With just two more days left for the 54th Inter IIT Main Sports Meet, the contingent is definitely pumped up. Adrenaline rushing and enthusiasm at its peak, there is only one thing that matters to the 181 members of the IIT contingent – bringing the ever-eluding GC back.
It was last in 2011, that IITM bagged its 19th General Championship.
It has definitely been frustrating to see so much hard work, talent, and effort going in vain. All the captains are confident that this year’s team are at their best yet. Each team has taken its time to analyze their strengths and weaknesses from last year and have improved from strength to strength. Even though the teams have been practising throughout the semester, it’s the main camp that is the most crucial time for the contingent.
With practice sessions starting from 5:30 am, the teams practise for 7-9 hours every day, spread over 2 or 3 sessions.
The coaches go the extra mile by arranging for practice matches with more experienced teams to provide exposure to our teams. For these 15 days, these students have but one aim: to contribute to the overall scoreboard.
With the main camp coinciding with the placement season, there were a number of final years, PGs, and PhD scholars who did a brilliant job in balancing their love for the sport and their academic commitments. “Playing Basketball was definitely a huge stress buster during the placement season. There definitely were times when it gets very hard balancing academics and sports, and that’s when I remind myself of why I started playing in the first place. It was my love for the sport and what it stands for that kept me going”, says Kowshika, the former captain of the Institute basketball team. The seniors have been a source of inspiration and guidance for the freshers in their teams. Even the December Chennai rains couldn’t dampen the spirits of our contingent.
“We would focus on fitness, and plan our practice sessions accordingly so as to not skip any sessions. It is important for the contingent members to have the right attitude. We take the main camp very seriously and that’s the time we come together as a team”, says Shrinath Bhat, the Institute Sports Secretary.
The women’s contingent has already scored a hattrick last year by bagging the Women’s GC for the third time in a row. Breasha, the women’s representative feels that they are confident that the women’s contingent has all that is required to win that GC. Last year every team in the women’s contingent contributed to the overall tally, and this year they are aiming for nothing less.
Let’s all hope all the extra practice sessions, sacrifices, pain, and hard work pays off.
The 54th Inter IIT Sports Meet is jointly organized by IIT Kharagpur and IIT Bhubaneshwar from the 14th of December to the 22nd of December 2019. The results will be intimated through smail.
