Here’s something we should all support: yoga in the Olympics. Yes, there’s a group in India which is starting a campaign to have yoga admitted as an Olympic sport. We here at The Olympian Blog doesn’t see any reason why it should not be admitted. Seriously.
After all, isn’t the criteria for the inclusion of an Olympic sport only goes like this:
[F]or the Summer Games, only sports/disciplines widely practiced by men in at least 75 countries and on four continents, and by women in at least 40 countries and on three continents may be included.
Surely yoga is widely practiced in more than 75 countries as well as in three continents. In fact, we’d like to think that it is more practiced and more popular than trampoline and all those rowing events. And it’s a very Olympian sport too. Look at the photos below (courtesy of photopostcards.com). Can you name an Olympic sport that is as challenging as this? Seriously. Can you?
Anyways, here’s an excerpt from a story by John Krich about the campaign of a group to have yoga in the Olympics:
Bidding to host the 2020 Summer Olympics hasn’t yet begun, but the Indian Olympic Association has proclaimed it plans a pitch for New Delhi.That’s encouraging news for a small movement in India that’s looking to raise the country’s greatest contribution to the world of fitness to a higher podium: They want yoga in the Olympics.
Competitive yoga? It isn’t as great a stretch as it seems.
***
To Mr. Gopal, the Olympics case is clear. The Korean martial art taekwondo is in the Olympics, he notes — it began as a demonstration sport at the Seoul Olympics of 1988 and became a full event 12 years later — though it has far fewer participants than yoga. And that’s just the start of his list of Olympic events that yoga surpasses.“If rhythmic gymnastics can be included, why not yoga?” he asks.
Why not indeed? It will be a popular sport too. We think it will be as popular as gymnastics and swimming so television networks will be happy because it will raise their ratings.
Also, of all the sports out there, we think only yoga has the real potential to bring about peace to the whole world. And isn’t that the goal of the Olympic movement — to achieve peace through sports? So come on, Olympic powers-that-be, you should let the yogis in.
