New Delhi:Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday interacted with the Indian athletes’ contingent bound for upcoming Tokyo Olympics via video conference.Prime Minister Narendra Modi's message to olympic bound athletes was loud and clear, Play fearlessly and don't crumble under pressure.
The interaction by the Prime Minister was an endeavour to motivate the athletes ahead of their participation at the games.In an informal interaction, the Prime Minister motivated the athletes and thanked their families for their sacrifice.
Talking to Deepika Kumari (Archery), the PM congratulated her for the gold in the World Championship. He mentioned that her journey began with plucking mangoes through archery and enquired about her journey as a sportsperson.
The Prime Minister lauded Pravin Jadhav (Archery) for staying on the path despite difficult circumstances. He also interacted with his family and praised their efforts.Talking to Neeraj Chopra (Javelin Throw), PM inquired about the athlete’s experience with the Indian Army and also his recovery from injury. He asked the athlete to give his best without getting bogged down by the weight of expectation.
Apart from Deepika, Pravin and Neeraj, PM Modi also interacted with Mary Kom (Boxing), PV Sindhu (Badminton), Elavenil Valarivan (Shooting), Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting), veteran player Sharath Kamal (Table Tennis), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), Sajan Prakash (Swimming) Manpreet Singh (Hockey), Saina Mirza (Tennis).
While addressing the Indian athletes, the Prime Minister regretted the fact that he could not host the athletes due to the pandemic. He remarked that the pandemic has changed their practice and even the year of the Olympics.
He recalled his Mann ki Baat address when he exhorted the citizens to cheer for their sportspersons in the Olympics. He noted the popularity of the #Cheer4India. He said that the whole country is behind them and the blessings of all the countrymen are with them. He informed that people can login to the NaMo app and cheer for their sportspersons where special provisions have been made for the purpose.
“These wishes of 135 crore Indians are the blessings of the country for all of you before entering the field of sports,” said the Prime Minister.The Prime Minister also noted the changes that have been brought in the recent years to support the sportspersons. He said that efforts were made for the players to have better training camps and better equipment.
He advised players to give their best and asked the countrymen to ''Cheer4India''.
Anurag Thakur, Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports; Nisith Pramanik, MoS Youth Affairs and Sports and Kiren Rijiju, Law Minister were also present on the occasion.
During the interaction, Anurag Thakur thanked every official including coaching staff and support staff for doing hard work with our athletes. "Sports Ministry hasn't left any stone unturned to support athletes. From TOPS to various other programs, we've supported our athletes," Thakur said.
The minister said that from 22 States, 126 athletes will represent 130-crore Indians in 18 sports disciplines in Tokyo Olympics. "I feel that under your (PM) leadership, our players will be able to give their best in the Tokyo Olympics," he said.(UNI)
