The two-day sports meet at DPS Megacity saw multiple activities and plenty of fun on the field.

The event had several special guests, including former footballer Mehrajuddin Wadoo. “Parents should realise that sports are important. It doesn’t matter which field — any sport is better than being on the phone, which leads to obesity and anxiety,” said the resident of Anahita housing complex in New Town. His own son is an alumnus of the school. “It doesn’t matter how many of these children turn professional later as long as today they are fit and healthy, and this will help them focus better in studies.”

There were events galore. Rajdeep Roy of Class IX won gold in the 200m race. “I am a state-level sprinter in 100m and a footballer too,” said the boy, collecting a medal. “After the 200m event today, I got a cramp, so I got silver in the 100m. I used to be in a different school, but took a transfer here a few months back, as there are a lot of sporting facilities here.”

Evan Saha of Class XI won silver in the 75m run early in the day and was later set to take part in the 75m flat and relay races as well. “I’m actually a tennis player, but since we need to run daily anyway for stamina-building, these races are comfortable for me,” said the student who has even played tennis at the international level. “I want to go pro in tennis, so I am training in Ahmedabad while studying online. My school supports me a lot in this,” he said.

Anusmita Karmakar, a Class IX swimmer, did the torch run. “Our swimming events for the school sports were held earlier, and I won five golds,” said the girl, flanked by her swimming coach Supriti Chakraborty. “I’ve taken part in and even broken records at several national-level events, and have a Swimming Federation of India meet coming up soon, so I am not taking any chances by joining races today,” said the girl, whose ultimate target is to be an Olympian.

Students also put up a taekwondo demonstration. Utkarsh Singh was preparing to break a stack of six tiles, but his friend Prantik Roy, also in Class VIII, quipped that he could break more. Many martial arts enthusiasts were discussing the web series Cobra Kai, which is based on the sport. “Martial arts is not just about strength or defeating an opponent. It’s about discipline and builds brotherhood among us,” said Utkarsh.

There were also field events like javelin throw. When Akshat Pandey took a run-up to launch his spear, students from the stands could be heard shouting: “Neeraj Chopra!” “I play cricket, badminton, basketball and swim throughout the year. But when I saw javelin on the list of events at school, I signed up too. While every sport has technical details, being into sports in general gives one a natural knack for most games,” he said.

There were also march-pasts and parades. “From the eco club, we are leading a rally against plastic pollution,” said Diasmita Chakraborty of Class VI. “This is a good platform for such initiatives, as there is a huge captive audience of students and parents, and it can make a deep impact.”

The overall house champion trophy went to Prithvi House, while the individual champions were Maulik Kapoor and Azalyn Thingbaijam in the senior school, and Atif Hoque and Adrija Saha in the junior school.

“The goal of our school is to impart academics and build character, and the latter includes sports, as they teach life skills, team spirit and resilience,” said principal Tilottama Mallik. “The National Education Policy too states that sports and physical education should no longer be treated merely as co-curricular, but be integrated as an essential part of the overall curriculum for holistic development. We have many sporting facilities on campus and are even considering pickleball now.”