බර් 21 සිට දෙසැම්බර් 13 දක්වා කාලය තුළ LPL 2020 තරගාවලිය පැවැත්වීමට මේ වනවිට සැලසුම් කරමින් සිටිනවා.
ඉන්දීය ප්රිමියර් ලීග් තරඟාවලියේ සාර්ථකත්වයට පසුව, ශ්රී ලංකාවේ එවැනි තරගාවලියක් පැවැත්වීමේ හැකියාව වසර ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ බොහෝ කතාබහට ලක් වූ නමුත් එම සාකච්ඡා සාකච්ඡාවකින්ම අවසන් වුනේ මෙරට ක්රීඩකයින්ට ජාත්යන්තර තලයේ 20-20 තරග අත්දැකීම් ලැබීම අහේතුකව කල් දමමින්. කෙසේ වෙතත් මෙම අභියෝගාත්මක මොහොතේ වුවද මෙම තරඟාවලිය යථාර්ථයක් බවට පත් කිරීම සඳහා ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ආයතනය සහ තරුණ හා ක්රීඩා අමාත්යංශය සති ගණනාවක් තිස්සේ සාකච්ඡා කරමින් එය ක්රියාවට නැංවීමට පියවර ගත්තේ මෙරට ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩාවේ අනාගතය සදහා මෙම තරගාවලිය අත්යවශ්ය වන නිසයි. විශේෂයෙන් මෙම තරගාවලිය රටේ ක්රීඩා ආර්ථිකය ගොඩනගමින්, මෙරට තරුණ ක්රීඩකයින්ගේ දක්ෂතා ජාත්යන්තරයට නිරාවරණය කිරිමේ පසුබිම සකසන බව මාගේ විශ්වාසයයි.
මෙම ලිපිය මගේ බ්ලොග් අඩවියේ පළ වන විටත්, ක්රිස් ගේල්, ඇන්ඩ්රේ රසල්, ෂාහිඩ් අෆ්රිඩි, ෆෆ් ඩු ප්ලෙසිස් සහ කාලෝස් බ්රාත්වේට් 20-20 ක්රිකට් පිටිය ආක්රමණය කළ විශාල නම් දැරූ ක්රීඩකයින් රැසක් සහභාගීත්වය ස්ථිර කර තිබීම මේ වසරේදී එල්.පී.එල්. තරගාවලියේ සාර්ථකත්වය පිළිබද සුබ පෙරනිමිත්තක්.
මෑත සතිවල දී මෙම තරඟාවලිය ඇතැම් මාධ්යවල විවේචනයට ලක්ව තිබු නමුත් මේ වනවිට තරුණ හා ක්රීඩා අමාත්යාංශය,ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ආයතනය සමඟ එක්ව තරඟාවලිය සුමටව පවත්වාගෙන යාමට අවශ්ය සියලු පියවර ගනිමින් සිටිනවා. මෙය අපගේ පළමු තරගාවලිය වන අතර, පවතින අඩුපාඩු නිවැරදි කරගනිමින් ඉදිරියට යා යුතු බව අප ද පිළිගන්නවා. එම අඩුපාඩු නිවැරදි කර රට තුළ වාර්ෂික තරඟාවලියක් ලෙස එල්.පී.එල්. තරගාවලිය ක්රියාත්මක කිරීමට අප බලාපොරොත්තු වනවා.
මේ මොහොතේ සැලකිල්ලට ගත යුතු වැදගත් කරුණ නම්, මේ ආකාරයේ ජාත්යන්තර මට්ටමේ තරඟාවලි හරහා මෙරට ක්රීඩා ආර්ථිකය නංවාලීමට හැකි වනවා. එය පසුගිය වසර කිහිපය තුළ මෙන්ම විශේෂයෙන් පසුගිය මාස කිහිපය තුළ COVID-19 වසංගතය හේතුවෙන් පසුබෑමට ලක්ව තිබුනා. එල්.පී.එල්. තරගාවලිය අපගේ තරුණ ක්රීඩකයින්ට වැඩි ජාත්යන්තර අවධානයක් හා පිළිගැනීමක් ලබා දෙනු ඇති අතර එවැනි ඉහළ තරඟකාරී තරඟාවලියක් විනෝදාස්වාදය ඉහළ නැංවීමට පමණක් නොව, ක්රීඩා ආර්ථිකයට වගේම රටේ ආර්ථිකයට සුවිශේෂී දායකත්වයක් ලබා දෙනු ඇත. කොරෝනා ගෝලීය වසංගතය හේතුවෙන් දැඩි බලපෑමකට ලක්ව ඇති ක්රීඩා සංචාරක ව්යාපාරය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට වගේම ක්රීඩාව ඔස්සේ ගෝලීය සිතියම තුළ ශ්රී ලංකාව ශක්තිමත් රාජ්යයක් ලෙස ඔසවා තැබීමට ද මෙම තරගාවලිය ශක්තිමත් පදනමක් වනු ඇති.
