Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Madhya Pradesh created history by winning 6 gold and 3 silver medals on debut in water sports like kayaking and canoeing at the Khelo India Youth Games 2022, However, despite athletes consistently winning medals at both national and international levels, the sports is not well known among masses.
Best facilities
"MP State Water Sports Academy offers the best facilities to athletes, but what we lack here is internal competition,” gold medalists in kayaking and canoeing said. He added: "People hardly know about water sports, so very few athletes get into it. We need competition here that is proportional to the popularity of the sport if we are to perform better at the international level.”
The athletes aired a few suggestions that might boost the game's popularity, such as live streaming and strengthening infrastructure like boats and other equipment in all parts of the country. Water Champions stated, "Madhya Pradesh is currently leading as a state when it comes to water sports but our prime goal is to make the entire country proud."
Lack of awareness
Water Ninjas continued, “This sport has everything, whether it is thrill or fun to draw an audience, but it is extremely less known to people. There are many other sports that are more well-known and discussed even if they are not Olympic sports."
When the Free Press Jouurnal spoke with individuals hanging out at Upper Lake regarding the sport after MP won 8 gold in water sports, it was surprising to discover that they were unaware of what was taking place there. They were, however, aware of enjoyable aquatic sports like scuba diving.
Meet Water Champions who aim to win medals for the country to make their sport acknowledged, just like Neeraj Chopra- Devendra Sen, Rimsun, Niraj Verma and Nitin Verma.
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