INTRODUCTION

Early Development of Sports Psychology in India

Sports psychology is a subcategory of psychology in which the principles and techniques of psychology are applied in a sports setting. The primary interest of sports psychologists is to provide and maintain an athlete’s mental health and well-being in the midst of the stresses of a competition and to improve their athletic performance. Sports psychology as a field of study in India, is extremely young and still evolving. One could say it is still in its nascent phase. In order to understand the development of sports psychology in India, it is necessary to understand its provenance in India. Until the 1960’s, we see a scarce application of science to the area of sports in India. What sparked the interest of researchers in sports psychology in India was the early publications of sports psychology studies in journals of medicine, physical education and psychology that found its way to India from abroad in the 1960s and 1970s. This stimulated a few research studies being conducted in the 1960’s which vitalized a large development of research studies in the 1970’s. With the formation of the Indian Association of Sports Medicine (IASM), we see the first major development of the Indian sports science movement in 1970. Another important milestone for sports psychology in India was seen in 1977, during the seventh annual conference of the IASM, when some delegates from the IASM interested in the psychological

aspects of sports came together to establish a group of their own. With this, we see the conception of the Indian Association of Sports Psychology. Over the years, we see the establishment of many more  institutes  and  associations  like  the  Sport  Psychology Association of India (SAPI) that are facilitating the development of sports psychology in the country.

Current Status of Sports Psychology in India

The establishment of the Faculty of Sports Science under the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports in 1983, paved the way for training sportspersons on a scientific line, aiming to impart scientific knowledge. It accelerated the development of sports science in India and sports psychology particularly. Due to such efforts, we

Till date many individuals including athletes  and  athletic coaches  think  of   going  to  a psychologist as having a ‘problem.’ and that can prove to be a difficult perception to overcome.

There is a lack of awareness about the understanding of what sports psychology is and what exactly do sports psychologists do. Despite the recognition that psychological aspects are important in an athletes’ performance, many individuals including athletes fail to recognize and accept its importance. We see a lack of understanding and awareness towards this field of study. Another issue linked to the previous one is the importance of an athlete’s “image”. Image management is a key issue in India wherein the players want to maintain a problem-free and healthy image of them. This linked with the negative connotation of psychology proves to be a major setback for athletes to   seek  the  guidance  of  sports  psychologists. The lack of trained resource personnel and inadequate funding prove to be a major setback for the field of sports psychology in India. This has caused many sports psychology associations to collapse. The most part of people working in the sports psychology sector in India do not have the essential and needed training simply because it does not exist. The coverage of this field of study seems to be only superficial with the lack of established academic course offerings. We also find misunderstandings and myths surrounding this field. Even though sports psychology is now more accepted than before, it still carries stigma in the eyes of many athletes, coaches and other individuals. Some of these myths include: sports psychology is only for athletes who are mentally weak or ill, sports psychology is a quick fix, sports psychology is only for elite or highly skilled athletes and sports psychology is simply about positive thinking and hypnotizing the athlete.

Importance of Sport Psychology and How It May Benefit Athletes

Psychological training plays an integral part in an athletes holistic training process when carried out in conjunction with other elements of training. While preparing for a competition, simple psychological skills too can help athletes manage their competitive performance environment. Some of these skills include:

• attitudes, drives, instincts and personality. Sports psychology not only plays a role in understanding these behaviors in an athlete, but also helps in the medication of behavior in different sports situations.
• Another important role that sport psychology plays is, controlling the emotions of athletes not only during competitions but during training as well. Some of the negatives faced by athletes include disgust, negative self-thinking, anger and feeling of ownership among many These negatives can bring about spontaneous changes in their behaviors which if not controlled in time, can hamper and hinder their performance. Sports psychology plays a decisive role at such junctures. It helps maintain a balance in the arousal of emotions, which can further improve performance.

• Sports psychology helps prepare athletes psychologically for Sports psychologists also give psychological tips to athletes before and after their competitions. They help them deal with their anxiety levels and create a will to ‘win’ in athletes.

• Other than common problems like stress, anxiety and tension that athletes face, there are some other emotional problems that they are subjected to like frustration, depression, panic attacks and The knowledge of sports psychology can prove to be helpful in such situations. Various techniques can be taught to athletes faced with these problems like techniques of concentration and relaxation.

What sport psychologists do

With the rapid development of the specialised field of sports psychology in recent years, the importance of a sports psychologist as an integral member of a health-care team and coaching has been widely recognised. Sports psychologists teach skills and techniques to athletes that enhance their motor skills and learning processes, help them cope better with competitive pressure and anxiety, fine-tune the level of awareness that they need for optimal performance and to not lose focus  amidst  distractions  and  in  a  competitive  environment. The field of sports psychology is further subdivided into three broad categories: experimental sport psychology, clinical sport psychology and educational sport psychology. Each of these categories reflect different

performances in athletes while dealing with the different mental qualities like confidence, commitment, emotional control and concentration which are linked to success in sports. It helps the athlete to stay focused and continue to sustain their best performance.

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