Shyam Sundar, Regional Director, Sports Authority of India (SAI), Bengaluru, said on Monday that sports science and sports psychology made the all the difference between winning and losing a game. He was speaking at the inaugural function of a three-day workshop on sports science ‘Sportsman – 2015’ organised by the Manipal University in association with SAI, here.

Emphasising on the importance of science, Prof. Sundar said, “Generally, there is hardly any difference between the one who comes first and second. That difference lies in the realms of sports science and sports psychology.”

“The way coaches handle sportspersons, the way they make use of sports science is important. Everybody trains hard and to the expected level. So where is the difference between those who finish first and second?” he asked. “Sports psychology is equally important and it plays a major role,” he added that performance on a particular day can make a lot of difference.

He recalled that when Abhinav Bindra won India’s first gold medal in an individual sport at the 2008 Olympics, a journalist asked him how he had won the medal? Mr. Bindra’s simple reply was, “It was my day.”

“The stage, the situation and everything else is the same for all the competitors, but what matters is how strong you are mentally on that day. What goes behind making a sportsperson of national or international level is what one needs to understand. It is sports science and sports psychology,” Prof. Sundar said.

H.S. Ballal, Pro-Chancellor of Manipal University, said that the level of the workshop would be raised next year. The workshop was confined to participants from the two districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada last year. “This year we have people from Karnataka and Kerala participating. Next year, we will have this at the national level,” he said.

If necessary, the workshop could be held twice a year for the benefit of trainers and coaches, he added.

Poornima Baliga, Dean of Kasturba Medical College, said that sports science taught how a human body worked during exercise and how sportspersons could maximise benefits with minimum injuries. “It is a very interesting area and has a lot of career options too. It has opened the doors for a lot of jobs for future sports science candidates. Participants should take the knowledge gained from the workshop to the grassroots,” she said.

Vinod Nayak, Manipal University Sports Council Secretary, welcomed the gathering.