එල්.පී.එල්. 2020 පළමු 20-20 තරගාවලිය රටේ ප්රමුඛතම වාර්ෂික තරගාවලියක් බවට පත් කිරීම සඳහා ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා ලෙස මාගේ අමාත්යාංශය හරහා ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ආයතනයට පුර්ණ සහයෝගය ලබාදීමට බලාපොරොත්තු වනවා. ඒ අනුව මෙම තරගාවලිය අපට වඩාත් සාර්ථකව ඉදිරියට කරගෙන යා හැකිය. තවද ශ්රී ලාංකික හා ජාත්යන්තර ක්රීඩකයින් සඳහා වේදිකාවක් නිර්මාණය කිරීමට ද මෙවැනි තරඟාවලියකින් ලැබෙන ප්රතිලාභ සුවිශාලයි.
ඒ අතරම, තරඟාවලිය සඳහා අවශ්ය සියලු ක්රියා පටිපාටි ක්රියාත්මක වෙමින් පවතින අතර, ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා වශයෙන් මා ශ්රී ලංකා ක්රිකට් ආයතනය දන්වා ඇත්තේ මූල්ය විනිවිදභාවය සහ වගවීම සහ ක්රීඩකයින් තෝරා ගැනීමේ විනිවිදභාවය පවත්වාගෙන යමින් ක්රියාකරන ලෙසයි. තරඟාවලිය ජාත්යන්තර නීති හා රෙගුලාසිවලට අනුකූලව සංවිධානය කළ යුතු අතර තරග පාවාදීම්වලට අදාළ නීති දැඩි ලෙස ක්රියාත්මක කළ යුතු බවත් මා ක්රීඩා අමාත්යවරයා ලෙස ඔවුන්ට දැනුම් දී තිබෙනවා.
තවද, සියලුම සෞඛ්ය මාර්ගෝපදේශ තරඟාවලියට පෙර, තරගාවලිය අතරතුර මෙන්ම තරගාවලියෙන් පසුව ක්රියාත්මක කළ යුතු වනවා.
එල්.පී.එල්. තරගාවලිය සුරියවැව මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ ජාත්යන්තර ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩාගංනයෙන් ආරම්භවී පසුව තරගාවලියේ අවසන් භාගයේ තරග පල්ලේකැලේ ජාත්යන්තර ක්රිකට් ක්රීඩාගංනයේදී පැවැත්වීමට සැලසුම් කර තිබෙනවා.
එල්.පි.එල් යන්න ක්රීඩක ක්රීඩිකාවන්ගේ සහ රටේ යහපත උදෙසා තරුණ හා ක්රීඩා අමාත්යංශය ක්රියාවට නැංවීමට අදහස් කරන බොහෝ ජාත්යන්තර තරඟාවලි වල ආරම්භය වන අතර මෙරට ක්රීඩකයින් ලෝකයට ගෙන යෑමටත් ජාත්යන්තර ඉසව් සඳහා කදිම ස්ථානයක් ලෙස ශ්රී ලංකාව ස්ථාපිත කිරීමටත් අවශ්ය කාලයයි මේ. අපි මෙම සිතුවිල්ල හරහා දිරිමත් වෙමින් අපගේ ක්රීඩක ක්රීඩිකාවන් වෙනුවෙන් වෙනසක් කිරීමට උත්සාහ කරන අයට සහාය දැක්විමට කාලයයි මේ. මෙය එහි ආරම්භයයි.
පරිස්සමින් ඉන්න.
LPL 2020: Kicking off the Journey towards a strong sports economy whilst recognizing local talent
The Lanka Premier League 2020 is all set to kick off in November,It is a tournament which will strengthen Sri Lanka on the global map of sports and is much looked forward to by the local and international sports audience.
As we all know, in recent months, Sri Lanka, like the rest of the world has been hit by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which has put in place strict health guidelines and protocols. Infact as I write this article Sri Lanka is facing its largest cluster with authorities including Health officials out in full force, trying their best to contain a further spread.
Keeping the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, it was decided to postpone the LPL 2020 tournament towards the third week of November and as a result the Sports Ministry along with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and the organizers of LPL 2020 decided to kick off the tournament from November 21 to December 13. All plans are now being set to conduct the LPL 2020 without any shortcomings, for the best interest of the players, audience and country at large.
Following the success of the Indian Premier League, the possibility of holding the LPL in Sri Lanka was much talked about for several years but these discussions had ended in a deadlock. However the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and my ministry have been in discussions for weeks to make this tournament a reality simply because it is much needed, especially at a time when the country’s sports economy has come to a standstill and at a time when our local and young talent need the exposure.
