New Delhi: The Indian athletes have now learnt a lesson or two on wearing the technically-complicated-to-wear kimono that has quintessential Japanese culture written all over it. If Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju does himself get draped in a kimono and look nothing short of a typical samurai, why will the Tokyo-bound sportspersons bat an eyelid from trying it?

A segment of our Tokyo-bound Olympians and Paralympians attended a cultural sensitivity workshop termed Omotenashi (the Japanese version of Atithi devo Bhava), organised by Sports Authority of India (SAI), in association with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), on Thursday.

The main aim was to intimate our sportspersons with the intricacies of the Japanese culture – how to travel in a train in Tokyo, wear the kimono, use chopsticks for proper dining, bowing etiquettes and so on.

The workshop was inaugurated by Kiren Rijiju, in presence of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Secretary-General Rajiv Mehta and a Japanese delegation comprising Prof. Hisashi Sanada, Chairman, Tsukaba International Academy for Sports Studies and Mrs Izumi Egami, a lecturer and a former air-hostess.

Some of the athletes that graced the workshop are shooters Manu Bhaker, Sanjeev Rajput, Deepak Kumar, Abhishek Verma, Yashaswini Singh Deswal, wrestlers Bajrang Punia, Deepak Punia, Ravi Kumar Dahiya, Divya Kakran, Para-athletes Sandeep Chaudhary and Yogesh Kathuniya, among others.



Talking about the importance of the cultural workshop, the sports minister said "Japanese culture and etiquette is very elaborate. You (athletes) are representing India as its ambassador. So, this cultural sensitivity activity is very important for you. We along with the IOA and SAI will provide the best support to the athletes. The philosophy of India has taken a full shape in Japan. And we want to transcend our deep spiritual connection to the arena of sports as well.”

Wrestlers Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Deepak Punia agreed with the minister's view and added “the workshop will help us a lot when we head to Tokyo later this year and will help us understand the Japanese people much better when we are there.”

Shooter Abhishek Verma further added that “with the help of this workshop the athletes would be better prepared when they enter the Tokyo Games village. We now know that they value their cultural etiquettes at a much higher level and it’s a beautiful to see that.”

Manners of daily life, from everyday greetings to public dealings and street manners to food culture, everything quintessentially Japanese remained the food for the topic.