The Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju lauded sportspersons for their contributions to the COVID-19 relief measures during a video-conference with table tennis coaches of the Sports Authority of India on Wednesday.
“They have made huge contributions. Not just financially, but also creating awareness among the youth about COVID-19 and putting up videos on fitness. All this shows how active sportspersons are. Hopefully, we don’t have to wait long for sporting action [to get back],” said Rijiju.
He said that Indian paddlers will definitely win a medal at the Olympics and the World Championships, one day. “If we can win a medal [two bronze] in the Asian Games (2018) there is no reason why we cannot win a medal in bigger events,” he said.
Exhorting corporates to support TT, Rijiju said, post COVID-19, he will do his best to ensure that the next edition of Ultimate Table Tennis League has more support.
“We’ll have a UTT that is grand, with more support and in fully-packed stadiums,” the Sports Minister said, while extending total support to the sport like providing coaches, intensive training and more facilities.
Clear target
“We have a clear target that might be called ambitious. We want India to be in the top 10 in the [overall] medals tally. We will do it. We have huge potential. Our paddlers will also contribute to some medals,” he said with reference to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.