SPORTS
Outrun your
A lesson in dedication, determination and discipline, that the runners at Petroleum House imbibed while preparing for the Annual Sports Meet.
W ith the first ray of the rising sun, we, the runners at Petroleum House, woke up to embrace our daily tryst with vigorous training. With determination on our mind, dedication in our heart and discipline in our soul, we began this memorable journey towards victory. We were welcomed with bruised arms, cramped legs and an aching tummy, to name a few. Was it difficult? Yes! Worth it? Absolutely!
At HPCL, we are blessed with numerous opportunities to participate in a number of cultural and sporting events. Therefore, we decided to put in that extra effort and participate in the Annual Sports Meet, 2018. We knew it wouldn’ t be easy and it wasn’ t. Specially, for people who spend most of their waking hours with their heads buried in their laptops and feet, motionless, on the ground, running was not an easy task.
For two months, every day, we were sweating it out on the ground, before the big day, to do justice to the task at hand. A typical session would last for one and a half hours, and involved jogging, stretching and warm-up exercises followed by 8-10 sprints of 30, 60, 90 and 120 metres on the tracks. Most of us were either new to professional running or had never participated in any sporting event of this sort. Therefore, our coaches, Mr. Sudheer Bhilare and Mr. Vijay Zad, taught us about the various styles and techniques involved in running, and the nitty gritty of enhancing our performance, while staying away from injuries.
Running is not merely an activity of moving from point A to point B. It is about blending science and skills in athletic running. In those two months, we also managed to create some priceless memories and lasting friendships.
On 6th January, 2018, we reached the ground with an unusual confidence. We knew that we had given it our blood and sweat, quite literally, and that our success was not going to be measured merely by our win that day. Our success was a culmination of those early winter mornings where we chose to sprint instead of sleep, fight instead of flight and conquer instead of falter.
Despite of immense competition from all zones and refineries, the women’ s and men’ s team, from Petroleum House, competed fiercely in all races. Apart from a few injuries during the event, no one gave up.
The women’ s team, representing Petroleum House, emerged as the second runners up in the relay race. Not only relay, but the team also had an illustrious performance in 1500m, 200m and 100m races. The combined efforts of the mentors and runners added one more feather in the crown of Petroleum House.
Lungs pang gasping for air, Muscles strained in despair. Our mind set on the finish line, Our bodies geared up to beat the time. With single thought echoing in our mind,“ We are the warriors of today and an example for tomorrow.”
Maitreyee Mohokar, Audit Officer, PH Navneet Raj, Executive-Industrial Engineering, Manpower Planning
16 ISSUE 1 2018