Out of 33 broad categories of games recognised by Delhi University (DU) for admission under its sports quota, yoga is one of them. However, the discipline does not find a place in categories of sports recognised by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS). It is only Association of Indian Universities (AIU), which recognises yoga as a sport. The AIU website displays yoga as a sport in its “Calendar of Events” for 2017.
Despite the ambiguity on the legal sanction of quota for yoga, trials for the discipline under sports quota are scheduled to be conducted at DU’s Shaheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for Women on June 26.
Around 350 students will compete for admission to 11 DU colleges, which have reserved seats for the yoga under their sports quota.
“Yoga is there under the sports category for the last 15 years or so. The AIU conducts inter-university and inter-college-level competition in yoga apart from other sports and DU sends its team for participation. We recognise yoga under sports because AIU recognises it under the same category,” said a DU official.
The official said all the Yoga trials are conducted in presence of experts who judge aspirants on various parameters and technicalities related to performance of yoga. “A university observer, a nominee of DU Sports Council, an expert teacher from the concerned college and an external expert would form the panel tasked to select the applicants for the admission in DU colleges,” the official added.
“Yoga trials are performed in presence of experts and there are three to four types of performances, sub-categories or parameters including performing asanas and other exercises on which a candidate’s suitability is judged. Further certificates in yoga at district and State-level or above are considered,” said the official.
It may be noted that the MYAS after recognising it as a sport in 2015, reversed its decision in 2016. The Sports Ministry had stated in a letter dated December 21, 2016, to all national sports federations and the Indian Olympics Association that yoga has various dimensions in which competitions are not possible hence it cannot be termed a sport. “Consequently, it may not be appropriate to recognise any organisation as NSF (National Sports Federation) for yoga. It was also agreed that the entire matter relating to yoga will continue to be handled by the Ministry of AYUSH,” the letter further said.
At DU, colleges have autonomy to choose the sports under which they wish to give admissions and university cannot tell a college to pick a specific sports. These sports do not come under Sports Ministry, nor are they regulated by it.
last year, 19 DU colleges had applied for trials for Yoga under the sports quota. Colleges have full autonomy to take admissions under various categories of sports and Yoga is one of them, said a DU official.
Although colleges are entitled to choose a sport for trials and reserve seats under it, the list of sports from which they are to choose is compiled by the university.