Govt to launch fitness app in January next year: Sports Secretary Mittal

Sports Secretary Ravi Mittal on Saturday said the government is planning to launch an application in January next year to help people check and improve their fitness level.

"We are developing a fit India app next year, It will be like other health app but the main thing will be that everyone will be able to evaluate their fitness," Mittal said during an Airtel Delhi Half Marathon press conference.

"We will be launching this app sometime in January. I would like to request all the participants in the event to come to this app and check their fitness. If you check your fitness every month, it will improve your fitness."

Some of the world's top runners, including defending champions Ethiopia's Andamlak Belihu and Tsehay Gemechu, will take part in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, one of the first global sporting events to be hosted by India during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Extending his best wishes to the event, Mittal said: "Events like this will help us to understand that things are slowly getting normal if we have to win medals in Olympics, we have to change ourselves, how long can we stop ourselves for Covid. So these events will help in strengthening our mind."

"I would like to request procam to organise more such marathons before the Olympics, so we can strengthen the mind. We can sponsor them if necessary, fund will not be a problem."

Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla said ADHM is going to be the "launch of Indian athletics towards the Olympic games."

"This is the first event happening in India, we have been under the shutdown. The athletes are rearing to go, for the athletes they can't just be training, they have to compete. So it will be a starting point," he said.

"From April onwards there was a blackout period, that gets over now. This is the resurgence of athletes, the resurgence of sports, there are some top-class runners who are coming, as sportsperson, we like to take on the challenge, we will compete, and come on top."

The international and Indian elite runners will be at the start line at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here, while the amateurs from across the globe will join them via the exclusive Airtel Delhi Half Marathon Mobile App.