'Yoga guru' MSG aims for Dronacharya Award

Baba Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh may be known as 'Messenger of God', but this may soon change as he wants his followers to remember him as a "renowned yoga guru".

After trying his hand in film-making and even bagging few best-actor awards, Singh has now put the Sports Ministry in a fix by applying for the prestigious Dronacharya Award, India's highest recognition for excellence in sports coaching.

The head of Haryana's Sirsa-based Dera Sacha Sauda sect, Baba Ram Rahim has applied for the award through the Yoga Federation of India (YFI) for apparently producing the 'world, Asian and national-level champions' in the field of yoga. DNA has learnt that the Yoga Federation of India (YFI) has recommended his name on May 28, the last date for applications, only after obtaining his due consent.

The application has created a problem of sorts for the Sports Ministry, as the discipline of yoga had been discontinued as a sport by the ministry itself in December 2016. It must be mentioned here that yoga was recognised as a sport in September 2015 after the direct intervention of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

"The YFI has been de-recognised and the Sports Ministry only recognises 47 national sports federations," a Sports Ministry official said on Monday. "Yoga is now being handled by the Ministry of AYUSH. It's surprising that the YFI or Babaji actually sent the application to us," the official added.