Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Tuesday, March 19th, 2024

Uniting through South Asian Games

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Uniting through South Asian Games

Sports does not have a language. They don’t have any words. Or, there is nothing communicable within sports - but it unites people. It doesn’t matter whether you are Islam, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist or Christian - it lets all of you be within a team and work with the spirit of being one. So, be it Sri Lankan team, or Bhutanese - they play with the spirit of one.
This should be accepted that sports are a big business where players are sold and bought like commodities. There is a large number of sponsors and advertisers followed by huge tickets. How much did Russia earn during 2018 is a separate issue - but if it is about unity, sports certainly unites a wide range of mass.
SAARC leaders come together in SAARC Summit. But, South Asian Games (SAG) lets people meet people from this community. A runner gets to meet the next runner from a different nation. Although they play with each other it promotes a sense of belonging along with identity by tying people together in the segmented society. This is the best opportunity for people to know about each other. How would Afghan’s player ever know how Bhutanese culture is - if there were no such games and no such opportunities.
South Asian Games provides opportunities to all the sportsmen from the South Asian region to visit the host nation and understand the alt, culture, people, and places of the host nations. Here, the internal tourism of the host nation gains space too which is meaningful. These international games create friendships among people who would never communicate else. It promotes anti-racism and then lets to understand each other individually, regionally, nationally and across the border promoting peaceful ties among them.
There again back in the home, sports lets family and friends enjoy together - from football to basketball - people get summarized. An audience sits back at his home with his family members or friends and enjoys the beauty along with.
There is nothing politically involved in sports. So, it creates an opportunity to work with the sportsmanship and let each other stand for each other from the day of opening itself. Staying together, interacting with each other - it lets players understand national issues and then realize that political deeds have nothing to do with individual level among separate nationalities. And as they say - sports have the power to cross divide like no other form of entertainment letting people unite from different backgrounds, classes, ages, and countries.
South Asian Games (SAG) is the sports event within the South Asian Region, basically SAARC. This sport lets the world see how South Asian nations are united and how SAARC has been staying with unity within it.
Even though sports are played with competition at the international level, audiences don’t understand that there is the language spoken within the opponent’s team. Hence, what we see is different than what it takes place as there lies hidden communication with a sense of bonding, appreciation, and respect for the opponent team. After all, for true sportsmanship - an individual will never be affected by the way their opponent plays unless it is within the rules and regulations there.
Mandela saw this back then when he used sports way to unite South Africans. Apart, these games at the regional level act as a platform for aspiring players to get an international eye.
It’s an honor for Nepal to host this season of South Asian Games (SAG). As Nepal has just been into its phase of stability; it could be possible that there will be a lot of laggings - but Nepalese have been working day and night to build up everything for this game. Maybe, this would still not be up to the international mark - but this is far better than previous editions that Nepal held.
Moreover, SAG is not about proving best - but about showing what we have. We don’t build a new home when our relatives come, but maintain and clean our house and try our best to keep our relatives happy and satisfied. Nepal is doing the same - and we hope our deeds will be appreciated.
Welcome to Nepal and Best Wishes for South Asian Games! May the deserving team win!

Dwaipayan Regmi is a freelance writer from Nepal

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