‘Education lends sophistication’

FORMER INDIAN HOCKEY GOALKEEPER AND OLYMPIAN,ASHISH BALLAL,ON WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO STUDY AS WELL AS PLAY SPORTS

Ithink it’s very important for sportspersons to finish their education. Right now, sports and academics are not going hand-in-hand. But that should not be the case. I urge students to play sports in their school years – especially Olympic events.

Being an Olympian coupled with the right education opens many doors for you. There are many companies who are just waiting to grab Olympians and ready to place them in good positions. For example, ONGC hires many sportspersons. Even Viren Rasquinha joined ISB to finish his MBA. He was the captain of the Indian hockey team. Yet, he did not neglect his studies.

I currently work as commercial manager for Air India. This would not have been possible had I not finished my BCom when I could. I started going pro very early – during my Class 12. I had to forego doing my Bachelor’s. I have no regrets for I got to play for India in international events like the Olympics and the World Cup. I got to rub shoulders with many other big stars like Michael Jordan and Steffi Graf during Olympics. It was an incredible feeling.

I was really disappointed when I had to give the 2004 Olympics a miss because of injury. But I went back to college and got myself a degree. That has put me in good stead all these years.

Education is really important because it guarantees you a job and gives you sophistication, especially when it comes to dealing with people and the media. It also guarantees promotions faster. But I want to stress that education plus sports equals a fantastic career and numerous opportunities.

So I think students should seriously look at pursuing Olympic sports and education in right measure.

(As told to Darinia Khongwir)