New Delhi [India], June 21 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the yoga drive and led the celebrations of International Day of Yoga 2025 across the country from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, on Saturday. In his address to the nation, PM Modi said that 'Yoga has united the world, and it is for everyone, beyond boundaries, backgrounds, age or ability.'

Taking forward Prime Minister's vision, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya performed varied yoga exercises including surya namaskar along with over 1500 yoga enthusiasts, including more than 400 volunteers from My Bharat, at the Fit India Cult Yogathon, conducted under the umbrella of Ministry of Ayush's Yoga Sangam here at the Cycling Velodrome inside Indira Gandhi Stadium. More than 400 volunteers from My Bharat also participated in the yogathon.

Supporting Yoga Sangam's theme of 'Yoga for one earth, one health', the Sports Authority of India (SAI) organised the Yoga Sangam across all its centres, including Regional Centres, National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs), SAI Training Centres, Khelo India Centres (KICs), and Khelo India State Centres of Excellence (KISCEs).

Mandaviya was joined by former India hockey captain Rani Rampal, Commonwealth Games silver medallist Priyanka Goswami, and famous actors Jackky Bhagnani, Rakul Preet Singh, and Madhurima Tuli, all of whom performed various yoga exercises. Further, the Union Sports Minister announced actor-producer couple Rakulpreet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani as Fit India Icons and presented them with certificates.

MoS Raksha Nikhil Khadse led the Yoga Sangam event in her constituency, Jalgaon, in the august presence of Maharashtra State Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan and Textiles Minister Sanjay Savkare, along with more than 3000 yoga practitioners.

Talking about International Day of Yoga and the Yoga Sangam initiative, Mansukh Mandaviya said, as quoted from a press release by SAI Media: 'I extend best wishes to everyone on the occasion of International Day of Yoga. Yoga is our culture and it should be included in our everyday life. Yoga Day is being celebrated across the country as part of Yoga Sangam with the theme of 'Yoga for one earth, one health.' Through Fit India Cult Yogathon, the Sports Ministry is also celebrating the International Day of Yoga. I urge all citizens of the country to perform Yoga regularly to stay healthy and stay fit. Yoga is a mantra for fitness and healthy life.'

Delighted at receiving the Fit India Icon award by Sports Minister, actor-producer Jackky Bhagnani said that the vision of PM Modi and the Sports Minister is amazing and he is very happy to be part of the Yogathon initiative. He further said that it is very important for the youth to stay fit, if one is physically fit, he will be mentally very positive.

'I am very pleased to see how our Sports Minister is himself leading the initiative like Sundays on Cycle to create awareness about fighting obesity and air pollution. I was 150kgs at one time and reduced my weight to 75kgs now and I find great motivation by the work done by our Sports Minister. I am super happy to be here for Yogathon,' Bhagnani said.

Rakulpreet, on her part, said, 'It is a matter of great honour for us to be given the accolade of Fit India couple and to become part of this fabulous initiative by the Sports Ministry and Government of India. I really hope that me and Jackky can influence more and more people to make fitness a way of life. Yoga doesn't require any fancy gyms, one can comfortably perform it inside their homes.'

The association of Cult Fit and the Fit India movement has brought the public-private sector together where more than 100 centres of Cult Fit are attempting 1 million surya namaskars.

Padmashree awardee Rani Rampal praised Ministry of Ayush and Sports Ministry for taking yoga to the masses through initiatives like Yoga Sangam Fit India Cult Yogathon. Rani Rampal inspired the Indian women's hockey team to a silver medal in the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games and a gold medal in the 2016 Asian Champions Trophy.

'Yoga is beneficial for everyone, so every Indian should inculcate yoga in their daily routines, not just sportspersons. A fit and healthy nation can only build a Viksit Bharat, as our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has said. What I have noticed is that our Sports Minister is taking out time every week from his busy schedule for fitness-related activities, then we as citizens must also do so. I really like the slogan 'One earth, one health' for today's yogathon and I can say that health is our real wealth,' Rani Rampal said.

Race walking Olympian Priyanka Goswami, while giving her best wishes to all the Indian citizens on the International Day of Yoga said: 'I will request each and every citizen of this country to keep themselves fit and healthy both physically and mentally on this 11th International Day of Yoga. For a sport like racewalking, it becomes tough to control your mind for a distance of 30-35 kilometres. Your mind wavers after every kilometre. So, yoga becomes important. Through daily meditation, I try to control my mind. I want to tell the youth that our priority should be to do physical activity and indulge in healthy nutrition and not in drugs, this will only make our nation fitter.'

Individuals from different age groups, backgrounds and fitness levels are encouraged to participated in the one-day event that also included meditation and yoga nidra. As part of this collective celebration, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports reaffirmed its shared commitment to the timeless practice of yoga and its enduring relevance in today's world. (ANI)