Promote healthy lifestyle on Olympic Day, urges IOA chief Narinder Batra
Olympic Day will be celebrated on June 23 and Batra wants India’s Olympians to encourage more participation in sports.
The president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Dr Narinder Batra encouraged the country to celebrate Olympic Day in a special message to the country’s Olympic sports community on Saturday.
Olympic Day, recognized on June 23 every year since 1948 to commemorate the initiation of the modern Olympic Games, celebrates the Olympic values globally and is a platform to promote participation in sport, regardless of age, gender or athletic ability.
And Dr Batra felt the milestone would be the perfect time to promote an active and healthy lifestyle.
“One way of making India embark on a journey from a sports-watching nation to a more active sports-participating nation is to commemorate such milestones in such a manner that people around the Olympic community would be inspired to play any sport of their choice,” he stated in his special message.
“There are countless ways in which we can do this, even with the social-distancing restrictions in place. It could be some form of physical activity that each of us undertakes. It could even be by way of encouragement to Olympic sport.
“I urge India’s Olympic medallists and Olympians to lead the celebrations. It would be delightful to see our educational institutions get the student community involved,” he added.
PV Sindhu, Vinesh carry the Indian flag
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s global #StayStrong, #StayActive, #StayHealthy initiative has witnessed almost 5,000 Olympians from over 50 countries engage online by sharing their daily workouts and uplifting tips on how to stay healthy mentally and physically in the testing times of COVID-19.
And leading India’s Olympic Day celebrations will be Rio 2016 silver medallist PV Sindhu and star Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat.
The Indian badminton star will join in a live workout session on the Olympics' Instagram account at 11am IST on 23rd June, while Vinesh Phogat will be part of a pre-recorded Olympic day workout video to be showcased on the day.
The occasion is likely to be the world’s largest 24-hour digital Olympic workout event.
To know more about Olympic Day and the full schedule of athlete-led live workouts, click here.