Question

In groups of five, discuss the following topic taking examples from Mary Kom’s life.

Athletes cannot run with money in their pockets. They must run with hope in their heart and dreams in their head.

The following expressions may help you in connecting ideas and presenting your views to the class.

• In my opinion…
• I wholeheartedly support…
• At the outset, let me say…
• I should like to draw your attention to…

Answer 1

Mr. A	In my opinion, every sportsman is not bom with a silver spoon in his mouth. Many sportsmen have come from very poor backgrounds.
Mr. B	I wholeheartedly support your view, even Milka Singh, the flying Sikh had his humble beginnings.
Miss. C	At the outset, let me tell you, it is the burning desire in one’s heart that propels one to success in sports.
Mr. A	I should like to draw your attention to the fact that even former skipper Kapil Dev even did not have enough food when he began his career in cricket. The mess boy even refused to give him a few chapattis more during practice sessions. He commanded the respect of everyone with his batting and bowling skills.
Mr. B	New sports stars like Bhuvaneswar Kumar who took five wickets in the latest T-20 cricket in South Africa is also from a humble home.
Miss C	Similar to Mary Kom, I wish to share with you about the rising star of the Indian women's Hockey team. She is Rani Rampal, who was born in a very poor family. Her dad was a driver of a horse-drawn cart in a small village called Shahabad in Haryana. She was impressed with many hockey players landing jobs in Indian Railways as a result of their performance in Hockey games. At the age of six, she walked to the Hockey academy coach Mr. Baldev Singh. She disclosed her dream of becoming a Hockey Champion and replacing the leaky hut with a good house. Baldev Singh considered her too young to start practice and asked her to come after some time. She met him again after a few days and begged him to take her in. Impressed, he admitted her. People protested that a young girl was practicing a boy’s game. Her parents ignored the protest. They had no money to buy her even the uniform or the hockey stick. One day, she came late for her practice. Baldev Singh being a dedicated coach got angry and imposed a penalty of Rs 200/-.
Miss E	Dear friends, I would also like to highlight a girl rising as a volleyball champion. from Tamil Nadu. She has become a star player giving hope to Tamil Nadu. She is Michael Nandhini (16). She hails from Tharuvaikulam, Thoothukudi district. She is studying in Std XI, like us, in the Government Higher Secondary School in her own village. She has represented the Tamil Nadu Sub-Junior Volley Ball team and helped the Tamil Nadu bag a Silver medal in Rajasthan. Her father and brother are coolies. But she cherishes the dream of playing for India in the international games. The challenge for Hristo scale over the threatening poverty at home and touch stardom in sports. Nandhini wants to break the vicious cycle of poverty by training herself in volleyball. She is also making her mark in athletic events such as long jump, triple jump, 100 meters, and 200-meter races. The balls she hits over the net may help her scale over the poverty line.
Mr. A	MS Dhoni is also from a small tribal village. Today he is rich and famous but it was his hard work and dream for India that made him great.
Miss E	Well, Shikhar Dhawan who has hit 72 runs out of 39 balls is a legend who guides India to success during critical situations.
Mr. B	Why have you left Virat Kohli? He leads by example. He has proved to the world that if you believe in your dreams you can beat any team in the world:
Mr. A	Yes, with persistence and hard work one can grow from rags to riches.