India’s sporting icons, MC Mary Kom and Sunil Chhetri, are urging the nation to embrace sports and physical activity. This comes after a recent report by PUMA India and Nielsen Sports revealed that both kids and adults in the country lack motivation to participate in sports.
The report found that a lack of time was the primary barrier to participating in sports. Other challenges included a lack of facilities and high costs. Surprisingly, kids in India only spend an average of 86 minutes on physical activities each week, while adults average 101 minutes.
Mary Kom, a six-time world champion boxer, emphasized the importance of sports and fitness for overall well-being and brain power. She encouraged every Indian to incorporate sports into their daily routine and announced her support for PUMA’s ‘Let There Be Sport’ campaign.
The report also found a correlation between low sports participation and poor emotional well-being. Chhetri, the captain of the national football team, stressed the need to value sports as much as academics. He believes that treating sports as a solid subject will lead to positive change and that playing sports teaches important life lessons.
The survey conducted by PUMA and Nielsen Sports included 4280 respondents from 16 cities, aged 18-65 years old. The report also highlighted regional differences in kids’ participation in sports, with the East part of India being more involved than other regions.
PUMA’s new campaign, ‘Let There Be Sport’, challenges the idea that sports is a distraction from academics and promotes the positive correlation between sports, improved academic performance, and emotional well-being. The campaign aims to create awareness, support grassroots athletes, and integrate sports and fitness into the main curriculum.
Abhishek Ganguly, Managing Director of PUMA India and Southeast Asia, stated that the Let There Be Sport platform will be a priority, with a focus on promoting sport and fitness as a life skill. PUMA plans to invest in creating awareness, inspiring moments, and collaborating with stakeholders to make sports and fitness a more integral part of Indian society.