India Today Conclave: PM Narendra Modi is partaking with sportspersons and inspiring them, says Anurag Thakur

Sports Minister Anurag Thakur praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for encouraging Indian athletes and supporting them in each step of the way in which throughout earlier than and through the Tokyo Olympics the place the nation produced its best-ever efficiency with 7 medals earlier this 12 months.

India’s historic success on the Tokyo 2020 has nonetheless not settled in. Still driving excessive on Neeraj Chopra’s Gold and males’s hockey crew’s first medal in almost 4 many years, the nation nonetheless finds itself at a state of ecstasy.The present minister of youth and sports activities affair, Anurag Thakur spoke completely on India’s journey as a sporting nation whereas thanking PM Modi for his continued help on this endeavour.“The first issue is of creating a sporting culture, from a stopping culture to a sporting culture, from people’s participation to people’s movement. It is very important to nurture and infuse those kind of feelings.”I think that has started, the way the Prime Minister is engaging with the sportspersons and also encouraging them. Encouraging them before the event and also post event which was very important.”In Tokyo Olympics and before that, it wasn’t easy a time. We were going through the trouble times of covid-19 pandemic. To train players locally and globally wasn’t easy,” the previous Board of Control for Cricket in India, mentioned on the India Today Conclave in New Delhi.Thakur additional thanked the contributions of his predecessor Kiren Rijiju for his contributions heading into the Tokyo Olympics. Thakur spoke extremely about his co-ordination and his mutual understanding with Rijiju and hopes to hold on the nice work.”I would like to thank my friend shri Kiren Rejiju for putting all the efforts and his team during that time and also when I took over. We get along well, we know each well, part of the same Modi cabinet.”So I believe that was a method and you would see that through the Olympics and publish Olympics, the co-ordination among the many each of us however in future additionally I personally really feel that there’s a bigger function to be performed by the middle (authorities), state(authorities), nationwide sports activities federations, instructional institute,” Thakur added.Adding to this, he credited PM Modi for his curiosity and fervour for sports activities. Thakur mentioned, “Modiji’s involvement in sports and his passion for sports has actually helped. His experiment in Gujarat from Khel Mahakumb to giving a larger size and scale to it by making Khelo India. To talent hunt in local level, to teach and train athletes for global excellence. So I think that has actually helped us.”