New Delhi: In a major development in the field of sports, Yoga is all set to be included in the Asian Games – 2026 to be held in Japan.

Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P.T. Usha has written a letter to Randhir Singh, the acting chief of Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) with a request to include Yoga as a sport in the Asian Games.

In a statement released by IOA yesterday, Usha said that the OCA Executive Board had decided to include yoga in the Asian Games. She also thanked Randhir Singh for the support.

“I am delighted that the OCA Executive Board spontaneously agreed to India’s request to give yoga the recognition it deserves. The proposal shall now move through the Sports Committee to the General Assembly for confirmation,” said Usha in a statement.

India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, having played a vital role in promoting yoga at the global level by convincing United Nations to declare June 21 as the International Day of Yoga, has now gone a step further to ensure that yoga is recognised as a global sport with its inclusion in Asian Games-2026.

Mysuru, known to be a yoga hub, has also played its role in yoga to be considered as a sport. It may be mentioned that the international yoga exponent from Mysuru H. Kushi had written a letter to Prime Minister Modi dated Dec. 22, 2018 with a request to consider yoga as a sport. She had also submitted a memorandum to PM Modi during her visit to the PMO in New Delhi on Dec. 31, 2018.

Following this, on Feb. 19, 2019, Kushi had received a letter from the Ministry of AYUSH informing that her letter to PM Modi had been forwarded to the then Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports to review the status of yoga and recognise it as a sports discipline.