Will definitely push hard for kabaddi to be part of next Olympics, states Kiren Rijiju

Will definitely push hard for kabaddi to be part of next Olympics, states Kiren Rijiju

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India’s sports minister Kiren Rijiju has said that the central government will certainly try hard to take kabaddi into the 2024 Olympic Games which will be played in Paris. The minister has also added that kabaddi is a good example of how an Indian sport has developed in the last few years.

Since the inception of the Pro Kabaddi League in 2014, the indigenous sport has developed in each passing season. The seventh edition of the league is in progress at the moment and the number of teams in the league has increased from eight to 12. The sport which was played on mud previously is now being played on the mat and kabaddi is now also popular in many other countries. 

India’s dominance in the sport is not as it was earlier and that is a testimony to the fact that countries like Korea and Iran are becoming good kabaddi-playing nations now. With the development of the sport, union sports minister Kiren Rijiju is delighted with the way the sport has grown and wants to take kabaddi into the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

"This I feel is the beginning of the sports culture that we envisaged for India which is now becoming a reality. We will definitely push hard for kabaddi to be part of the next Olympics as we are a billion plus powerful nation and so for this to become possible, we will have to put all our efforts together, but I am very confident about it," Rijiju said during a programme on Star Sports ahead of a PKL game on Sunday.

The Lok Sabha member from Arunachal Pradesh also talked about his interest of promoting Indian sports and games. 

"As a Sports Minister, I am very excited and have always thought of how to promote indigenous sports in a big way. kabaddi is a perfect example of how an indigenous sport has grown successfully," Rijiju mentioned.

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