‘Sikh Games’ staged in Australia; PM Modi extends best wishes

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New Delhi, April 9

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

These Games, organised by Australian National Sikh Sports and Cultural Council, are 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, stated the website of the organisers.

The Games were said to have drawn crowds of up to one lakh people over three days during which 3,500 athletes competed in 14 different sports. There are approximately 120 Australian clubs and 11 international clubs in the organization. “Tireless efforts are being made by the local Gurdwaras (Sikh temples) of Brisbane and Gold Coast to arrange free food service (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 with SBS Punjabi, 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 that 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 holy Gurus also gave the message of bringing people of different sections of society together as a team to achieve progress, he said these concepts are also relevant in the world of sport, where people come together to participate on an equal platform irrespective of their social background.

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”.