Decathlon Sports India presents "What do you Play For?"

In a result-oriented country like India, the focus on success is paramount. Be it by your parents, relatives, friends, loved ones, or just people you meet on the streets who ask you how much you scored in your board exams!

What a vast majority of the society fails to realise and appreciate is the journey en route the end goal. The learning one gets, the education he/she receives, and most importantly, the joy they experience while working towards the result.

Someone rightly said, “It is not the winning, but it is the participation that counts”.

Let’s take a look within ourselves, our childhood, and what we used to Play For? Why did we ever kick a ball, pick up a hockey stick or a badminton racquet?

It was either because you wanted to spend time with your friends in the park or it was for the simple reason of having fun! Winning was always a by-product of the game you played and not the reason why you went out of the comfort of your home after a tiring day at school.

Forget kids, what about adults? Most young adults are stuck in a rut with their hectic 9-5 schedules, left with little to no time to exercise or play a sport.

The #PlayFor campaign aims at bringing people back to sport. It encourages people to pick up that squash racquet, get into those running shoes, jump into that swimming pool and just start playing!

Sport is one activity that unites all kinds of people. I observed a simple example of this when I had gone to the Decathlon store near my house the other day. People from all walks of life - adults or kids, girls or boys – had made their way to the store which houses goods from over 60 sports.

I made a quick glance across the store and one thing that was apparent was the freedom to try out new things. A bunch of young kids were riding scooters, a couple was playing table tennis, trekking gear was being trialled while a game of catch was being played in another corner of the store.

Seeing each of the customers trying out new things with a smile on their face as they embarked on yet another journey filled my heart with joy. Trying out something new, learning the skill and having fun at the same time is what sport is all about. That’s what Decathlon understood and created - Not just a shop but an experience.

Decathlon not only speaks of, ‘sports for all - all for sports’, but is the embodiment of their tagline. So, the question to you now is, when are you going to get back to playing your favourite sport? Visit playfor.decathlon.in and tell us what you #PlayFor!