Asiad huge opportunity for sports climbing: Mountaineering Foundation Prez

Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) President HS Chouhan has said that the 2018 Asian Games are a huge opportunity for sports climbing to grow in India.

The sport, which has recently got an official nod to be included in the 18th edition of the Asian games, is a wall climbing sport which has three categories, including Individual speed climbing, Combine and relay.

Speaking to ANI, Chouhan said the sport would need proper recognition and promotion from the government to develop further and meet the international level.

"It is a very big opportunity for a sport like sports climbing, which is new and is not known to many people. It needs to be recognized by the government, it needs to be promoted by the government," he added.

Reflecting on the future of the game, wall climbing coach Amit Sharma said that India is still way behind in the sport as compared to European countries, but hoped that the Asian Games would prove to be a milestone in raising the standard of the game.

"European countries are crazy about this sport and young generation is also very much inclined towards wall climbing. India is, currently, a no match to the International standards Asian Games could prove to be a milestone for the game," Sharma said.

"Players from here could raise the standard of their game and could compete in the events like world championship," he added.

The coach further stated that once the game gets affiliation from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) it will improve further as the players would then be eligible for all the government facilities and benefits.

Meanwhile, sports climbing players who are all set to participate in the Asian Games are all hopeful of winning medals for the country.

Shreya Nankar, who is one of the sport climbing players, said that she is very excited about the Asian Games and is quite sure about her medal chances in the event.

"I am very excited for Asian Games as I am the only girl participating in the event for India and Yes, I am hopeful of winning a medal in the event," Nankar said.

Asian Games are slated to be held from August 18 to September 2 in the Indonesian cities of Jakarta and Palembang.