The UK "Sikh Games" Builds On Sports Excellence
"This new initiative is about bringing the community together, so our community can progress in sport."
Har-rai Kaur
August 17, 2024 | 2.5 min. read | Original Reporting
This weekend, the UK will host its first-ever Sikh Games.
From Friday, August 16, to Sunday, August 18, at various venues, including Loughborough University, University of Nottingham, and Nottingham Trent University, there will be a series of sports competitions, as well as non-sporting competitions, like dastar tying.
Sikhs from across the UK will be competing in team sports, including football, cricket, hockey, and kabaddi, as well as individual sports like powerlifting and track.
“One aim of the Sikh Games is to normalise the importance of sport in the Sikh faith. Look at Baba Deep Singh Ji who went to battle in his 70s. We should be fit enough to go to battle at any age should the need arise,” Mandeep Kaur Moore, one of the organizers of the games, shares.
There has been lots of encouragement in recent years for Gurdwara football clubs and boxing, organizers say, noting that the Sikh Games will provide another opportunity to showcase this.
Participants include athletes of all backgrounds across the UK. The Sikh Defence Network, a Sikh military personnel group, will be entering a team for the cricket competition.
“We would like to thank both the Sikh Games and the ministry of defence for allowing us to compete. I really hope our community will support not just us but all entering the games, so we can make it a great event,” a team spokesperson said.
The Sikh Games sponsors includes the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, as well as sporting bodies like The Football Association, British Powerlifting, and British Judo.
A similar concept has already been proven successful in Australia, which just held its 36th Sikh Games in Adelaide this past March. The event has become known as a place which showcases the unique cultural identity of the Australian Sikh community and their inherent Sikh values of inclusion, fair competition, and victory.
The Sikh Games have gained support from several accomplished Sikh sportspeople as well, now acting as ambassadors, including International Boxing champions Sangeeta Birdi and Manjinder Nagra, who have represented the UK in Rugby internationally, up-and-coming footballer Karum Singh Malhi, and Meva Singh Dhesi, a para-badminton player.
“This new initiative is about bringing the community together, so our community can progress in sport,” Sikh Games ambassador Gian Singh Cheema, a former Olympic weightlifter and team GB coach for weightlifting, said.
“This is the first initiative of its kind and we must take such opportunities, because things of this scale are not easy to create. So I really hope our community makes the most of it,” he adds.
A plethora of notable Sikh athletes will be at the Sikh Games, holding over 20 talks, panels, and activator sessions. These sessions will cover various aspects of the sporting world, offering insights and inspiration for athletes, coaches, officials, and those interested in working within sporting governing bodies.
The Games also include entertainment with performances from several well-known Punjabi artists, including Satinder Sartaaj, Jazzy B, and Jaz Dhami for the opening ceremonies held on August 15.
Har-Rai Kaur is currently the Junior Press Officer for the Sikh Press Association. She is a graduate in Political Philosophy interested in expanding and implementing de-colonised political thought in line with Sikh philosophy.
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Why are we still relient on the British Forces to sponsore sikh sports events.
Are we still subservient to them.we should be funding our own events.