New Delhi, Jul 12: Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the Indian athletes' contingent for the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday via video conferencing.
Sharing stories linked to each sportsperson, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday wished India's Olympic-bound athletes luck ahead of their departure for the Games, saying the whole nation is backing them to shine at the sport's biggest stage.
Among others, the PM spoke to iconic boxer M C Mary Kom, badminton ace PV Sindhu, talented shooters Saurabh Chaudhary, Elavenil Valarivan and veteran table tennis player A Sharath Kamal during a virtual interactive session.
"Don''t be bogged down by expectations, just give your best," Modi said in the interaction.
Offering his personal touch, Modi also spoke to the parents of Sindhu and lauded them for backing their daughter during her journey to success.
World number 1 archer Deepika Kumari. She says,"...There are expectations, but one expects the most from oneself. So, I am focussing on my practice, and the way in which I will perform."
#WATCH | PM Narendra Modi interacts with world number 1 archer Deepika Kumari. She says, "...There are expectations, but one expects the most from oneself. So, I am focussing on my practice, and the way in which I will perform."#Olympics pic.twitter.com/K9ZGofPJut
— ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2021
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur said,''I want to thank every official present here including coaching staff & 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.''
''From 22 States, 126 athletes will represent 130-cr 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,'' Thakur further said.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said that the interaction by PM Modi is an endeavour to motivate the athletes ahead of their participation at the Games which will begin on July 23.
PM Modi had recently reviewed the preparations for the facilitation of the Indian contingent at Tokyo 2020. He had also discussed the journeys of some of the athletes on his 'Mann Ki Baat' radio broadcast, besides urging the country to come forward and support them, the PMO stated.
Earlier on Monday, Thakur had chaired the first review meeting after taking charge of his ministry as he took stock of India''s preparation for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
The meeting of the high-level committee was also attended by his deputy Nisith Pramanik and the officials of the sports ministry, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
While it was the seventh meeting of the committee, it was thei first for Thakur and Pramanik after taking charge of the sports ministry last week.
Thakur took charge as sports minister from Kiren Rijiju last week following a cabinet reshuffle by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 35-year-old Pramanik, a first-time MP from Bengal, was appointed as the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports under Thakur, who is a cabinet minister.
During the meeting chaired by Thakur, various issues, including the provision of world class training facilities for the Olympic-bound athletes were discussed.
"It was a normal review meeting of the high-level committee which has been going on for long. In these meetings, we take stock of Indian athletes'' preparation for the Olympics, to see if everything was on track or anything is pending which needs to be addressed," an official source told PTI.
Besides, Thakur also discussed with the officers the progress of #Cheer4India campaign and the preparations for the interaction of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Olympic-bound athletes on Tuesday.
Modi will interact with the athletes virtually in his bid to motivate them ahead of the Tokyo Olympics which opens on July 23.
The interaction will be telecast live on Doordarshan and on various government social media platforms.
More than 120 Indian athletes will participate in the Tokyo Olympics amid strict health safety protocols because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Games will be held without any spectators from July 23 to August 8.