Indian government wants Yoga asanas to be a sport, and hopes it makes to Olympics

• The Indian government is working on making yoga be considered as a sport.
• The Narendra Modi government had announced June 21 as International Yoga Day.
• 13 crore Indians took part in the yoga day celebrations held last June.

The Indian government is working to get Yoga asanas which is Yoga postures recognised as a sport.

“We are hopeful that yoga asana (not yoga) will be accepted as a sport and maybe by the time we have the Olympics in 2036 or 2040, this will be an item there,” said P N Ranjit Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH at an event organised by industry body FICCI.

He also said that the government is setting up Naturopathy Certification Board on the lines of Yoga Certification Board.

Yoga is heavily endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who also went on to declare June 21 as International Yoga Day in 2014.

Since then, the Modi government has been organising yoga day events at a national scale, and marketing it internationally as well. As many as 8.5 million people participated in the International Day of Yoga in 2016. The numbers grew to 130 million in 2019.

“These are people who follow the yoga protocol on their own without compulsion. It’s not about yoga. It’s about wellness, about maintaining one’s own health, taking care of self and about a happier India,” Kumar said.

The global yoga market is worth $80 billion.

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