Overview
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated the inaugural World Yogasana Championship at Ahmedabad’s EKA Arena, an event that began on Thursday and runs through June 8.
- Organisers say the meet has drawn hundreds of competitors with reports varying between about 400 athletes from 60+ countries and more than 500 athletes from 78 countries, reflecting late entries and differing counts from outlets.
- The championship introduced an electronic scoring system and a panel of international and national judges to standardise judging, while Doordarshan is broadcasting and streaming the event live to increase visibility.
- Competition results in the opening sessions on June 5 showed strong home advantage as India won five of the first six gold medals, though athletes from Singapore, Indonesia and other countries also reached the podium.
- Officials and ministers are pitching the event as a step toward a year-round 'Yoga 365' campaign, a new sport ecosystem for coaches and scientists, and formal bids to include yogasana in the 2030 Commonwealth Games and future Olympic programmes.