New Delhi [India], January 30 (ANI): A two-member delegation of Makis Asimakopoulos, Director, International Olympic Academy (IOA) and Alexandra Karaiskou visited the Sports Authority of India's Headquarters in Delhi to meet senior officials of the Sports Ministry, led by Secretary, Ministry of Sports, Hari Ranjan Rao.

During the meeting, Asimakopoulos said he was impressed by 'The Plan, the strategy and the vision that the Sports Ministry has put in place in order to play a major role in the Olympic Movement.'

He added that, after reviewing all government-run sports programmes, the IOA is keen to extend support to strengthen Olympic education in the country, according to a press release from the Union Sports Ministry.

'We want to bring our expertise to train people in the sports ecosystem on the values of Olympism and Olympic Games so that young people in India are trained to understand Olympic values,' he further said.

The meeting was aimed at discussing collaborations between IOA and the Sports Ministry, along with the Indian Olympic Association and the newly-revived National Olympic Academy, to strengthen sports education in India through specially curated programmes for Indian coaches, sports science experts and PE teachers.

The IOA, set up in 1961 and housed in ancient Olympia in Greece, is the only institution in the world promoting Olympic education and studies. It has a network of National Olympic Academies in various countries, including one in India, which has recently been revived.

Adding to this, Alexandra said, 'We had a very productive discussion, and from the presentation made by the Secretary of Sports, we saw that India is taking concrete steps to host the Commonwealth Games and the bid for the 2036 Olympics. I am very happy that the National Olympic Academy in India has been revived after a very long time, and we expect to work in very close collaboration with the IOA and Sports Authority of India to promote Olympic values in India.'

Summing up the outcome of the meeting, Rao said, 'We had a very fruitful first meeting, and we intend to take this collaboration forward so that we can draw from the rich experience of the IOA and strengthen our sports education further. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the sports ecosystem is growing at a very fast pace & it is critical to create experts who can take the Olympic movement in India forward.'

Rao further said that the IOA can support India's Olympic education endeavour by creating a global-standard curriculum tailored to India, expanding skilling ecosystems at India's premier education institutions, developing certified courses for administrators, hosting masterclasses by international experts, and pursuing joint research and digital collaborations.

Besides, it has been proposed that India will host a Conclave for Global National Olympic Academies. Discussions are afoot for collaborations with the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC) for Olympic education, for hosting a legacy knowledge exchange. (ANI)