Question: which country has formally recognised Yogasana as competitive sports in December 2020?
i) UAE
ii) USA
iii) India
iv) Japan
Answer: iii)
Context
- The Sports Ministry of India has formally recognised Yogasana as a competitive sport.
Facts
- Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and Minister of AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik formally promoted yogasana as a competitive sport.
- It was done to promote yoga among people for the improvement of their physical and mental wellbeing.
- It will also enable yoga to get government funding for its propagation and promotion.
- An International Yogasana Sports Federation was formed under the presidentship of yoga guru Baba Ramdev with DR HR Nagendra as secretary general in November last year.
- A National Yogasana Sport Federation of India (NYSFI) was also established for preservation and development of yoga as a competitive sport. It was recognised by the sports ministry as a National Sports Federation (NSF) last month.
Future plans
- Yogasana will be inducted into Khelo India school and university games.
- A pilot championship — National Individual Yogasana Sport Championship — has also been proposed to be organised in February next year, followed by district, state, national and World Championships.
The aim of declaring Yogasana as competitive sport is to promote competitive spirit among people vis-à-vis yogasana and hence promote culture of Yoga practice among them for their mental and physical upliftment. It will also generate an ecosystem of yoga and yoga practices leading to generation of various job opportunities.
By – Kameshwar Shukla