Cancelling sporting events is not the solution. I have never seen anyone standing with placards in local parks saying ‘don’t walk today, you’ll die’.
There has been a lot of talk about how the increase in pollution levels in Delhi is creating problems for cricketers, for athletes, or for people who wish to go out and play. A few Sri Lankan cricketers vomited on the ground during the recent Test match in Delhi. But it was probably more because of the food they ate the night before.
Pollution is bad for everyone. It is not just athletes who need clean air; it’s a basic human right. The Indian winter is an important time for sports, so we should be talking about how to cut this pollution down.
We know that the capital gets toxic every year at this time. But we focus our energy on stopping Diwali crackers, postponing marathons, and cricket tournaments.
All these people who raise concerns, petition courts, and question the government, stay quiet all through the year. They do not speak up in March, April, May, or June, but they begin to demand action only when the city gets ready to boost sports.
People who are raising the issue of pollution now should have raised it back when the Test match in Delhi was announced a couple of months ago, instead of calling people now to say it should’ve be relocated. The Delhi Half Marathon is like a carnival for runners in the country, everybody knows it will happen in the third week of November, with 30,000 people coming out on the road. The expression of concern and panic should have occurred in March in pleas to the civic bodies, the government, and policy makers. Why wake up late each time?
Postponing or cancelling sporting events is not the solution. After all, I have never seen anyone standing with placards and banners in local parks saying “don’t walk today, it’s very dangerous, you’ll die”.
I am not a runner who takes part in Olympic or national games; I opted for this as a recreation. I do Ironman, Ultraman, marathons, and ultra runs, because I have felt stronger doing it in the last seven years. Players do need to have a strong immune system, they do need to have a strong body, and they should continue playing so that others who are responsible for creating this pollution learn. If I stop, if they stop, then obviously we will stop bringing the change in our lives. No one will even think about pollution levels because then it will not be hampering anyone.
We go out and run and play, that’s when we realise it is bad for our health. Continue to play, take precautions – ahead of the running event, a lot of salt water was sprinkled in the air to keep the pollution level down and similar steps can be taken while playing cricket, kabaddi, or any other indoor or outdoor game, because the pollution is not only outdoors.
Our runs were cancelled in 2016 too, not because of the level of pollution, but due to low visibility. In spite of all this, I did not stop running, or even organising running events. As a triathlete or a marathoner, I feel that I should be working hard on my body, health, immune system so that I can survive in any condition. Not doing anything or not going out would make me weaker day by day.
So let us begin to take appropriate action, and well on time — so that we see more people come out to play, run, and do yoga.
Abhishek Mishra is a long-distance athlete and ultra-marathoner.