Overwhelmed by response to fitness challenge: Rathore

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today said that he was overwhelmed by the positive response to his 'fitness challenge' campaign.

"The response has been great. I can see that the campaign is gaining momentum, so many simple and beautiful videos have been posted starting from children to grandparents," Rathore told PTI here.

"From the way people have accepted the challenge we can see the people are aware about their well being, so it's a brilliant thing," the minister said.

Rathore was present at an event to promote fitness here. Also present at the event were Bollywood actors Sunil Shetty and Milind Soman and Gul Panag.

Rathore had launched the #HumFitTohIndiaFit campaign earlier this week, underlining the importance of staying fit.

The sport minister posted a video on Twitter doing 10 push-ups while encouraging netizens to share pictures and videos on the social networking site to show how they kept themselves fit.

In his tweet, Rathore had tagged Indian cricket team skipper Virat Kohli, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal and Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan, inviting them to join in.

The movement saw a plethora of celebrities and sportspersons, including Kohli and P V Sindhu, posting videos of them exercising.

"It is important to live life and take out time for ourselves, to laugh a little, play a little. So for that we need to attach a little exercise with our work. Simple things like using the stairs instead of a lift help," Rathore said.

The minister also said that being fit will not only help the individual but also make the country better.

"This is a very good environment for the people and the country. Everyone is joining in, starting from the corporates to the players," he added.