The sports ministry is pushing for the inclusion of indigenous sports, including Yogasana, Mallakhambh, Kho-Kho and Kabaddi in the 2030 Commonwealth Games that will be held in Ahmedabad.Sports Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Monday said that the government wants all four to be part of the 2030 sports programme, but there is every chance that two out four will be included once the full sports programme comes out.Commonwealth Sports (CS) president Dr David Rukare, CEO Katie Sadlier and Director of Games & Assurance Darren Hall met Dr Mandaviya and sports secretary Hari Rajan Rao last Friday during their three-day visit to India to oversee the preparations. “We spoke of these sports during the meeting. Yogasana, Mallakhambh, Kho-Kho and Kabaddi were discussed. We want them as part of the Commonwealth Games in 2030. We are very much hopeful that we will see some of them played when we host the Games,” Dr Mandaviya said.Dr Rukare had earlier hinted that the full sports programme be announced in early 2027, although he did disclose that the final count of sports disciplines would be between 15 to 17.TOPS streamlineThe sports minister further said that the ministry is pushing to streamline its Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) to align it with more medal aspirations. Citing numbers, Dr Mandaviya said that talent identification has to bring in more athletes under this umbrella.“We need to focus on disciplines like aquatics, cycling and gymnastics where one can win many medals. We need to make the pool bigger. We have altogether 399 athletes under our schemes and that is not how you can win multiple medals. We are planning to increase the numbers towards higher four thousands in the next ten years,” he said.He also announced that the government was keen to bring Formula One races back to the country.“Three companies have expressed interest in organising the race. There are a few things that needed to be worked out, including infrastructure and taxation issues. We have the tracks in Noida, Hyderabad and Chennai. We will work out the fine details in a few months,” he stated.Asked about the delay in announcing the national sport awards, ministry sources said the recommendations of the awards committee were being re-evaluated to ensure only the truly deserving ones were nominated. “We cannot have 40-50 medals handed out randomly every year, the reward has to be commensurate with achievements,” sources said.