'Bharat in Paris' marathon flagged off to celebrate Indian Olympic movement

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 14, 2024 14:27 IST

The 'Bharat in Paris' marathon was flagged off on July 14, Sunday, to celebrate India's Olympic movement. The marathon also celebrated the International Olympic Committee's recognition of Esports. Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh and Member of Parliament Manoj Tiwary officiated the event. A total of 118 athletes, including ace javelin thrower and Olympic gold-winner Neeraj Chopra will compete in the Paris Olympics, which will begin from July 26. In another significant development, the IOC and Saudi Arabia will host the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games next year.

The International Olympic Committee and the Saudi Arabia government have entered into an agreement to conduct the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2025. Alongside the marathon, the event featured an Esports tournament which had a cumulative prize pool of Rs 2.64 lakh. From this amount, Rs 1.50 lakh was awarded to the runners and the Esports competitors received Rs 1.14 lakh.

'Bharat in Paris' marathon

"The Bharat in Paris event marks the recognition of Esports amongst traditional sports. The run aims to integrate traditional sports with the fast-growing Indian esports segment, which even the Government of India has acknowledged recently," a release said.

Union Minister Giriraj highlighted the growing opportunities within digital India, emphasising the potential for new sports like Esports.

"The growing opportunity of digital India offers great possibilities in leveraging new sports such as esports," Giriraj said at the event.

Indian athletes gear up for Paris Olympics

India's 26-year-old Olympic and world champion in men's javelin throw, Neeraj Chopra, is among the 28-member track and field team shortlisted by the Athletics Federation of India selection panel for the Paris Olympics. The 28-member Indian athletics contingent includes 11 female athletes for the Olympic Games. The track and field competition will be conducted at Stade de France stadium in Paris between August 1 to August 11.