Role of Sports and Exercise in Education
With Akshay and Abhinay (Young India Fellows, 1st batch on the Ashoka University campus)
First posted on LinkedIn and then decided to post it here as a blog with lots of pics.
I thought I had failed at Ashoka because I wasn’t able to deliver what I had set out to do. It wasn’t to create sporting infrastructure alone. That any project manager, along with any vendor can.
I wanted sports, exercise and fitness to become a way (part) of life. I wanted it to integrate with education, to hold the students in good stead throughout their lives, to be able to survive and thrive when thrown in the wild or deep sea, and to make them connect with themselves and become better human beings. And spread it.
The view from the department (room at that time) of Sports-Exercise at Ashoka University in 2015.
About a month back I received a WhatsApp message from Abhinay wanting to catch up. We couldn’t then, but I showed keenness to meet too, so he followed up and we met up last Sunday. As a bonus Akshay joined in too.
And it was wonderful to see how successful they’ve become in life, and I’m not talking about the money they are making. Sadly, most take forever (if at all) to understand & appreciate that money is important but you can’t become slaves to it. I’m extremely happy for both of them.
They both thanked me for the role I played because of me having introduced chess & the sports team (Sonam) encouraged participation in tournaments. Abhinay was reintroduced to chess after more than a decade. They both got their rankings courtesy the tournaments. Even though they ran before, the running culture that was created helped them make it an integral part of their lives.
Abhinay wants his kids to pick up both chess & running for life too. He also runs an organization which has trained about 2,000 people around the world. And this is not even his job. For Akshay, Chess & Running are important, but he also plays football on a regular basis.
I would have liked to have impacted 90+ percent of the student body. I would have liked the whole faculty to be on board appreciating that education just isn’t about the mind and the founders that the only role of institutions isn’t to get jobs for the students but to make them great human beings.
Of course, a Maverick like me was trusted with the job that I wasn’t qualified to do. I’m no PE teacher. But in my head my job wasn’t limited to that. My running buddy, Jonathan Gil Harris, and Vineet Gupta thought of me as the missing piece. And I got some faculty on board what I was attempting to do. Anu Prasad & Choubay sir were most helpful too.
As I shared with Akshay and Abhinay, I crib a lot in closed circles about what Ashoka could have been because I care, because it’ll always be family. I had joined there to make a massive difference in the lives of all the students who ever graduated from Ashoka.
I wish I had succeeded in creating that culture. But meeting Akshay and Abhinay made me realize that we, the founding team (Sonam & Kishan) of the department of Sports & Exercise at Ashoka University did do something right.
That ripple effect will still be on long after we are gone.
Below are responses I received on LinkedIn and as comments below.
“Both Abhinay and me got our FIDE rating that year (I got it as high as 1472, something which I’ve never been able to top!), thanks to the support provided which led us to participate a rated tournament in Delhi. I had documented about the experience and photos of the same at the time in Oct 2014, sharing a link to the same.”
Below are pics from a chess tournament Ashoka team participated in.
“You are an amazing human being Dr. Rajat. And having instilled the joy of sports and its gradual impact in our lives at Ashoka was something that I subconsciously carry everywhere. Much power to your work!”
“I absolutely agree with Jasim. Subconsciously I made an effort to stay physically fit only because of the perspective that Dr. Rajat shared with us in Ashoka. Couldn’t apply in practise back then but now it has become a way of life. And i thank him for this and introducing me to GOYA (Get Off Your Arse)!”
“I am so grateful for having you as a mentor - and this happened because of Ashoka and the YIF - your guidance and words of wisdom have changed my perspective and my way of thinking for sure - and to an extent my approach towards my health - thank you so so much.”
“+1 to Jasim’s comments You did create a great culture for sports and fitness. I enjoyed the runs that you had organised followed by office hours.”
“Dr. Rajat Chauhan, I defintiely think that your program at Ashoka was a huge success and there are many like me who would disagree that you failed. You inculcated one of the best lessons anyone could get at YIF and “goya” became a philosophy for life for someone like me. I discovered my love for running at Ashoka thanks to your ‘run at india gate’-like trips. I’m running thanks to you and Sonam!”
“This is amazing to see. I disagree that you failed at Ashoka Rajat Chauhan. I think I was one of the lucky ones who got to work with you closely and see how passionate you are about sports and fitness. La Ultra is special because I see the passion that goes into it from you and the team.
I think your approach to sports and fitness was very fresh and that’s what education institutions need. Again, I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being a leader and for truly caring. Hope our paths cross again soon.”
“The impact you had was extensive, although administratively people stepped in and day to day functions of sports at Ashoka... functioned. No one has stepped in to take your place, formally or figuratively; even after over 5 years. The sense of purpose and vision that the department had is sorely missed.
Personally, anything I wanted to do with the sports program at Ashoka would have remained a pipe dream if it hadn’t been for your ardent support. You took the initiative in a very involved and honest way that I hadn’t seen before and sadly never saw since.”
“Sir I still remember the techniques you taught us around running with a back straight. Very grateful for all your contributions to our lives so much into the future. Thank you.”
“Rajat Chauhan I just ran my first full marathon this year after nearly two years of “training” but the underlying mentality I developed when I was still a first-year at Ashoka. No prizes for guessing that it is based on #GOYA. Like many before and after, I think you just caught some of us at the wrong place on our evolution but you nonetheless had a meaningful impact on a lot of us, even if it took some time for that spirit to germinate. So, I hope to see you at La Ultra 2026 and here’s cheers to the incredible work that you’ve done!”
“Waking up at 4am to travel to the lush greens of Central Delhi from Sonepat to run at India Gate, Nehru Park etc and then belt breakfast with more rigor at Saravana Bhavan.. jog most evenings at the Ashoka campus and bond with fellows.. halting at your place the night before the Delhi Marathon and then completing it proudly.. some of my fond memories of purpose during #YIF days. Those were the lessons of fitness, discipline, consistency, individualism, team-spirit that many of us carry with us even to this day - going to be close to a decade now! Thank you Dr. Rajat Chauhan for pushing us so hard, being there for us & giving us the safe space, breaking some gender stereotypes with #GOYA! Sonam Taneja - long time! We should have a YIF GOYA reunion soon :)”
