Observed annually on August 29 in India, National Sports Day is a day which celebrates and honors the birthday of Major Dhyan Chand – a field hockey player who is considered by many to be the best of all time. This day is also known as Rashtriya Khel Divas or National Sports Day of India.
To mark this day in GD Goenka Public School (Lucknow), the entire Goenkan fraternity involved themselves in various sports-related activities. What could have been more fitting than a Mini – Marathon for 2 km. that set the pace for the day. This marathon saw the participation of several enthusiastic Goenkans who were ready to participate in the race, early in the morning.
It was a treat to see these energetic, young faces in their house uniforms ready with a determined look on their faces, just waiting for the flag-off signal. The Chairman of the school, Mr. Sarvesh Kumar Goel himself gave the flag-off signal. His presence was like a booster for the participants. RadhakrishnanHouse, with maximum participation, got the recognition from the Principal, Mrs. Raveen Pande
While this activity took place at the green belt outside the school, the Open-AirPlaza was also teeming with sports-related activities such as In-Out (class III) Builders and Destroyers (class IV), Ice & water (class V), Dog and the bone (class VII) and Plank Challenge (class VIII)
These activities not only tested the participants’ skills but also generated excitement and a bond of unity among all. A good sportsmanship spirit was observed throughout the campus amongst all Goenkans. The field came alive with the vibrant displayed by the children.
In addition, a Slam Quiz was organized by Edusports later in the day. This was an Inter – School Quiz competition, wherein a total of 18 schools participated with great zeal and enthusiasm.
SLAM is an innovative knowledge enhancer which makes subject learning more interesting and engaging for students through sports trivia. The quiz included well-researched sports facts connected to General Knowledge and other academic concepts.
The quiz began with a written pen paper round which was an elimination round. Thereafter, the six finalists participated in the concluding rounds. The teams were SJS Study Home School, DPS Indira Nagar, Excellia School, SJS Public School Raibareilly, SAR Jaipuria Alambagh and GD Goenka Public School. Each team gave their best performance and the scores were neck to neck. The audience was excited as there was stiff competition among the teams. The winners were SJS Public School Raibareilly followed by DPS Indira Nagar as First Runners’ Up and SJS Study Home School the Second Runners’ Up.
The Principal, Mrs. Raveen Pande addressed the gathering after the event and appreciated the combined efforts of the entire Goenkan fraternity and the team from Edusports. She also spoke about the importance of this day, National Sports’ Day, by showing a video clip on the achievements of Maj. Dhyan Chand.
Overall, not only was it a day full of fun and frolic, but it also brought all the Goenkans together to spend some fruitful time in engaging themselves in meaningful activities that build as well as strengthen the social bond and harness spirit of oneness. The students also left with an increased awareness of current affairs in sports.