Srinagar: Asserting that the government wants to encourage sports but the country comes first, Union Minister of State for Sports, Raksha Khadse, on Thursday said people’s feelings cannot be hurt by allowing bilateral tournaments involving Pakistani players.
“The way our relations are these days, especially since Operation Sindoor, I think it is a good decision,” Khadse told reporters while responding to a query on the sports ministry barring India-Pakistan bilateral sporting events and allowing only multilateral competitions.
“For us, the country is very important. We want to promote sports but we cannot hurt the feelings of our people by bringing players from such a country. For us, the country and its people come first. So, it is a very good decision,” she said.
The minister, who was here for the Khelo India Water Sports Festival that commenced at the Dal Lake on Thursday, also said that Jammu and Kashmir now has the potential to become the water sports capital of the country.
“We are witnessing very good participation here. The way J-K has become the winter games capital of the country, we want it to become the capital for water games as well,” she said, referring to the annual Khelo India Winter Games being conducted at the ski-resort of Gulmarg for the past few years.
She also said the government wants to promote sports tourism in J-K.
“J-K is already famous for tourism and if we connect it with sports, we can take it to the international level. The youth of J-K are also getting encouraged through such activities. We want them to excel in sports for which we will provide them with all the facilities,” Khadse said.
