Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday felicitated India's Asian Games medal-winners, including the gold-winning men's and women's cricket teams, and asserted that the country was emerging not only as a stronger sporting nation but also as a credible destination for hosting major international competitions.
Interacting with the medal-winners at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi, Modi congratulated the athletes for bringing pride to the country and reiterated India's determination to host the 2036 Olympic Games.
India returned from the recently concluded Asian Games with 85 medals, including 21 gold, with first-time participants accounting for 41 medals.
Although the overall tally was lower than the 106 medals secured at the previous edition in Hangzhou, the Prime Minister praised the performances of emerging athletes and the growing participation of Indian sportspersons across disciplines.
"You have made 140 crore Indians proud. The biggest success is to make the tri-colour fly high. That's why your success is not just yours but it belongs to crores of our countrymen. I congratulate you on behalf of the entire country," Modi said.
The interaction was attended by International Cricket Council Chairman Jay Shah, Indian Olympic Association President P T Usha, Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and senior officials of various national sports federations.
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐บ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ต๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ข๐น๐๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐
Modi said India's growing sporting capabilities were being accompanied by improvements in its ability to organise major international competitions.
"India is emerging in establishing itself as a credible and hospitable country for international sports events. We are bidding for the 2036 Olympics and it is our resolve that we will host the games," he said.
The Prime Minister referred to the country's preparations for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad and its ambition to host the Olympics six years later.
He said India's sporting aspirations required sustained investment in infrastructure, athlete development and the identification of talent across the country.
Modi also referred to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as an important milestone for Indian sportspersons.
๐ช๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐ป ๐ฏ๐ด ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น๐
The Prime Minister reserved special praise for women athletes, who contributed 38 medals to India's overall tally, including 11 gold.
"I especially want to congratulate our women athletes, they contributed 38 medals to our tally and 11 of those medals were gold," he said.
Modi congratulated the men's and women's cricket teams, the hockey teams and India's archers for their performances.
He particularly highlighted the women's hockey team's gold medal, which ended a 44-year wait for the title.
"The women's hockey team ended a 44-year wait with its gold medal, it is highly appreciable," he said.
Indian archers also received recognition for winning five gold medals at the Games.
Among those present was 17-year-old recurve archer Kumkum Mohod, who secured two gold medals in the individual and women's team events and a silver medal in the mixed team competition.
Mohod presented a bow to the Prime Minister during the interaction.
๐๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐บ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐ฎ
The Prime Minister posed for photographs with the medal-winning athletes and received several items of sporting memorabilia.
The entire men's T20 cricket team, led by Shreyas Iyer, attended the event ahead of its scheduled match against the West Indies in Bengaluru on Saturday.
The women's cricket team was also present before its T20 international against Zimbabwe in Raipur on Friday.
Harmanpreet Kaur, who captained the women's side to Asian Games gold before recently stepping down from the leadership role, presented Modi with a jersey signed by the medal-winning team.
Her successor, Smriti Mandhana, also joined the interaction.
Golfer Pranavi Urs presented the Prime Minister with a framed glove and golf ball.
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
Modi said India's achievements at international competitions were the result of sustained efforts to strengthen the sporting ecosystem over the past 12 years.
"Sankalp aur sapne ek din mein poore nahi hote (Dreams are not achieved in a day). It takes years of hard work and dedication. In the last 12 years, India has shown patience and worked hard to create a sports ecosystem," he said.
The Prime Minister recalled a period when India won relatively few medals at major international competitions and participation was concentrated in a limited number of disciplines.
He said the government had sought to change that situation by improving opportunities and support for athletes.
"There was a time when India would win very few medals at big event. The country did not know so many sports. We resolved to end this pessimism and the result is our increasing representation on the global stage," he said.
Modi pointed to India's first-ever Asian Games medals in mixed martial arts, soft tennis and certain sailing competitions as evidence of the country's expanding sporting presence.
"Today India is winning medals even in those sports in which we had never won a medal in the history of the Asian Games before," he said.
๐๐ผ๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐น๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐
Highlighting government initiatives to support sportspersons, Modi referred to direct financial assistance under the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), including an allowance of Rs 50,000 for eligible athletes.
He said the government was also facilitating overseas training and international coaching opportunities.
"If there is a need to go outside the country for coaching in any sport, the government is facilitating that too and providing financial assistance for it," he said.
The Prime Minister maintained that a transparent system had been established to support sporting development and help athletes prepare for international competitions.
He said strengthening training facilities, improving access to coaching and supporting athletes financially were important components of India's long-term sporting ambitions.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฑ๐ถ ๐๐ฟ๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐น-๐๐ถ๐ป๐ป๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป
Looking beyond the latest Asian Games performance, Modi urged the medal-winners to contribute to the development of the next generation of athletes.
He asked them to visit schools in their hometowns, interact with children and share their experiences of competing at the highest level.
"Perhaps, a word from you might give a child the courage to move ahead in sports," he said.
The Prime Minister also referred to his announcement from the Red Fort about identifying sporting talent at the village level through a nationwide talent hunt.
He expressed confidence that young athletes identified through such initiatives would contribute to India's future medal tally.
"These identified players will bring medals for India in the times to come," Modi said.
The interaction concluded with the Prime Minister encouraging the athletes to continue striving for excellence while helping build a stronger sporting culture across the country.