Our First Tryst with Sports Tourism
The Plan “ Iss saal summer holidays ka kya plan hai? ” is one question that pops up on most dining table conversations around April. When our family was amid such discussion this year, several destination ideas came up, with attractions ranging from nature, theme parks, adventure, and sports. One of these options was visiting Doha, Qatar to watch our favorite sportsperson Neeraj Chopra live in action at the Diamond League opening event. Once this option appeared, our son, an avid fan of Neeraj, refused to consider any other options. To ensure this was not just momentary excitement, we offered a few cons of Doha: it will be hot, there will be no medals/trophies or Neeraj walking wrapped in a flag at this qualification event, the Indian contingent is small, etc. Pat came the replies “I want to see him playing live at an international athletics meet. Temperature does not matter; our athletes will be playing in the heat too. We will wave the flag for him this time. Contingent size doesn’t ...