As the 44th Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) General Assembly draws near, the excitement around cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics is starting to build. During a press conference, OCA President Randhir Singh shared some insightful perspectives on cricket’s return to the Asian Games and what this could mean for its future on the global stage.
Randhir pointed out that despite cricket being a massive sport in many Asian countries, it wasn’t always taken seriously in multi-sport events. “No one was taking interest in cricket, even the federations and associations,” he explained. “They were taking it easy, sending only B-teams.” When cricket was included in the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur back in 1998, even India sent its second-string team. The enthusiasm just wasn’t there.
But things are different now. Randhir emphasised that the tides have shifted, especially with the Olympics on the horizon. “Now everyone is taking it quite seriously because the Olympics are right around the corner,” he said. “In Hangzhou, we had a very good team playing from India, so we have successfully integrated cricket.”
Cricket’s return to the Asian Games is more than just a symbolic move, it’s a way to grow the sport’s global reach. With this momentum, and cricket’s return to the Olympic programme in 2028, there is the hope that it will become a fixture at the four-yearly event.
While cricket’s Olympic dream is certainly exciting, Singh also spoke about another interesting development, the inclusion of yoga as a sport. “Two months ago, we started thinking of yoga’s inclusion as a sport,” he said. “Every other sport has a stress factor, while yoga revives your body.”
It’s an intriguing idea, and Singh envisions yoga becoming something spectators will enjoy watching, just like gymnastics. “There are different schools of yoga, but when it comes under the format of a sport, then you’re looking at mastery,” he said. “People will watch like they watch gymnastics.”
The OCA has already given yoga the green light in their Sports Committee and Executive Board, and Singh is confident that the General Assembly will also approve its inclusion. However, he acknowledged that yoga may not debut as a full sport in the next Games, it might first appear as a demonstration sport.
As the OCA continues to explore the future of both traditional and non-traditional sports, it’s clear that cricket’s Olympic aspirations and yoga’s evolution into a competitive discipline