Union minister flags off 'Bharat in Paris' marathon to celebrate Indian Olympic movement
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New Delhi: 'Bharat in Paris' was launched here on Sunday in honour of both the IOC's recognition of Esports and India's Olympic movement. Union Minister of Textiles Giriraj Singh and Parliament Member Manoj Tiwary flagged off the race.
A total of 118 athletes, led by ace javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, will compete in the Paris Olympics, starting July 26.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Saudi Arabia government have entered into an agreement to conduct the inaugural Olympic Esports Games in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next year.
"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.
Giriraj said, "The growing opportunity of digital India offers great possibilities in leveraging new sports such as esports." Along with the run, the event also included an esports tournament with a cumulative winners' prize pool of Rs 2.64 lakh.
While the runners got a prize of Rs 1.50 lakh, the esports competitors received Rs 1.14 lakh.
With PTI inputs