Aarti Pal: Yogasana boosted MPCA cricketers' flexibility, injury resistance
Synopsis
India's first Arjuna Awardee in Yogasana, Aarti Pal, says structured yoga delivered measurable flexibility and injury-prevention gains for MPCA cricketers under coach Amay Khurasiya. Her case lands days before Ahmedabad hosts the inaugural World Yogasana Championship with 500+ athletes from 60+ countries — a moment that reframes yoga from wellness ritual to elite-sport performance tool.
Key Takeaways
Aarti Pal is India's first Yogasana athlete to receive the Arjuna Award .
She worked with MPCA cricketers under then chief coach Amay Khurasiya , reporting marked gains in flexibility and injury prevention.
The inaugural World Yogasana Championship runs at EKA Arena, Ahmedabad from 4-8 June , with 500+ athletes from 60+ countries .
Yogasana was recognised as a priority sport by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Ministry of Ayush in 2020 .
The competitive syllabus now covers around 250 asanas across multiple categories.
Aarti Pal, India's first Yogasana athlete to receive the Arjuna Award, says her work with cricketers at the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association (MPCA) produced measurable gains in flexibility and injury prevention, reinforcing her case that yoga belongs in the training routine of every elite sport. Her remarks come ahead of the inaugural World Yogasana Championship, set to be hosted at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad from 4 to 8 June, featuring over 500 athletes from more than 60 countries.
Inside the MPCA experiment
Pal began working with MPCA cricketers when former India batter Amay Khurasiya was serving as chief coach, not to convert them into Yogasana practitioners but to test how structured yoga could support a sport built on explosive movement and technical precision. ‘One of the most noticeable improvements was in flexibility,' she said. ‘Through regular Yogasana practice, we observed a marked enhancement in the flexibility levels of the cricketers.'
Injury prevention as the bigger win
Pal argued that the more decisive benefit was structural — reducing the risk of breakdown before it happened. ‘For any athlete, staying injury-free is crucial for maintaining performance and consistency,' she said, adding that Yogasana and allied practices ‘proved to be highly beneficial in reducing the risk of injuries and improving overall physical preparedness.'
She framed it through a familiar maxim: ‘As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.'
The mental edge: Pranayama and meditation
The area Pal believes remains most undervalued is the mind. ‘Every athlete faces pressure, expectations, and challenging situations during competition. Practices such as Pranayama and meditation help athletes remain emotionally balanced, mentally focused, and calm under pressure,' she said. Mental resilience, she added, ‘is often the difference between success and failure at the highest level of sport.'
From wellness practice to competitive sport
Pal, a PhD in Yoga Science and former Assistant Professor at the University of Patanjali, said Yogasana's trajectory shifted after the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Ayush formally recognised it as a priority sport in 2020. The discipline now features a syllabus of roughly 250 asanas, multiple categories, and performance events that blend movement with music.
‘Yogasana is something that has become a point of attraction for youngsters and youth,' Pal said, crediting the Arjuna Award recognition with further pulling young athletes toward the sport.
What's next
With the World Yogasana Championship opening in Ahmedabad on 4 June, Pal's broader pitch — that yoga should be embedded across sporting disciplines, not siloed in wellness — will get its biggest competitive showcase yet. ‘As a Yogasana athlete, the first requirement is to keep an open mind,' she said.
Point of View
Which has long treated yoga as a soft add-on rather than a load-management tool. The harder question her work raises is institutional: why, despite decades of anecdotal endorsement, has no Indian federation built yoga into its athlete-development pipeline with measurable KPIs? The 2020 Ayush recognition gave Yogasana a competitive scaffold, but without structured integration into BCCI, SAI, and NSF training calendars, claims of cross-sport benefit will keep relying on individual coaches like Khurasiya saying yes. Ahmedabad's championship is a showcase; the real test is whether federations treat it as a procurement signal.
NationPress
9 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Aarti Pal's work with MPCA cricketers show?
Her work under then chief coach Amay Khurasiya showed measurable improvements in players' flexibility and a reduction in injury risk. She also credited Pranayama and meditation with improving emotional stability and focus under pressure.
When and where is the World Yogasana Championship being held?
The inaugural World Yogasana Championship will be held at the EKA Arena in Ahmedabad from 4 to 8 June. It will feature over 500 athletes from more than 60 countries.
When was Yogasana recognised as a competitive sport in India?
Yogasana was formally recognised as a priority sport in 2020 by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Ministry of Ayush. Since then, it has developed a structured competitive syllabus covering around 250 asanas across multiple categories.
Why does Aarti Pal want yoga integrated across all sports?
Pal argues that yoga delivers flexibility, injury prevention, and mental resilience — three attributes core to performance in every sport, not just yoga. She believes integrating Pranayama, meditation, and asana practice into athletes' routines offers a holistic development model that improves both physical fitness and mental well-being.
