Yogasana, a sport that focuses on the physical aspect of yoga, was officially launched in Uganda on April 14, 2024 at Shree Sahajanand School, Uganda in Ntinda, a city suburb.

The event, organised by the Uganda National Yogasana Sports (UNYS), started at 9:00am, with guests arriving dressed in Indian outfits.

This was followed by yogasana dance by participants from Shree Sahajanand and Lunar International College Jinja.

They were accompanied by youth groups, of around 200 teenagers,  from different districts divided in age brackets of 10 to 14 years,14 to 18 years, and 18 to 35 years.

All participants were given certificates, plus cash in an envelop.  The overall winner in each age category won a gold medal, the first runner up got a silver one, while the first runner-up got bronze.

Hitesh Panchmatiya, the president of UNYS, thanked the youth for turning up from different districts and from the schools which participated.

"This is the beginning and it's good that the biggest percentage in these competitions are youth because this will help us to have a backbone. These youth groups are going to act as ambassadors in different districts in Uganda by next year with the help of the Uganda National Council of Sports. We shall get qualifiers on an international level since yogasana sports is even now considered in the Olympics games," he revealed.

Panchmatiya expressed concern about the increase in  mental health issues among youth, challenging the older generation to take time to find out why and what can be done to help them.

He noted that yogasana is an effective way to resolve mental and physical health challenges.

"This event is going to be annual and bigger. We shall have yogasana dance and yogasana as a sports activity. We have now selected the youth from these competitions to be ambassadors in their districts to train their fellow youth about how it is one of the weapons to fight mental illness in the community. Next year, we shall come back for the competitions, before representing Uganda at an international level," added Panchmatiya.