03 September,2015 07:42 AM IST | | PTI
The government yesterday defended its decision to recognise Yoga as a competitive sport, saying it was not done on communal lines and it was high time Yoga is seen as a proper game since it is India's age old tradition
New Delhi: The government yesterday defended its decision to recognise Yoga as a competitive sport, saying it was not done on communal lines and it was high time Yoga is seen as a proper game since it is India's age old tradition.
"It's a tradition. It's an age old activity. People across the religion have been practising Yoga. It's high time that Yoga is seen as sport," Onkar Kedia, Joint Secretary in Sports Ministry, said when asked whether the decision was taken on communal lines.
The government yesterday placed Yoga in the 'Priority' category, in which only Olympic, Asian and Commonwealth Games disciplines were included before this decision.
The Priority category sports receive more funds than disciplines which fall under General and Other Categories.
The Narendra Modi government has been pushing hard for some time to make Yoga an activity which has global presence. An International Yoga day was also observed on June 21.
