"India doesn't have a tradition of sports for regular people," says Milind Soman

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 16 : Actor and fitness enthusiast Milind Soman feels India doesn't have a "tradition of sports" for regular people, and for this particular reason running in marathons comes as a breath of fresh air for some who might be following a sedentary lifestyle.
The 57-year-old actor graced the GM Half Marathon presented by Goregaon Sports Club on Sunday. The mega event garnered colossal online registrations from all sports enthusiasts and witnessed both elite and new runners of all walks of life and ages running on the track with enthusiasm and tremendous energy as quoted by GM Half Marathon.
Milind Soman was happy to be a part of the event and said such events should be organised on a regular basis besides speaking at length on fitness and lifestyle.
"I'm always very, very happy to be associated with running and running events. I think it's a great initiative by GM Modular and Goregaon Sports Club. We should have many, many more events like this because as you know, India doesn't have a tradition of sports for regular people or exercise or fitness," Milind Soman told ANI on the sidelines of the GM Half Marathon here in Mumbai.
"And the more events like this that we have, which are about running, because running is actually, it's a natural activity. It's so simple, so easy to do. We don't require any great infrastructure or equipment, so anybody can run at any age. So I think it's a great initiative. I wish them all success, very happy to be here, and I hope they continue with many, many more additions in the future," he added.
Milind, for whom age is just a number, said running a marathon is a celebration in the 21st century. The actor himself ran for five kilometres after his last flag-off.
"I think when anybody does any kind of movement, it's a celebration because in today's time where there's so much, sedentary living, you know, because of technology, so many conveniences that society has created for everybody, we have lost the opportunity to be active earlier," said Milind.
"It was very natural to be active. It was normal to be active. Now we have to find ways to be active. So any way we can find to be active, it's a celebration. Whether you can find five minutes for yourself every day, you can find 15 minutes for yourself every day. It's a celebration," he added.
Meanwhile, the winner of the marathon was rewarded with a coveted Gold Coin for the feat. Jayanth Jain, GM Modular CEO and MD said the goal is to involve more and more people in the event.
"Mumbai as a city is huge, many of the people are into fitness and it's better to organise such an event to create maximum impact regarding fitness. The idea is nothing but to make more people involve and participate in such mega events," Jayanth Jain told ANI.