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STRIVING FOR A FITTER INDIA!
Rajyavardhan Rathore, Information and Broadcasting, and sports minister, challenges Indians to take up fitness as part of their lifestyle
Gymming, cycling, planks, yoga and every possible form of exercise is being tried out in the videos being uploaded by Indian citizens across various social media platforms. The credit for bringing healthy lifestyle into vogue goes to #Hum Fit T oh India Fit challenge by sports minister Rajyavardhan Rathore via a Twitter video — where he shared that he’s inspired by PM Narendra Modi’s spirit to work relentlessly while staying fit.
The Youth Affairs and Sports Minister, who is also the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Rathore himself is an Olympic silver medallist in double trap event.
In the video uploaded on Twitter, Padma Shri Rathore is seen doing push-ups where he asks people to: ‘Post pictures and videos of how you keep yourself fit and send a #Fitness-Challenge to your friends on social media’. The minister challenged actor Hrithik Roshan, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and badminton ace Saina Nehwal, and all three have taken it up, too. Hrithik uploaded a video of him cycling to his office and Saina has uploaded a video of herself doing dead lifts. These celebs have in turn challenged others to do the same, thus creating a wave of fitness in India that’s being promoted via the virtual world.
Even PM Modi has accepted the challenge from Virat, however, he was yet to upload the video at the time of going to press.
The video seems to have inspired the general public too. Celebrity yoga expert Payal Gidwani Tiwari says, “To have a minister talk about making India fit is very inspirational. Modiji has already made yoga big, and now if we have ministers who are fit, then common people are going to pick up the challenge and this will go a long way. A fit India will be a happy India.”
Wrestler Babita Kumari Phogat has already taken up the
challenge and uploaded a video of her doing push-ups on Twitter, while her elder sister Geeta Phogat is planning to follow soon. “It’s important for every human being to remain fit because we get to live only once. And the most important thing in our life is our health. Exercise plays a very important role because even if we work out once in a day, we feel fresh, and it helps change our daily routine,” says Geeta.
Applauding the positive impact of the challenge, former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia says, “Rajyavardhan Rathore is himself a sportsperson so it’s great that he has initiated something like this. And people in India need to be aware that sports is not just about being a professional athlete but also about being healthy. So, I hope it influences people to take up the challenge and stay fit.”
Athlete Anju Bobby George applauds this effort to make people aware about the need to stay fit. She says, “Staying fit is very challenging because we don’t get time. Actually finding time is a real challenge because in real world we are all looking for something else, and have other priorities in our life such as giving time to children, family or job. But somehow, at least one or two hours in a routine we should exercise and keep ourselves fit. This is the main thing what we need to do in our life, for ourselves and our families and community.”
RAJYAVARDHAN RATHORE POSTED A VIDEO WHERE HE SAID, “I AM INSPIRED BY OUR PM. NOW, I WANT TO IMPLEMENT FITNESS IN MY JOB. WHAT IS YOUR FITNESS MANTRA? MAKE A VIDEO, AND POST IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND INSPIRE EVERYONE.”