Government wants to create polices according to the needs of Sports community says Kiren Rijiju


Government wants to create polices according to the needs of Sports community says Kiren Rijiju

Kiren Rijiju

On Saturday, Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government wants to create polices according to the needs of Sports community. Rijiju said, “We want to create a big sports culture in the country so that we can improve our presence in world sport. It is our obligation to raise the level of sport in India.”

ADVERTISEMENT

South Asian Athletics Federation (SAFF) and the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) jointly managed online technical official seminar. In the final session of the seminar, Rijiju said the government would frame athlete-centric and sports-centric policies.

Rijiju further said, “Athletics is the heart and soul of the Olympic Games and we need to raise the level of our athletics. I want to give the young athletes the opportunity to realise their dreams.”

Sebastian Coe, the president of World Athletics complimented SAAF and AFI  for the six day seminar. Coe said, “Our sport simply does not function at any level without the contribution of the technical officials. It would be unrecognisable without one of our sport’s most endearing aspects, the enshrining of the volunteer contribution 24×7.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Coe said, “We owe it to the athletes and the member federations to maintain a structure that we can optimistically look forward to so that we can give the athletes the chance to get back to competition as soon as is possible, but in a fair way.”

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, the World Athletics has been suspended till 1 December 2020. He said that the structure have to be decided so that the athletes would be able to play in a fair way.

Coe further said that, “We need to ensure that our athletes get back to competition safely and securely and in a way that does not damage the integrity of all our competitions.”

“I know the Indian Federation has embraced technology in a big way not only to reach larger audiences but also to meet the sustainability challenge by getting rid of paper,” Coe said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Adille J. Sumariwalla, the president of AFI said the federation had been at the forefront of using technology for several years now.

Adille said about the online sessions, “AFI is the first national federation to host online courses for coaches and technical officials. We also plan on having our annual general meeting on May 2 and all our sub-committee meetings online.”

Gen. Dahlan Jumaan al-Hamad, the president of Asian Athletics Association  censure SAAF and AFI to take the initiative to enhance the knowledge about the South Asian region’s technical officials.

Lalit K Bhanot, the president of SAAF said, ” the seminar was a true reflection of the grit, resolve, sportsmanship and love for athletics in the region.”

ADVERTISEMENT