PM Modi extends wishes to participants of 35th Australian Sikh Games

New Delhi, April 9

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has extended his best wishes to the 35th Australian Sikh Games, which concluded in Brisbane on Sunday.

The event, organised by Australian National Sikh Sports and Cultural Council, is held during Easter every year in capital cities and major regional areas around Australia.

Athletes and spectators from all over the country and overseas, including New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Canada and the UK come to participate in a wide array of traditional Indian and Australian sports and cultural events, states the website of the organisers.

The games were said to have drawn a crowd up to one lakh people over three days, during which 3,500 athletes competed in 14 different sports. There are over 120 Australian and 11 international clubs in the organisation. “Tireless efforts are being made by local gurdwaras of Brisbane and Gold Coast to arrange ‘langar’ to welcome a swarm of people attending one of the biggest sporting and cultural events of the Australian Sikh community,” said the organisers.

During an interview, Randeep Singh Johal, representative of the cultural wing of the games executive committee, thanked the local government and the council for their support and assured these games would prove to be a milestone in the history of Australia.

The PM’s message was posted by the High Commission of India in Canberra on its Twitter handle on Sunday.

“The holy Gurus guided India and the world with many eternal and timeless values. If one looks closely at the lives and teachings of the holy Gurus, they emphasised the importance of physical health along with spiritual growth,” the PM wrote in his message.

Noting that the Gurus also gave the message of bringing people of different sections of society together as a team to achieve progress, he said these concepts were also relevant in the world of sport. — TNS

Recalls watching match with Oz PM

PM Modi also recalled seeing a recent India-Australia cricket match with Australian PM Anthony Albanese in Ahmedabad and said, “Sport is adding a new dimension to our vibrant relationship.”