NEW DELHI: The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) executive board meeting, headed by Indian interim president Randhir Singh, on Monday added the ancient sport of yoga to the programme for the upcoming Asian Games.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha, who had written to the OCA president on June 26 requesting that yoga be added as an event in the Asian Games, confirmed the move and said the proposal would go through the IOA’s sports committee and be submitted to the OCA General Assembly scheduled to be held in Delhi on September 8.
The meeting will see the OCA approve the inclusion of yoga as a competitive sport in the Olympics. PM Modi was reportedly keen to have yoga included in the Olympic programme. The IOA was quick to take the initiative, keeping in mind that the OCA is headed by Singh, a former Secretary General of the IOA and a former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
According to sources, yoga will be included as a non-medal demonstration sport at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, and will be added as an event with a medal round at the 2030 Doha Asian Games.
“We are pleased that the OCA EB has voluntarily agreed to India’s request to give yoga the recognition it deserves. Its inclusion is an important step towards its acceptance in the competitive sports world. Yoga has universal appeal and people across the world have embraced and benefited from it,” Usha said in a statement.
The sport has five events: Traditional Yogasana, Artistic Yogasana (Singles and Pairs), Rhythmic Yogasana (Pairs, Free Flow/Group Yogasana), Individual All-Around Championship and Team Championship. A total of 15 medals (5 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze) are on offer in both the men’s and women’s events respectively.
In December 2020, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and AYUSH officially recognised ‘Yogasana’ as a competitive sport, paving the way for its inclusion as a medal eligible event in some of the government-recognised national competitions, such as the Khelo India School and College Games and National Championships.
The Indian National Yogasana Sports Federation (NYSFI) was established with an objective to preserve and develop Yoga as a competitive sport. The Federation was recognised as a National Sports Federation (NSF) by the Ministry of Sports in November 2020. The International Yogasana Sports Federation (IYSF) was formed in November 2019 with Yoga guru Baba Ramdev as the President and Dr. HR Nagendra as Secretary General.
This development marks an important chapter for yoga, which began with the dawn of Indian civilization and is believed to date back thousands of years. On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga, at the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his UNGA address that year.
Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha, who had written to the OCA president on June 26 requesting that yoga be added as an event in the Asian Games, confirmed the move and said the proposal would go through the IOA’s sports committee and be submitted to the OCA General Assembly scheduled to be held in Delhi on September 8.
The meeting will see the OCA approve the inclusion of yoga as a competitive sport in the Olympics. PM Modi was reportedly keen to have yoga included in the Olympic programme. The IOA was quick to take the initiative, keeping in mind that the OCA is headed by Singh, a former Secretary General of the IOA and a former member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
According to sources, yoga will be included as a non-medal demonstration sport at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, and will be added as an event with a medal round at the 2030 Doha Asian Games.
“We are pleased that the OCA EB has voluntarily agreed to India’s request to give yoga the recognition it deserves. Its inclusion is an important step towards its acceptance in the competitive sports world. Yoga has universal appeal and people across the world have embraced and benefited from it,” Usha said in a statement.
The sport has five events: Traditional Yogasana, Artistic Yogasana (Singles and Pairs), Rhythmic Yogasana (Pairs, Free Flow/Group Yogasana), Individual All-Around Championship and Team Championship. A total of 15 medals (5 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze) are on offer in both the men’s and women’s events respectively.
In December 2020, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and AYUSH officially recognised ‘Yogasana’ as a competitive sport, paving the way for its inclusion as a medal eligible event in some of the government-recognised national competitions, such as the Khelo India School and College Games and National Championships.
The Indian National Yogasana Sports Federation (NYSFI) was established with an objective to preserve and develop Yoga as a competitive sport. The Federation was recognised as a National Sports Federation (NSF) by the Ministry of Sports in November 2020. The International Yogasana Sports Federation (IYSF) was formed in November 2019 with Yoga guru Baba Ramdev as the President and Dr. HR Nagendra as Secretary General.
This development marks an important chapter for yoga, which began with the dawn of Indian civilization and is believed to date back thousands of years. On December 11, 2014, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared June 21 as International Day of Yoga, at the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his UNGA address that year.
