Al-Wahda FC hosts youth yoga championship

Dozens of youngsters took part in the second Saudi Open Yoga Asana Championship in Makkah on Saturday. (Supplied)
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  • Hosted by Al-Wahda FC, the event featured 54 girls and 10 boys from Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Taif, and other cities across the region who competed for a variety of prizes

MAKKAH: Dozens of youngsters took part in the second Saudi Open Yoga Asana Championship in Makkah on Saturday.

Hosted by Al-Wahda FC, the event featured 54 girls and 10 boys from Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Taif, and other cities across the region who competed for a variety of prizes.

Competition director Umang Dwan told Arab News that yoga asana sports could help young people to improve their mental and physical health.

“We have the potential to accept this sport in the future Olympics, so it is a good start for Saudi Arabia,” he said.

The president of the Saudi Yoga Committee, Nouf Al-Marwaai, thanked the Ministry of Sports for supporting the organization’s efforts to promote yoga in its many forms.

Consul General of India Mohammed Shahid Alam told Arab News: “We are very happy to know that since 2017 yoga has been recognized as a sports activity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Since then, several activities have been done, especially by the Saudi Yoga Committee.”

Divya Kumari Dwan, vice president of the South Asian arm of the Yoga Sports Federation, was also in the Kingdom to give two courses, in Riyadh and Jeddah, to advanced yoga trainers.

The first Saudi Open Yoga Asana Championship was held in Jeddah in 2022.