By the time this article goes on my blog, already big names such as Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Shahid Afridi, Faf du Plessis and Carlos Brathwaite are among the top international players that have been included into the LPL among others this year. And the local talent who will take part is outstanding.
And while this tournament has come under criticism in certain sections of the media in recent weeks, the Sports Ministry, along with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board are taking all steps necessary for the smooth running of the tournament. It is the inaugural session, we admit we have room for improvement but we also hope to rectify all shortfalls and make this an annual tournament in the country.
What is important to note at the moment is that international tournaments of this kind will help boost the much needed sports economy in Sri Lanka which has come to a standstill in recent years and especially in recent months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This will also give more international exposure and recognition to our young and local players for future international cricket tournaments and such a highly competitive tournament will not only boost entertainment, but it will also contribute towards the economy including the sports economy, strengthen our tourism which has suffered a severe blow due to the pandemic, strengthen sports tourism and will also strengthen the country’s placing on the global sports map.
While 2020 will be the inauguration of the LPL, I as the Sports Minister and my ministry will support and back the Sri Lanka Cricket Board to make this an annual event in the country. So that we can make it a successful venture. And create a platform for Sri Lankan and international players. The benefits from such a tournament will be endless.
At the same time, while all procedures are ongoing to get set for the tournament, as the Minister of Sports I have informed the Sri Lanka Cricket Board to keep in mind the financial transparency and accountability and the transparency in selecting the players and have informed them the tournament should be organized in par with international laws and regulations and to strictly implement laws related to match fixing.
Further, all health guidelines will be in place before, during and after the tournament. The LPL will be played initially in Sooriyawewa stadium, before moving to Pallekele for the latter stages.
The LPL is just the start of many international tournaments that the Sports Ministry intends to support for the benefit of the athletes and the country. It is time, our players are taken to the world and Sri Lanka itself gets the international exposure it needs as an ideal venue for international events. It is time we encourage this thought and support those who are trying to make a change for our athletes. This is the start.
Stay safe.
More than 250 million people in the world are effected by “Mental disorders”, Sports and Yoga can help combat it
This year’s World Mental Health Day comes at a time when all our lives have changed considerably and we face several challenges due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
It is a time when the world is racing to combat an illness which has affected millions and severely affected economies and the incomes of the rich and poor alike.
While COVID-19 is relatively a new illness which has taken the world by storm, mental illness is a silent pandemic which has plagued our society for generations, and still most consider it a taboo subject to even discuss.
According to official statistics by World health organization says, The global economy loses about US$ 1 trillion per year in productivity due to depression and anxiety. Also almost 800 000 people die by suicide every year; 1 person dies from suicide every 40 seconds. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in individuals aged 15-29 years , a major cause being that these victims cannot reach out to the help required.
Currently, young people make up around one fourth of the world’s total population and this group also face the highest form of competition, because they are at a crucial stage in their lives where they are about to complete their educational years and enter a new world of independence. Where they have to select their careers, set their income for the future and achieve their ambitions.
But most often, in this day and age where Information Technology can be misused, some youngsters fall prey to cyber bullying, cyber crimes and other distractions which leads to mental illness and severe forms of depression, even before the start of their careers or while reaching the peak of their lives. According to numbers, Depression is one of the leading causes of disability, affecting 264 million people.(Source – www.who.int)
While such challenges should be faced with will and courage, I encourage the young and old to be more involved in sports and yoga which leads to team work and a healthier life and is a promising avenue for supporting mental health.
The endorphins released by exercise can help combat anxiety and depression.
Further, we have all witnessed that even athletes often fall victim to mental illness as they are pressurized to be the ‘fittest’, ‘fastest’ or the ‘best’.
Yoga’s positive benefits on mental health have made it an important practice method of psychotherapy (American psychological association). It has been proven that yoga enhances social well being through a sense of belonging to others, and improve the symptoms of depression, hyperactivity, and sleep disorders (Source – Yoga & Mental Health, Huffington Post 2013).
Which is why I am now working on promoting yoga in the national sports academy so that the mental health and physical health of our athletes are well maintained.
As we now move into a COVID-19 world, where we have to accept that this illness may be around for some time till countries develop a strong vaccine against it, we must all unite and remain together and encourage each other to move ahead with will and dedication to face all challenges which may come our way. Practicing sports, going for walks, maintaining workouts, practicing yoga, are all ways which can help us combat mental illness and lead us to creating a stronger society with not just healthy bodies but with healthy minds too.
For nothing in this world can torment you more than your own thoughts
As Sri Lanka faces a new wave of the COVID-19 I call on all of you to strictly follow all the health guidelines laid out by the authorities and pray for all of you to be safe.
Take care everyone. Stay Safe!