To honour Olympic silver medallist Ravi Dahiya, the Delhi government renamed Rajkiya Bal Vidyalaya situated in Adarsh Nagar as Ravi Dahiya Bal Vidyalaya. Mr. Dahiya is an alumnus of the school. The government also announced that it will be starting a Sports School of Specialised Excellence.
In the announcement function, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia felicitated Mr. Dahiya and said that through his hardwork, a student of Delhi government school has become a youth icon. Mr. Dahiya said that he had benefitted from Delhi government’s Mission Excellence.
“It is a matter of great pride that an alumnus of Delhi government school has won an Olympic medal. A large portrait of Mr. Dahiya will also be installed in this school so that children are inspired and motivated to nurse an Olympic dream and bring glory to our great nation,” Mr. Sisodia said. He added that the hurdle before the government was that in schools, sports are not given the same weightage as studies.
A gold next
Mr. Dahiya promised that with the government’s constant support he will upgrade his medal to gold in the next Olympics.
The Delhi government has made a push to nurture upcoming athletes by setting up the Delhi Sports University and appointing Karnam Malleswari, India’s first woman to win a medal at the Olympics, as its Vice-Chancellor. The university, the government has said, will nurture and encourage the best sporting talent in the country so that its graduates can make the nation proud by winning medals at the Olympics. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that Delhi will aim for hosting the 2048 Olympic games.