Government identifies 14 sports to ensure success at the Olympics

In a bid to augment participation of the Indian youth in Olympic sports, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju stated that his ministry had planned to introduce several new initiatives that will make each state proficient in particular sporting disciplines. The discussions on the initiatives took place during Rijiju’s meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 20, after which the government has identified 14 sports for the 2024 and 2028 Olympics.

Rijiju said that the ministry has launched a ‘one state, one game’ initiative after consulting the state governments. The idea is to establish the country as a dominant force in sports. The list including archery, boxing, shooting, badminton, wrestling, hockey, weightlifting, cycling, and athletics are to be developed as medal prospects till 2028, while sports like table tennis, judo, swimming, fencing, and rowing shall be included from 2028 onwards, reported TOI.

“It takes at least 8-10 years to groom an athlete to achieve podium success at the Olympics. For example, China won maximum medals from swimming [including diving], shooting, weightlifting, table tennis, gymnastics, and boxing. So, it’s necessary to identify sports disciplines which we can develop for excellence in Olympics and which state is best suited for grooming athletes in a particular Olympic sport,” Rijiju told TOI.

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The ministry is actively engaging with respective state governments to pick one sport from the listed 14 in the ‘one state, one game’ initiative. He added, “We have requested them to choose one sport from among the above 14 sports disciplines, in which a state feels it can groom athletes to compete at the Olympic level and adopt it under the policy. The central government will provide the funding to each state for each sport. States can also contribute.”

Having envisioned growing sports at grassroots development, Rijiju aims to develop a positive and conducive sports culture in the country. “It’s necessary to identify sports disciplines which we can develop for excellence in Olympics and which state is best suited for grooming athletes in a particular Olympic sport,” he added.